Mandatory conduct

You should treat all people with whom you have contact:

• equally without prejudice or favour
• with honesty, consistency and impartiality.

You should also, in the course of your work:

• place the public interest above your personal interest
• uphold the law, institutions of government and democratic principles
• provide apolitical and non-partisan advice
• provide transparency to enable public scrutiny
• be fiscally responsible and focus on efficient, effective and prudent use of resources.

Acting in the public interest requires leadership, courage and innovation to develop practical recommendations and actions that are consistent with the core values and will help the Government of the day achieve its objectives.

Acting in ways that are expedient or convenient, but which do not promote the integrity, trust, service and accountability of the public sector, is not in the public interest.

Sometimes you may find that your private interests make it difficult for you to perform your duties impartially in the public interest. This may happen when:

• there is a direct conflict between your current duties and responsibilities and your private interests (an ‘actual’ conflict of interest)
• when a person could reasonably perceive that your private interests may influence the performance of your duties (a ‘reasonably perceived’ conflict of interest)
• when you have a private interest that could conflict with your duties in the future (a ‘potential’ conflict of interest).

Actions you should take include:

• always disclose actual, potential or reasonably perceived conflicts of interests to your manager as soon as you recognise the conflict.
• always resolve conflicts of interest in favour of the public interest, rather than your own.

To resolve any conflicts of interest that occur, or could occur, a range of options is available depending on the significance of the conflict.

These options include, but are not limited to:

• informing likely affected persons that a disclosure has been made, giving details and the agency’s view that there is no actual conflict or the potential for conflict is minimal
• appointing further persons to a panel/committee/team to minimise the actual or perceived influence or involvement of the person with the actual or reasonably perceived conflict
• where the persons likely to be concerned about a potential, actual or reasonably perceived conflict are identifiable, seeking their views as to whether they object to the person having any, or any further, involvement in the matter
• restricting the access of the person to relevant information that is sensitive, confidential or secret
• directing the person to behave at all times in ways that are consistent with their agency’s responsibilities and functions
• removing the person from duties or decision-making responsibilities in relation to the conflict and re-allocating those duties to another employee (who is not supervised by the person with the ‘conflict’)
• persons with a ‘conflict’ who are members of boards or committees absenting themselves from or not taking part in any debate or voting on the issue.

For further detail on how to manage actual, potential or reasonably perceived conflicts of interest, read the Office of the Children’s Guardian's recognising and managing conflicts of interest.

A senior executive (including an acting senior executive) must make a written declaration of private financial, business, personal or other interests or relationships that have the potential to influence, or could be perceived to influence, decisions made or advice given by the senior executive.

NESA senior executives must also identify immediate family members or friends who will present for HSC examinations in the 12 months from when they make their declaration.

Where a senior executive has no such private interests to declare, they must declare a “nil return”.

After a senior executive makes an initial declaration, a fresh declaration must be made:

• as soon as practicable, following any relevant change in the senior executive’s private interests
• as soon as practicable, following the senior executive’s assignment to a new role or responsibility
• at least annually.

A template for making private interests declarations is available the Public Service Commission’s Employment portal.

A senior executive must provide their declaration to the Chief Executive Officer via the relevant Executive Director.

The Chief Executive Officer must provide their declaration to the Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

A person to whom a declaration is to be provided is responsible for ensuring:

• senior executives complete declarations
• handling and storage of declarations complies with the requirements of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998.

All government sector employees are to treat their colleagues, customers, clients and stakeholders in their agency and in other agencies, and the government of the day by:

• considering people equally without prejudice or favour
• acting professionally with honesty, consistency and impartiality
• taking responsibility for situations, showing leadership and courage
• placing the public interest over personal interest
• appreciating difference and welcoming learning from others
• building relationships based on mutual respect
• upholding the law, institutions of government and democratic principles
• communicating intentions clearly and inviting teamwork and collaboration
• providing apolitical and non-partisan advice
• providing services fairly with a focus on customer needs
• being flexible, innovative and reliable in-service delivery
• engaging with the not-for-profit and business sectors to develop and implement service solutions
• focusing on quality while maximising service delivery
• recruiting and promoting employees on merit
• taking responsibility for decisions and actions
• providing transparency to enable public scrutiny
• observing standards for safety
• being fiscally responsible and focus on efficient, effective and prudent use of resources.

All government sector employees and heads of government sector agencies must comply with Premier’s Memorandum M2014-13- NSW Lobbyists Code of Conduct published on the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s website, as amended from time to time.

You must use public resources in an efficient, effective and prudent way. Never use public resources such as money, property, equipment or consumables for your personal benefit, or for an unauthorised purpose.

If you are responsible for receiving, spending or accounting for money, ensure you know, understand and comply with the requirements of the Public Finance and Audit Act 1983, the Public Works and Procurement Act 1912 and the Government Advertising Act 2011.