7.10 Code of conduct

Appointees to Government Boards assume a position of public trust and confidence as outlined above. As such, members of the public expect these appointees to follow certain ethical principles.

The Queensland Public Sector Ethics Act 1994 (Ethics Act) applies to 'public officials'. 'Public officials' are defined in the Ethics Act to mean 'an officer or employee of a public sector entity'. 'Public sector entity' is defined to include a "commission, authority, office, corporation or instrumentality established under an Act or under State or local government authorisation for a public, State or local government purpose." It also includes any entity, prescribed by regulation, that is assisted by public funds. However, the Ethics Act expressly states that the term 'public sector entity' does not include a Government Owned Corporation (GOC), a corporatised corporation or an entity prescribed by regulation.

Therefore, the Ethics Act will apply to a Government Board if it is a 'public sector entity'. It will apply to statutory authorities or corporations assisted by public funds or established for a public purpose but will not apply if it is a company or statutory GOC.

The Ethics Act prescribes five 'ethics principles':

1. espect for the law and the system of government;
2. respect for persons;
3. integrity;
4. diligence; and
5. economy and efficiency.

The five ethical principles apply to public officials as "ethical obligations" and are intended to provide the basis for codes of conduct for public officials and are not of themselves legally enforceable. The Chief Executive Officer of a public sector entity has an obligation to ensure that a code of conduct is prepared for the entity.

The Code of Conduct for the Department of the Premier and Cabinet 2000 is an example of a code of conduct which was developed pursuant to the Ethics Act. The Code applies to members of Government committees and Boards within the Premier's portfolio so far as they have recourse to government resources or have access to official information. The Code consists of seven sections which deal with specific requirements of individual agencies, divisions, offices and bureaux. The Code also contains many hypothetical examples together with a Registration of Personal Interests Form (Appendix 1 to the Code). A similar generic form for the registration of personal interests appears as Attachment 6 (PDF, 10 KB) or Attachment 6 (html text only).

Some enabling legislation may also include specific coverage of some of these issues and this should be referred to.

Example: District Health Councils established under the Health Services Act 1991 (external link).

Disclosure of interests

s.21

1. This section applies if
   1. a member of a council has a direct or indirect personal interest in an issue being considered, or about to be considered, by the council; and
   2. the interest could conflict with the proper performance of the member's duties in considering the issue.
2. The member must disclose the nature of the interest to a meeting of the council as soon as practicable after the member becomes aware of the possible conflict of interest.
3. The disclosure must be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.
4. Unless the council otherwise directs, the member must not
   1. be present when the council considers the issue; or
   2. take part in a decision of the council on the issue.

If the Ethics Act does not apply to the entity, the legislation creating the entity should be specifically examined to determine officers' ethical responsibilities.

Last reviewed: 17 July, 2009

Last updated: 22 July, 2009

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