Public Sector Ethics Act 1994

The Act relies on a small set of hierarchical concepts: ethics principles, ethics values, codes of conduct, standards of practice, and the approval/implementation apparatus. At the top are four declared ethics principles , integrity and impartiality, promoting the public good, commitment to the system of government, accountability and transparency , declared fundamental to good public administration (s 4). Building on those, the Act sets out ethics values which apply to public service agencies, public sector entities and public officials and are intended as the basis for codes of conduct; the Act explicitly states these ethics values are not of themselves legally enforceable (s 5).

Codes of conduct are the instrument through which standards become enforcing obligations. A code’s purpose is to provide standards of conduct consistent with the ethics principles and values (s 10). For public service agencies, the commissioner must ensure a code is prepared (s 12A), and the Premier must approve it (s 12B). The code may contain express conduct obligations, explanatory material, guidelines, examples and references to other Acts (s 12). The Act allows agency‑level standards of practice to apply additional standards to officials of a particular public service agency (s 12D); such standards must have regard to the ethics principles and values and support the statewide code (s 12D(2)). Public sector entities follow a delegated model: the chief executive officer must ensure a code is prepared (s 15), the entity’s responsible authority approves it (s 17) and the code may be tailored to the entity consistent with the ethics values (s 13).

Compliance and operationalisation are embedded: public officials must comply with applicable codes and standards (s 12H, s 18); chief executives must ensure access to the ethics materials and codes (s 12I, s 19), publish copies (s 12J, s 20), provide education and training (s 12K, s 21), and adjust administrative procedures to have proper regard to the Act and codes (s 12L, s 22). Reporting obligations require the commissioner and chief executives to include implementation statements in statutory reports and annual reports (s 12M, s 23). The Act also contemplates disciplinary handling under other legislative instruments (s 24) rather than imposing specific statutory sanctions within the Act itself. Finally, the Governor in Council may make regulations (s 25), providing a route for further prescription.

The Act applies to a defined set of public sector actors and permits subjecting certain non‑officials to its instruments. The stated application includes public service agencies, public sector entities and public officials (s 5; s 10). The codes of conduct for public service agencies must relate to all public service agencies and apply to all public officials of those agencies (s 11(1)(a)‑(b)). The Act also permits codes to apply to persons who are not public officials but who have a contract or other agreement with the agency, giving explicit examples: contractors and their employees, volunteers, and students on work experience (s 11(1)(c)). Similarly, a code for a public sector entity must relate to that particular entity, apply to all its public officials, and may apply to contractors, volunteers and students working with the entity (s 13(1)(a)‑(c)).

Public officials are subject to mandatory compliance where codes or standards apply: public officials of a public service agency must comply with the code and any standard of practice that applies to them (s 12H); public officials of a public sector entity must comply with the standards of conduct stated in the entity’s code that apply to them (s 18). Section 23A excludes persons covered by ss 11(1)(c) or 13(1)(c) from Part 5 (disciplinary action), meaning contractors, volunteers and students are outside the disciplinary part (s 23A). The Act binds all persons, including the State (s 3), signalling that its provisions are intended to be general in application across Queensland’s public sector.

Decision‑makers under the Act are also identified as affected parties: the commissioner is required to prepare and review the public service agencies’ code and may issue guidelines for standards of practice (s 12A, s 12E, s 12C); the Premier approves the public service agency code (s 12B); the chief executive officer of a public service agency prepares and reviews agency standards of practice (s 12E, s 12G); responsible authorities of public sector entities approve entity codes (s 17). These actors must consult particular stakeholder groups when preparing codes or standards (s 12A(2), s 12E(3), s 16). Finally, other institutions are implicated because disciplinary mechanisms refer to the Public Sector Act 2022 and local government legislation, meaning those statutory regimes and their participants will bear the enforcement consequences for public officials (s 24).

The Act sets explicit duties on agencies and officials and prescribes rights of access and information to those subject to codes. Primary duties include preparing codes and standards, consulting in their development, securing approval before application, publishing approved instruments, providing access, delivering ethics education, embedding ethics into administrative procedures and reporting on implementation.

Preparation and approval: For the public service agencies’ code, the commissioner must ensure preparation and reasonable consultation with agencies, public officials, industrial organisations and other appropriate representative entities (s 12A(1)‑(2)). The Premier may approve the code only if accompanied by a written statement from the commissioner detailing the consultations and outcomes, and the Premier must have regard to that statement (s 12B(1)‑(3)). For public sector entities, the chief executive officer must ensure preparation and consultation (s 15; s 16), and the responsible authority may approve the code only if accompanied by a written statement from the chief executive outlining consultations and outcomes (s 17(1)‑(3)). A standard of practice prepared by a public service agency must similarly be accompanied by a consultation statement from the chief executive and approved by the commissioner (s 12E; s 12F).

Mandatory compliance for officials: Once a code or standard has been approved and applies, public officials must comply. Section 12H mandates compliance with the code for public service agency officials and any applicable standard of practice. Section 18 requires public sector entity officials to comply with the standards of conduct in their entity’s approved code.

Access, publication and training rights and duties: Chief executive officers must ensure each public official and specified persons have reasonable access to the ethics principles and values, applicable standards of conduct and any applicable standard of practice (s 12I; s 19). Chief executives must publish and keep copies available for inspection by any person of the approved code and standards of practice (s 12J), and similarly for public sector entities (s 20). There is a duty to provide education and training as part of induction and at regular intervals, covering the operation of the Act, application of ethics principles, contents of the approved code, and rights and obligations in relation to contraventions (s 12K; s 21).

Embedding ethics and reporting: Chief executives must ensure administrative procedures and management practices have proper regard to the Act, the ethics principles and values, the approved code and any standards (s 12L; s 22). Reporting duties require the commissioner to include a statement about code implementation and consultation outcomes in the commission’s reports under the Public Sector Act 2022 (s 12M(1)), and require chief executives to include statements in their annual reports on implementation, training and procedural adjustments (s 12M(2); s 23). Where disciplinary action is pursued, the Act directs that it be handled under the relevant disciplinary framework (s 24).

Rights: The Act creates rights of access to the code and standards (s 12I, s 19), and a right for members of the public to inspect published codes (s 12J, s 20). Officials also have a right to be consulted during preparation and to receive education and training (s 12A(2), s 12E(3), s 16, s 12K, s 21). The Act also explicitly states the ethics values are not in themselves legally enforceable (s 5), which is relevant to understanding which obligations are binding.

The Act itself does not create internal criminal penalties or express statutory fines; instead it channels enforcement into disciplinary and regulatory frameworks external to the Act. The disciplinary scheme is described as one of legislative intention: Parliament intends that disciplinary action for contravention of an approved code or approved standard of practice by a public official should be dealt with under other instruments , the Public Sector Act 2022 for public service officers, the applicable local government legislation for local government employees, existing disciplinary processes where they exist, or regulations where no disciplinary processes apply (s 24). Part 5, which addresses disciplinary action, expressly does not apply to persons mentioned in s 11(1)(c) or s 13(1)(c) (contractors, volunteers, students), excluding those groups from the Act’s disciplinary part (s 23A).

The Act gives responsible decision‑making authority to named officers and bodies who control approval and review of codes and standards: the commissioner prepares and reviews the public service agencies’ code and approves agency standards of practice (s 12A, s 12C, s 12F); the Premier approves the public service agencies’ code (s 12B); the commissioner must have regard to consultation statements when approving standards (s 12F(3)); responsible authorities approve entity codes and must consider the consultation statement (s 17(2)‑(3)). Those approval powers do not, however, equate to enforcement sanctions; rather they gate when codes/standards take effect, and create administrative compliance obligations on agencies.

Regulation‑making power rests with the Governor in Council (s 25). The Act does not specify the content of potential regulations; the power exists to flesh out procedures or disciplinary mechanisms if the executive so chooses. The Act provides reporting obligations (s 12M, s 23), and failure to meet those may attract consequences under the statutes requiring annual reports for agencies, but the Act itself does not state penalties for non‑publication, non‑training or non‑reporting.

Practically, enforcement therefore depends on the disciplinary regimes of other statutes and the internal human resources or employment frameworks that apply to the official in question. Where there are no established disciplinary processes, the Act points to the possibility of regulations (s 24(d)), but the text gives no detail on prescribed sanctions or processes; the Act confines itself to setting up the standards and the administrative duties to implement and report on them.

The Act frames itself to operate alongside and through other statutory regimes rather than to supplant them. It binds all persons, including the State (s 3), indicating a general public law overlay. The Act recognises existing statutory independence: s 8(2) expressly provides that the duty to operate within the framework of Ministerial responsibility does not limit a public service agency, public sector entity or public official from acting independently if independence is required by legislation or government policy, or is a customary feature of the work of the agency, entity or official (s 8(2)). This preserves statutory or policy‑based independence for bodies such as statutory authorities where that independence is otherwise mandated.

Disciplinary enforcement is explicitly routed to other statutes. Section 24 identifies the Public Sector Act 2022 as the mechanism for disciplinary action for public service officers; local government legislation applies for local government employees; and existing disciplinary processes apply where they exist; regulations may fill gaps where no disciplinary processes exist (s 24). Section 12M(1) requires the commissioner to ensure that each report of the commission under the Public Sector Act 2022, section 207(2)(i) includes a statement about code implementation, creating a statutory link with reporting obligations under the Public Sector Act 2022 (s 12M(1)). That cross‑reference creates reporting and accountability touchpoints between the two Acts.

Codes and standards may include references to Acts applying to public officials in performing their official functions (s 12(3)(f); s 14(3)(f)), making the codes a node that integrates the requirements of other statutes into conduct standards. The Act contemplates that codes may explain the application of ethics principles “within the legal framework” (see s 9(1)(c) on managing information as openly as practicable within the legal framework), signalling that operationalisation of ethics must account for other legal constraints (privacy, FOI, confidentiality, statutory duties, etc.) although those other statutes are not named in the provided text.

Regulation‑making power under s 25 provides a mechanism to fill details consistent with other laws. Transitional provisions (ss 26-27) retain pre‑existing approved codes in force for a specified transition period, indicating an interaction with pre‑existing instruments and the need for continuity where other laws or contracts depend on those codes. Finally, the Act contemplates consultation with industrial organisations and other representative entities when preparing codes and standards (s 12A(2), s 12E(3), s 16), which can have interactional impacts where enterprise agreements or employment law create parallel obligations for workplace conduct and discipline.

The text provided contains inline amendment annotations and insertion notes for many sections. These annotations, as recorded in the source, indicate when particular sections were amended, inserted or otherwise altered. The notable annotations in the supplied text include:

• s 4: amended 2010 No. 37 s 82 (annotation: s 4 amd 2010 No. 37 s 82).
• s 5: substituted 2010 No. 37 s 83 (s 5 sub 2010 No. 37 s 83).
• s 6, s 7, s 8: all show substitution or amendment annotations referencing 2010 No. 37 s 83 (s 6 sub 2010 No. 37 s 83; s 7 sub 2010 No. 37 s 83; s 8 sub 2010 No. 37 s 83).
• s 9: amended 2009 No. 52 s 115 sch 1 and later substituted 2010 No. 37 s 83 (s 9 amd 2009 No. 52 s 115 sch 1; sub 2010 No. 37 s 83).
• s 10: previous original s 10 omitted and present s 10 inserted 2010 No. 37 s 85 (s 10 prev s 10 om 2010 No. 37 s 83; pres s 10 ins 2010 No. 37 s 85).
• s 11: previous s 11 omitted and present s 11 inserted 2010 No. 37 s 85 (s 11 prev s 11 om 2010 No. 37 s 83; pres s 11 ins 2010 No. 37 s 85).
• s 12: substituted 2010 No. 37 s 85 and amended 2022 No. 34 s 365 sch 3 (s 12 sub 2010 No. 37 s 85; amd 2022 No. 34 s 365 sch 3).
• ss 12A-12G, 12H-12M: were inserted in 2010 (ins 2010 No. 37 s 85) with various later amendments noted; specifically, s 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D, 12E, 12F, 12G, 12H, 12I, 12J, 12K, 12L, 12M show insertion in 2010 No. 37 s 85; many of these sections also show 2022 No. 34 s 365 sch 3 amendments (notably s 12A, 12B, 12E, 12F, s 12M), and s 12K has an additional substitution note sub 2012 No. 22 s 21.
• s 13: substituted 2010 No. 37 s 85 (s 13 sub 2010 No. 37 s 85).
• s 14: amended 2010 No. 37 s 86 (s 14 amd 2010 No. 37 s 86).
• s 16: amended 2010 No. 37 s 88 (s 16 amd 2010 No. 37 s 88).
• s 17: amended 2010 No. 37 s 89 (s 17 amd 2010 No. 37 s 89).
• s 18: amended 2010 No. 37 s 91 (s 18 amd 2010 No. 37 s 91).
• s 19: substituted 2010 No. 37 s 93 (s 19 sub 2010 No. 37 s 93).
• s 20: amended 2010 No. 37 s 94 (s 20 amd 2010 No. 37 s 94).
• s 21: amended 2010 No. 37 s 95 (s 21 amd 2010 No. 37 s 95).
• s 22: amended 2010 No. 37 s 96 (s 22 amd 2010 No. 37 s 96).
• s 23: amended 2010 No. 37 s 97 (s 23 amd 2010 No. 37 s 97).
• s 23A: inserted 2010 No. 37 s 100 (s 23A ins 2010 No. 37 s 100).
• s 24: shows multiple amendments over time including 1996 No. 37 s 147 sch 2; 2009 No. 25 s 83 sch; 2010 No. 37 s 101; 2022 No. 34 s 365 sch 3 (s 24 amd 1996 No. 37 s 147 sch 2 ; 2009 No. 25 s 83 sch ; 2010 No. 37 s 101 ; 2022 No. 34 s 365 sch 3).
• s 25: previously section renumberings and insertions are annotated (prev s 25 ins 1999 No. 55 s 7; amd 2007 No. 36 s 2 sch; om 2009 No. 52 s 115 sch 1; pres s 25 (prev s 44 (orig s 25)) renum 1999 No. 55 s 6 ; 2009 No. 52 s 115 sch 1).
• Transitional provisions (ss 26-27) were inserted 2010 No. 37 s 103 and earlier insertion/omission annotations show parts of the Act were altered 1999, 2005, 2009 as recorded in the source: for example s 26 prev s 26 ins 1999 No. 55 s 7; pres s 26 ins 2010 No. 37 s 103; s 27 prev s 27 ins 1999 No. 55 s 7; amd 2009 No. 25 s 79; pres s 27 ins 2010 No. 37 s 103.

These annotations reflect the changes recorded inside the provided text. The source does not supply the content of the amending Acts beyond the annotation references, so the summary confines itself to identifying which sections the source shows as inserted, substituted or amended and the cited instrument and year as annotated in the text.

The supplied Act text contains no case law citations, judicial interpretations, or litigation summaries. The source annotates amendments and insertions, but it does not record any adjudicated disputes, reported decisions, or judicial commentary on the Act’s provisions. Consequently, there is no litigation history provided within this material to summarise or to use as authority for interpretation.

Practitioners should note that the Act cross‑references and directs enforcement to other statutory regimes (for example, the Public Sector Act 2022 and local government legislation at s 24) where disciplinary processes may produce case law. However, such litigation outcomes are outside the Acts and annotations reproduced here and are not included in the supplied text. Where judicial interpretation or administrative tribunal decisions are relevant to application, those materials must be identified and analysed from external sources; they are not contained in the provided statute compilation.

Several features of the Act create practical pitfalls for agencies, officials and third parties that the text itself reveals.

1. Values versus enforceable obligations. The Act declares ethics values apply to agencies and officials (s 5) but expressly states the ethics values “are not of themselves legally enforceable” (s 5). At the same time, the Act makes compliance mandatory with approved codes and standards (s 12H; s 18). The practical consequence is that ethics values provide interpretive guidance but do not by themselves create sanctions; obligations arise only when those values are translated into an approved code of conduct or an approved standard of practice.

2. Gateways to application. An approved code or standard does not apply until approved by the designated decision‑maker: the Premier for the public service agencies’ code (s 12B(4)); the commissioner for a public service agency’s standard of practice (s 12F(4)); and the responsible authority for an entity’s code (s 17(4)). Preparation without approval leaves no enforceable instrument.

3. Divergent preparation and approval processes. Public service agencies are handled centrally (commissioner prepares, Premier approves , s 12A‑12B), while public sector entities prepare codes locally and the responsible authority approves (s 15, s 17). Standards of practice for a public service agency are prepared by the agency and approved by the commissioner (s 12D‑12F). These differing tracks mean timelines, consultation obligations and administrative workstreams are not uniform across the public sector.

4. Consultation statements are material to approval. Both s 12B and s 12F require a written statement on consultations to accompany proposed instruments; the decision‑maker must have regard to it. Failure to document consultation could constitute a defect in the approval process or at least a procedural omission in the materials required for approval.

5. Scope of persons covered and disciplinary exclusion. Codes may be made to apply to contractors, volunteers and students (s 11(1)(c), s 13(1)(c)). But Part 5 (disciplinary action) does not apply to these persons (s 23A). That creates a formal asymmetry: non‑employees can be subject to the code’s standards (and civil contractual remedies) but are excluded from the Act’s disciplinary machinery.

6. Enforcement is external. The Act delegates disciplinary consequences to other legislation or processes (s 24) and provides no in‑Act penalties. An entity that relies on this Act for deterrence and discipline must ensure the relevant disciplinary mechanisms (employment law, local government law or contractual remedies) are available and fit for purpose.

7. Reporting, publication and training obligations are precise. Chief executives must ensure reasonable access (s 12I/19), publish copies for inspection (s 12J/20), provide education and training at induction and regularly (s 12K/21), and include implementation statements in annual reports (s 12M/23). Failure to meet these administrative duties could attract scrutiny under annual reporting regimes even if the Act itself does not specify penalties.

8. Review timelines. The commissioner must review the public service agencies’ code within one year of approval and then at least every two years (s 12C). Chief executives must review agency standards within a year and then every two years (s 12G). These deadlines require active governance to avoid lapses and to ensure any approvals remain current.

9. Interaction with statutory independence. Section 8(2) protects legislatively or policy‑based independence, so applying codes and standards that could be read to impinge on an agency’s statutory functions requires careful calibration to avoid conflict with other legislation or government policy.

10. Transitional provisions. For entities and agencies with pre‑existing approved codes, ss 26-27 preserve those codes for specified transition periods. Practitioners must check whether those transitional periods remain relevant for their circumstances; the text records set transition end dates (1 July 2011 and 1 January 2011 respectively), which may already be passed, but the presence of transitional saving provisions is a detail to press when assessing continuity.

The Act lays out a stepwise compliance architecture for public service agencies and public sector entities. Below is a practical checklist mapped to the statute that agencies and entities should follow to meet the Act’s substantive and administrative obligations.

1. Determine the applicable instrument type and decision‑maker:

   • If you are a public service agency, the commissioner prepares the statewide code (s 12A) and your agency may prepare a standard of practice (s 12D-12E), which requires commissioner approval (s 12F).
   • If you are a public sector entity, the chief executive must ensure a code is prepared (s 15) and the entity’s responsible authority approves it (s 17).

2. Prepare the code or standard with required consultations:

   • For public service agency codes, the commissioner must take reasonable steps to consult with agencies, public officials, industrial organisations and other appropriate entities (s 12A(2)).
   • For an agency’s standard of practice prepared by the agency, the chief executive must ensure reasonable consultation with public officials and representatives (s 12E(3)).
   • For public sector entity codes, the chief executive must ensure reasonable consultation with the officials to whom the code will apply, industrial organisations and other appropriate entities (s 16).

3. Document consultations:

   • Compile a written statement detailing the nature and extent of consultations and their outcomes to accompany the proposed code or standard (s 12B(2); s 12F(2); s 17(2)). The approving authority must have regard to this statement (s 12B(3); s 12F(3); s 17(3)).

4. Seek and secure approval before application:

   • Do not put a code or standard into operation until the Premier (for the public service agency code), the commissioner (for agency standards) or the responsible authority (for entity codes) has approved it (s 12B(4); s 12F(4); s 17(4)).

5. Ensure the code contains necessary material:

   • Include, as needed, express conduct obligations, explanatory material, guidelines, examples and references to other Acts (s 12(2)‑(3); s 14(2)‑(3)). Ensure the text of any conduct obligations aligns with relevant employment law and other statutory duties.

6. Make the code and standards accessible and published:

   • Ensure each public official and applicable person has reasonable access to the ethics principles and values, applicable standards and any standard of practice (s 12I; s 19).
   • Publish and keep copies available for inspection by any person (s 12J; s 20). Be prepared to make copies available to the public.

7. Provide education and training:

   • Provide ethics training on induction and at regular intervals covering the operation of the Act, the application of ethics principles, the contents of the approved code and rights and obligations in relation to contraventions (s 12K; s 21). Track attendance and content to show compliance.

8. Embed ethics in procedures and practices:

   • Ensure administrative procedures and management practices have proper regard to the Act, the ethics principles and values, the approved code and any standard of practice (s 12L; s 22). Update policy documents, decision‑making templates and procurement practices accordingly.

9. Establish or confirm disciplinary pathways:

   • Confirm which disciplinary framework applies to officials (Public Sector Act 2022 for public service officers; local government legislation for local government employees; otherwise existing disciplinary processes or regulations) and ensure human resources and legal teams know the applicable processes referenced by s 24. For subjects outside Part 5 (contractors, volunteers, students), ensure contractual or other arrangements provide appropriate remedies and conduct governance (s 23A).

10. Reporting and review:

    • Include implementation statements in annual reports covering code implementation, training and procedure changes (s 12M(2); s 23). For public service agency codes, expect the commissioner’s report under the Public Sector Act 2022 to include a statement about implementation (s 12M(1)). Schedule reviews: commissioner must review the public service agencies’ code within one year of approval and then no later than every two years (s 12C); chief executives must review standards of practice within one year of approval and then at least every two years (s 12G).

11. Maintain version control and approvals trail:

    • Keep records of drafts, consultation papers, written consultation statements, approval letters and the dates approvals take effect. Because a code or standard does not apply until approved (s 12B(4); s 12F(4); s 17(4)), record the effective date carefully.

12. Align codes with other legal obligations:

    • When drafting conduct obligations, cross‑check other statutes and legal obligations that apply to officials. The Act anticipates codes may reference other Acts (s 12(3)(f); s 14(3)(f)) and recognises that managing information must be “as openly as practicable within the legal framework” (s 9(1)(c)). Ensure codes do not conflict with statutory independence protected by s 8(2).

13. Consider scope for non‑officials and contractual terms:

    • If the entity intends to apply the code to contractors, volunteers or students, ensure contracts and agreements give effect to the code’s requirements, keeping in mind Part 5 disciplinary mechanisms will not apply to those persons (s 11(1)(c); s 13(1)(c); s 23A).

14. Use the regulation power where gaps exist:

    • Monitor any regulations made under s 25 that flesh out disciplinary procedures or impose additional duties; incorporate them into compliance plans.

Following these steps, with documentary control over consultation and approvals, published access, structured training and scheduled reviews, will align an agency or entity with the compliance architecture the Act demands.