4.11 Telecommunications
4.11.1 Minister
Policy
Ministers will be provided with additional telephones/lines to meet communication needs and so that adequate access to the Minister is available at all times. Such expenditure will be a charge to the Office of the Minister.
Residence
Ministers may regard the following as a standard for their residence:
Lines
1 official line
1 fax line
1 private line
Equipment
1 answering machine
1 fax machine
Alternatively, one of the telephone lines and/or this equipment may be located in the Minister's Electorate Office or Parliament House suite. Where a Minister shifts residence the Minister will be required to personally meet the costs of transfer of one telephone line. All costs associated with the other phone/fax lines will be a charge to the Office of the Minister.
The movement of phones within the Minister's residence is a private cost.
The above does not apply to Parliamentary Secretaries.
Mobile phones
Ministers will be provided with one digital mobile phone as a standard. A car kit will also be provided in the Minister's official vehicle.
The mobile services are in the name of Ministerial Services and are billed direct to Ministerial Services. Reasonable call costs will be a charge to the Office of the Minister.
Use of the phone is at the total discretion of the Minister including private non business use.
Pagers
If required, Ministers will be provided with a pager with national coverage.
Accounts in the name of the Minister
Reimbursements or upfront payments will be made for rental and service charges and 85% of the cost of all calls for the Minister's private line.
Reimbursements or upfront payments will be made for installation costs, rental and service charges and 90% of call costs for the facsimile line and 90% of call costs for the official line.
These costs will be a charge to the Office of the Minister. Use of the phone and facsimile line and private internet service is at the total discretion of the Minister including private non business use.
Procedures
Telephone and other lines in residences will not be in the name of the Queensland Government. Arrangements for installation need to be made by the Minister or an authorised person. Payment of accounts in the Minister's name will be made:
- by reimbursement subject to the provision of documentation including proof of payment and a payment voucher authorised by the Minister; or
- direct by Ministerial Services on the account summary attached to a claim for payment authorised by the Minister. If direct payment is required, claims should be lodged as early as possible and Ministers should include a personal cheque for 15% of call costs on the private line or 10% of calls on the official or facsimile line.
See ENTITLEMENTS - Parliamentary Secretaries
Internet Connection - Minister
Home broadband internet connections assist in utilising remote access facilities to the Ministerial Network. Ministers may choose to be reimbursed 85% of a private Internet connection in lieu of the reimbursement for one home telephone line. This reimbursement would be to a maximum of $100 per month.
Once-only set up and installation costs of up to $200 may be an official expense if the Internet service is not already connected. Higher set up costs (if required) will be considered on a case by case basis.
Costs of up to $200 to transfer an Internet service to a new address may be an official expense. Costs of relocating a service within a residence will be a personal expense. Early termination charges on Internet plans will be a personal expense.
Internet Connection - Parliamentary Secretary
A Parliamentary Secretary may choose to be reimbursed 85% of a private Internet connection in lieu of the reimbursement (by Parliament House) for one home telephone line. Limits as per Ministers (above) will apply.
4.11.2 Staff
Telecommunications is an essential tool in the workplace. However the use of telecommunication equipment carries with it certain responsibilities. Incorrect or inappropriate use can have serious consequences for the government. The intent of the following policy and guidelines is to clarify the responsibilities of Ministerial staff use of telecommunications equipment and to establish professional and ethical conduct.
Policy
Entitlements
Staff may be provided with equipment/lines for official purposes. They should have regard to economy and efficiency when utilising official telecommunications equipment.
The following can be considered a standard entitlement:
- All staff will be provided with a landline in the office of the Minister.
- Senior Advisors or equivalent will normally be provided with a mobile phone. Other staff may be provided with a mobile phone (within mobile phone limits supplied to the office and at the Minister's discretion).
- Staff who are allocated with a motor vehicle and who have use of an office mobile phone will be entitled to a hands-free kit installed in the vehicle.
- Senior Media Advisors may request the use of a home fax machine for official purposes. In the absence of a clear business case to the contrary, home fax machines are to be operated through an existing telephone line. Other Senior Advisors will only be provided with a home fax machine on the basis of clear business needs. All costs associated with transferring telephones from one residence to another are to be treated as private in nature.
- Telecards/Smartcards may be requested for official use in regional areas.
Inappropriate Use
Telecommunications usage must be able to withstand public scrutiny and/or disclosure.
Unauthorised accessing, transmitting or storing of material that might bring the government into disrepute is not permitted.
Official telecommunications equipment must not be used to:
- Call 0055 or 1900 prefixed information lines;<
- maintain or support a personal or private business;
- defame, harass, abuse or otherwise offend other users, individuals or organisations;
- download, store or distribute offensive material (via camera, SMS or MMS);
- access chat lines or information services that incur additional costs.
When using telecommunications equipment (particularly writing messages and using the camera), staff should assume that information can be retrieved if not deleted by the user.
Inappropriate use of telecommunications equipment can lead to disciplinary action and/or the revocation of telecommunications entitlements.
It is the policy of the Queensland Government that any employee found to have used a government owned communication or information device to download, store or distribute pornography will be dismissed.
Personal use of telecommunications equipment
It is acknowledged that Ministerial staff are often required to be on call, travel for work purposes or work away from the office for extended periods. Reasonable personal use of telecommunications equipment is permitted where it:
- is not used to support a private business;
- does not interfere with the operation of the Government;
- does not violate any State/agency policy or related State/Federal legislation and regulation.
Personal use should be kept to a minimum and mobile phone usage will be monitored regularly.
Reimbursement for private calls may be required.
The ability to use Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) to distribute photos is not generally enabled on phones and is only done so for official purposes. Staff should not distribute personal photos by MMS on official phones.
The privilege of using Government devices for reasonable personal use may be revoked or limited at any time.
Reimbursements of home telephone expenses
Chauffeurs are entitled, as a condition of their employment, to be reimbursed for standard service and equipment charges of their private home telephone plus 280 local telephone calls per calendar year. In addition, chauffeurs may also claim for other official calls (eg. official STD calls and official calls to mobile phones).
Reimbursement for costs incurred by other staff entitled to telephone expenses as a condition of their employment, will cover standard service and equipment charges plus 85% of local, STD, and calls made to mobile phones. All international calls will require approval on the basis that they are for official purposes and should be claimed separately from Ministerial Services.
If a staff member obtains the Premier's approval for a separate fax, phone or data line, reimbursement will cover standard service and equipment charges plus 90% of local, STD, and calls made to mobile phones.
See ENTITLEMENTS - Staff.
Internet Connection - Staff
Home broadband Internet connections assist in utilising remote access facilities to the Ministerial Network. Staff (other than chauffeurs) with an entitlement to telephone expenses as a condition of their employment may choose to be reimbursed 85% of a private Internet connection in lieu of the reimbursement for one home telephone line. This reimbursement would be to a maximum of $50 per month.
Set up, installation and transfer costs will be a personal expense. Early termination charges on Internet plans will be a personal expense.
See ENTITLEMENTS - Staff.
No entitlement to telephone expenses
Staff who are not entitled to telephone expenses as a condition of their employment may be reimbursed for official calls made on their private residential phone if it can be shown that excessive expenses have been incurred. This should not be on an ongoing basis.
Reimbursements for the use of personal mobile phones will only be considered in exceptional cases and not on an ongoing basis.
Procedures
Home telephones and Internet
Payment of accounts in the staff member's name will be made by reimbursement subject to the provision of adequate documentation.
4.11.3 Office
Policy
Telecommunications equipment and lines will be provided to meet official needs.
The following are examples of official phone costs met through Ministerial Services:
- office phones
- fax lines
- mobile phones
- pagers and
- official Telecards/Smartcard charges
Normal phone services provided to Members will be a responsibility of and a charge to the Parliamentary Service.
Office Phones
Arrangements for official requirements for office phones are to be made through Ministerial Services.
Fax Machines
Each Office will be provided with two (2) fax machines for incoming and outgoing facsimiles. Fax machines for specific office staff are not provided. See TELECOMMUNICATIONS - Staff.
The use of fax stream (high volume faxing) should be kept to a minimum and recipient lists should be reviewed at least every six months.
Mobile Phones
Each Ministerial Office is entitled to mobile phones as follows:
- Minister or Parliamentary Secretary - 1 phone
- Ministerial Vehicle - 1 phone
- Senior Staff (A08 and above) - 1 phone each
- Offices with 8 staff or less - 1 office phone
- Offices with 9-17 staff - 2 office phones
- Offices with 18 staff or more - 3 office phones
If further phones are required a business case is to be submitted through Ministerial Services.
Staff who are provided with a motor vehicle and who are also provided with a mobile phone are entitled to have a hands free kit installed in their motor vehicle.
Personal mobile phones are not to be utilised for official purposes except in exceptional cases.
Departmental mobile phones are only to be utilised in exceptional cases and not on an ongoing basis.
Blackberry Personal Digital Assistants
Ministerial offices may request Blackberry Personal Digital Assistants in lieu of a mobile phone for use by Ministers and/or senior staff. Requests for additional Blackberry devices should be submitted with a business case to Ministerial Services.
Pagers
Up to 5 pagers with national coverage per Ministerial Office are available on request.
Satellite Phones and Conference Phone
A number of satellite phones are available from Ministerial Services for loan purposes. Satellite phones are not provided to Ministerial Offices on an ongoing basis because of the high cost.
A conference phone is held by Ministerial Services for loan purposes.
Telecards/Smartcards
Telecards/Smartcards will be provided, if required, for use in regional areas, particularly where the mobile phone coverage is not available. These cards will be separate from telecards issued by the Parliamentary Service for Member's use.
Electorate Office
Electorate office phones are generally the responsibility of the Clerk of the Parliament.
Parliament House Offices
Arrangements for official Ministerial requirements at Parliament House Offices are to be made through Ministerial Services.
Procedures
Bill Payments
General Office telecommunications bills will be received, checked and paid directly by Ministerial Services without the prior approval of the Office.
Ministerial Services will provide the Office with summary reports on telecommunication bills. Any anomalies in these summary reports or significant variations in bills should be queried by the Office with Ministerial Services.
Bills held in Ministerial Services are available for perusal by the relevant Minister's Office. It is not administratively practical to distribute copies of detailed phone bills for landlines.
Repairs
Repairs and maintenance of any approved equipment and telephone lines are chargeable to the Office of the Minister.
Requests for repairs should be directed through Ministerial Services.
Last reviewed: 17 July, 2009
Last updated: 22 July, 2009
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