Declaration of interests – public sector employees excluding chief executives (Directive 03/24)

1. Purpose

1. This directive provides:
   1. for matters that must be disclosed by a public sector employee when directed by their chief executive to provide a statement about their interests (a declaration of interests)
   2. information on when an employee must provide a revised version of their declaration where interests change
   3. detail on when and how disclosures must be made, including for an initial declaration and a declaration made in relation to a change of interest
   4. specific requirements for storage of, and access to, disclosures made in accordance with this directive.

2. Commencement

2. The directive commences on 14 June 2024.
3. Commission Chief Executive Directive 03/10: Declarations of Interests – Public Service Employees (other than chief executives) is repealed and superseded by this directive.

3. Authorising provisions

3. Sections 88 and 222 of the Public Sector Act 2022 (the Act).

4. Application

4. This directive applies to:
   1. public sector employees as provided for in section 12 of the Act, other than a chief executive of a public sector entity
   2. public sector entities as provided for in section 8 of the Act
   3. chief executives of public sector entities as provided for in sections 16 and 17 of the Act, but only in their capacity as a chief executive of a public sector entity or of public sector employees.
5. This directive does not require public sector employees who are chief executives as provided for in sections 16 and 17 of the Act to disclose conflicts of interests or provide declarations of interests.

5. Principles

5. Chief executives are responsible for making decisions under the provisions of chapter 3, part 8, division 2 (Conflicts of interest).
6. In doing so, chief executives must, in accordance with section 41 of the Act:
   1. observe the public sector principles
   2. comply with all relevant laws, industrial instruments and directives.
7. When making decisions, chief executives must consider relevant obligations under the Act, including responsibilities related to establishing a high-performing, apolitical public sector by effective stewardship that:
   1. maintains accountability, impartiality and integrity, while supporting the public interest, and when giving advice to the government
   2. ensures public resources are managed efficiently and their use is accountable.
8. Under the Human Rights Act 2019 decision makers must:
   1. act and make decisions in a way that is compatible with human rights
   2. consider human rights when making a decision under the Act and Public Sector Commissioner (Commissioner) directives.
9. Under chapter 1, part 3 (Reframing of State’s relationship with Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples) of the Act public sector entities have a unique role in supporting the State government in reframing its relationship with Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A chief executive of a reframing entity is responsible for ensuring the entity fulfils its role when applying and making decisions under the Act and Commissioner directives.
10. In addition to any specific requirements in this directive, chief executives of public sector entities are required to consider ways to support accessibility and inclusion for employees when undertaking processes, or applying provisions, under this directive.

6. Interpretation of directions

6. The requirements set out in these directions are binding and must be followed.
7. The Act sets out employee responsibilities and chief executive powers regarding declarations of interests under section 88 and conflicts of interests under section 89.
8. This directive supports transparency, impartiality, integrity and confidence in the public sector and is to be interpreted and applied in a manner consistent with that purpose.
9. Declarations of interest relate to the interests of an employee and the interests of the employee’s partner and/or dependants that create an actual, perceived, or potential conflict of interest.
10. The employee’s duty and the chief executive’s power should be read in conjunction with the relevant authorising provision/s of the Act.

7. Reframing the relationship with Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples

7. Chief executives of reframing entities must consider the responsibilities under section 21 of the Act relating to supporting a reframed relationship with Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This includes but is not limited to:
   1. promoting cultural safety and cultural capability at all levels of the public sector, including through cultural capability training
   2. working in partnership with Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples to actively promote, include and act in a way that aligns with their perspectives, in particular when making decisions directly affecting them
   3. promoting a fair and inclusive public sector that supports a sense of dignity and belonging for Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
8. In the context of promoting cultural safety when employees are required to declare interests or disclose conflicts of interests, the matters a chief executive may consider include, but are not limited to:
   1. ensuring managers have a sufficient level of cultural capability to provide necessary support and advice when Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples are required to make declarations of interest or disclose conflicts
   2. ensuring processes are culturally safe
   3. ensuring support and communication aimed at educating all employees in relation to declarations of interest or disclosure of conflicts is appropriate
   4. considering and documenting potential elements of conscious or unconscious bias that may impact Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples when required to declare interest or disclose conflicts, including mitigation strategies.

8. Role of the Queensland Integrity Commissioner in providing advice on conflicts of interest

8. Employees who are senior executives or other designated persons as defined under the Integrity Act 2009, should inform themselves of the role of the Queensland Integrity Commissioner and may seek advice on any ethics or integrity issues including actual, perceived or potential conflicts of interest as they arise, or change.
9. Chief executives of public service entities may ask for the Integrity Commissioner’s advice on an ethics or integrity issue involving a designated person employed in the entity (for example a senior executive officer employed in the entity).

9. Conflict of interest

9. A conflict of interest occurs when an employee has a personal interest (including a duty) that conflicts, or may conflict, with the discharge of the employee’s duties.
10. A conflict of interest may arise from:
    1. an interest (actual conflict)
    2. when it might reasonably appear to others that personal interests could impact the performance of official duties (perceived conflict)
    3. a current interest where it is foreseeable that a conflict may arise in the future (potential conflict).
11. A conflict of interest includes a situation that may cause, or may be perceived as having the ability to cause, an employee to put their personal interests, whether consciously or not, ahead of acting in the interests of their duties as an employee.
12. For a personal interest to give rise to a conflict, there needs to be a logical connection between an interest of the employee and a relevant, official matter being considered by the employee, that can affect or be perceived to affect the decision to be made, action to be taken, or compromise judgment in relation to the matter.
13. Employees are responsible for disclosing their interests that create an actual, perceived or potential conflict of interest.
14. An employee who has an interest that creates an actual, perceived or potential conflict of interest:
    1. must disclose the circumstance of the conflict to their chief executive as soon as practicable after the relevant facts come to the employee’s knowledge
    2. must not take action or further action concerning a matter that is, or may be, affected by the conflict unless authorised by the employee’s chief executive
    3. must work constructively with their agency to put appropriate mitigation strategies in place.
15. An employee’s chief executive may direct the employee to resolve an actual, perceived or potential conflict between an interest of the employee and the employee’s duties.

10. Declaration of Interests

Direction by chief executive

10. If directed by a chief executive to prepare a declaration of interests, the employee must provide the declaration as soon as possible after the direction is received, or if the declaration relates to a revised declaration of interests, within the period stated by the chief executive.
11. Chief executives may develop policies requiring particular employees, or classes of employees (such as senior officers, senior executives or their equivalents), to provide declarations of interests at stated intervals (such as annually to coincide with the end of each financial year).
12. If a chief executive decides that particular classes of employees should provide declarations of interests at stated intervals, the chief executive should direct them to prepare a declaration of interests at the particular time (for instance at the end of the financial year). An employee who is the recipient of such a direction, must provide the declaration as soon as possible after the direction is made.

Employee and employer responsibilities

13. Employees should familiarise themselves with information and guidance material released from time to time by the Integrity Commissioner, the Public Sector Commission and the Crime and Corruption Commission regarding conflict of interest issues.
14. Consistent with section 40(2) of the Act, it is expected that managers take reasonable steps to ensure employees under their management are aware of the work performance and personal conduct expected of employees. This includes observing the ethics principles of the Public Sector Ethics Act 1994 and complying with any relevant code of conduct made in accordance with that Act.

Information to be declared

15. When an employee is directed by their chief executive to provide a declaration of interests, the following obligations apply:
    1. the employee is responsible for fully declaring their interests that create an actual, perceived or potential conflict of interest
    2. the employee is responsible for disclosing the interests of their partner and/or dependants but only if those interests create an actual, perceived or potential conflict of interest
    3. the declaration must be provided in a form approved by the Commissioner
    4. in determining matters for disclosure, employees are to be guided by section 88 of the Act and information included in this directive
    5. employees must also consider the guidance material issued by the Commissioner referred to at clause 11.
16. Interests to be considered by employees as to whether they create an actual, perceived or potential conflict of interest include the following:
    1. shareholdings in public and private companies
    2. family and business trusts and nominee companies
    3. bonds, debentures and like investments
    4. savings and investment accounts
    5. business partnerships
    6. real estate
    7. directorships in, or other employment by a public or private company or other business entity (e.g. sole trader)
    8. other assets
    9. other substantial sources of income
    10. liabilities
    11. organisational memberships (this excludes membership of an industrial organisation)
    12. other interests.
17. Other interests include any other matter an employee, their partner, or dependant has an interest in, of a pecuniary or non-pecuniary nature, that the employee identifies as presenting an actual, perceived or potential conflict of interest.
18. Other interests may include the declaration of a close family member (other than a dependant or partner), a close personal associate or a former partner, where that relationship creates an actual, perceived or potential conflict of interest.
19. Where an employee declares a close family member, a close personal associate or a former partner under other interests, the employee’s declaration should provide:
    1. the name of the person included under other interests,
    2. brief detail on the nature of the relationship with the employee or the employee’s partner or dependant
    3. why the relationship presents a conflict, including a potential or perceived conflict of interest.

Changes in interests or duties

20. This clause applies to an employee who, at the direction of their chief executive, provided a declaration of interests and subsequent to this, the interests of the employee have changed to create an additional conflict of interest or change an existing conflict of interest.
21. A change in duties may also result in a change to information that must be declared. Where an employee has previously provided a declaration of interests and the employee’s official responsibilities change, the employee should consider the interests as mentioned above and whether as a consequence of the change in duties, any of the employee’s existing interests, including those of the employee’s partner and/or dependants warrant further disclosure.
22. If the interests of the employee change in a way described above, the employee should consider whether this results in them being required to disclose a conflict of interest to their chief executive in accordance with section 89 of the Act.

Chief executives may direct employees to provide revised declarations of interests

23. A chief executive may direct an employee to provide a revised declaration of interests if the employee’s interests have changed since a declaration was last provided.
24. The chief executive may decide if a revised declaration of interests must be provided within a stated period (for instance one month from the employee receiving the direction) or at a stated interval (for instance annually).

Employee duties in response to a chief executive direction

25. An employee who is directed to provide a revised declaration of interests, must provide the revised declaration in a form approved by the Commissioner, to the employee’s chief executive within the stated period, or at the interval stated by the chief executive.

11. Guidance material

11. Any guidance material issued by the Commissioner, which is identified as guidance material for the purpose of this directive and which is published on the Public Sector Commission’s website, or in another publicly available way, must be considered when discharging obligations and requirements under this directive.

12. Records and reporting

12. The chief executive must ensure that completed declarations of interests are securely filed.
13. Upon the employee ceasing employment with the public sector entity, their declaration of interest documentation will be securely filed on the employee’s personal record.

Confidentiality in records

14. Information obtained under this directive must be maintained in the strictest confidence and must be managed in accordance with chapter 8, part 3 (Confidentiality) of the Act and other relevant legislation including the Information Privacy Act 2009.
15. Unless required by law, access to declarations of interests is limited to the employee, the employee’s chief executive, a person who has delegated authority to obtain information in relation to this directive, or a person who is required to access declarations of interest in the performance of that person’s duties.

13. Transitional provisions

13. Section 305 of the Act sets out the transitional arrangements for persons who had given a statement under s185 of the Public Service Act 2008 (including if section 185 applied to the person through the Public Service Regulation 2018 as an applied provision) and immediately before commencement of the Act that statement was still in effect. From the commencement of the Act, the person is taken to have given the statement under section 88.
14. If an employee was required to provide a declaration of interests, a revised declaration of interests or disclose a conflict of interests under the former directive and had not made that declaration or disclosure prior to the commencement of this directive, the employee is required to provide the declaration or disclosure in accordance with this directive.

Close family member or close personal associate may include an adult child or parent of the employee making the declaration, or another person with whom the employee making the declaration socialises or associated with, where this relationship creates an actual, perceived or potential conflict of interest

Commissioner is the Public Sector Commissioner

Conflict of interest – see clauses 9.1 to 9.4

Dependant includes any of the following (it is not necessary for the employee to provide details on how the dependant became the employee’s dependant):

• a biological child of the employee who is under the age of eighteen years if the employee assumes primary financial responsibility for the person and/or a significant responsibility related to the care and rearing of that person
• a child of the employee, including but not limited to an adopted child, a foster child, a child of a kinship arrangement, or a stepchild, if the child is under the age of eighteen years
• another person who is under the age of eighteen years if the employee assumes primary financial responsibility for the person
• another person who is under the age of eighteen years if the employee assumes significant responsibility related to the care and rearing of that person

Partner includes a spouse, a de facto spouse and a civil partner