Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

PUBLIC SERVICE ACT 1999 - SECT 50A

Request for inquiry

  (1)   The Merit Protection Commissioner may, for the purposes of paragraph   50(1)(ca), inquire into and determine whether an APS employee, or a former APS employee, has breached the Code of Conduct if:

  (a)   the Agency Head requests the Merit Protection Commissioner to do so; and

  (b)   the Merit Protection Commissioner considers it would be appropriate to do so; and

  (c)   the APS employee, or former APS employee, agrees, in writing, to the Merit Protection Commissioner doing so.

Note:   A finding by the Merit Protection Commissioner under this section is reviewable under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 .

Procedures for inquiry

  (2)   The Merit Protection Commissioner must establish written procedures for inquiring into and determining whether an APS employee, or a former APS employee, has breached the Code of Conduct (including by engaging in conduct referred to in subsection   15(2A)). The procedures:

  (a)   must comply with basic procedural requirements prescribed by the regulations; and

  (b)   must have due regard to procedural fairness.

Note:   The procedures may make different provision for different classes of APS employees or former APS employees (see subsection   33(3A) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 ).

  (3)   In addition, and without affecting subsection   ( 2), the procedures may be different for:

  (a)   different categories of APS employees or former APS employees; or

  (b)   APS employees, or former APS employees, who:

  (i)   have been convicted of an offence against a Commonwealth, State or Territory law in respect of conduct that is alleged to constitute a breach of the Code of Conduct; or

  (ii)   have been found to have committed such an offence but no conviction is recorded.

  (4)   The Merit Protection Commissioner must ensure that the procedures established under subsection   ( 2) are made publicly available.

  (5)   Procedures established under subsection   ( 2) are not legislative instruments.

Merit Protection Commissioner's powers

  (6)   For the purposes of inquiring into and determining whether an APS employee, or a former APS employee, in an Agency has breached the Code of Conduct, the Merit Protection Commissioner may exercise the same powers as the Agency Head may exercise in determining whether an APS employee, or a former APS employee, in the Agency has breached the Code of Conduct.

Report on results of inquiry

  (7)   The Merit Protection Commissioner must report on the results of an inquiry and determination under this section to the Agency Head who requested the inquiry.

Note:   If the Merit Protection Commissioner finds that an APS employee in an Agency has breached the Code of Conduct, the Agency Head may impose a sanction on the APS employee under subsection   15(1).