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Media release - Recent breaches of the Privacy Act and the Public Service Act by APS staff

Issued 30 August 2006

The Australian Public Service (APS) places high importance on protecting all personal information it holds. Recent announcements by Centrelink and the Tax Office show that staff who do the wrong thing will be caught and sanctioned appropriately.

The APS protects the privacy and confidentiality of its citizens, and prevents and manages staff misconduct, under the framework of two legal instruments:

• the Public Service Act 1999 sets out the APS Values and Code of Conduct for all APS employees. Relevant provisions include:
• APS Values s10
  5. The APS is openly accountable for its actions, within the framework of Ministerial responsibilities to the government, the Parliament and the Australian public.
• APS Code of Conduct s13
  2. An APS employee must act with care and diligence in the course of APS employment.
  4. An APS employee, when acting in the course of APS employment, must comply with all applicable Australian laws.
  10. An APS employee must not make improper use of: (a) inside information, or (b) the employee's duties, status, power or authority in order to gain, or seek to gain, an advantage for the employee or for any other person.
  11. An APS employee must at all times behave in a way that upholds the APS Values and the integrity and the good reputation of Australia.

• the Privacy Act 1988 establishes processes for the management of personal information including its collection, storage and security, access and correction, use and disclosure. Division 2 sets out Information Privacy Principles that govern the way agencies manage personal information, including the requirement for APS employees to secure records against loss and unauthorised access, use, modification, disclosure or other misuse.

Any breach of the Code of Conduct is treated seriously by agencies, as illustrated by Centrelink’s action in dismissing or sanctioning staff found to be in breach of the Code (sanctions can include reductions in classification or salary or fines).

The importance placed by the APS on privacy issues is also demonstrated by the ongoing development of systems to prevent and monitor misuse of personal information. The breaches discovered by Centrelink were the result of a strengthened IT system introduced last year designed to monitor staff who inappropriately access client records.

Agencies conduct programmes on an ongoing basis to ensure staff are aware of their responsibilities and requirements to comply with the Code of Conduct and the APS Values.

Service delivery agencies in particular regularly promote policies concerning unauthorised access to personal information and conduct training for their staff to reinforce the requirement to act appropriately.

All agencies need to ensure they have the necessary educative and compliance mechanisms in place to ensure their privacy and confidentiality obligations are met. This is critical for public confidence in the public service.

The Commission also regularly reviews its guidelines for agencies on implementing the Code of Conduct in practice, and on how to deal with cases of misconduct. These guidelines support agencies in dealing with their legal and ethical responsibilities.

The Commission will shortly release an updated guide on reporting and dealing with suspected breaches of the APS Code of Conduct.

For more information contact Karin Fisher at the APS Commission on 02 6202 3524, email karin.fisher@apsc.gov.au .

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