Queensland Bills Queensland Bills[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]
This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Queensland
PUBLIC SECTOR ETHICS
AMENDMENT BILL 1999
Queensland
PUBLIC SECTOR ETHICS AMENDMENT
BILL 1999
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section Page
PART 1--PRELIMINARY
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
PART 2--AMENDMENT OF PUBLIC SECTOR ETHICS ACT
1994
2 Act amended in pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3 Amendment of title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4 Amendment of s 2 (Definitions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
5 Renumbering of pt 7 (Miscellaneous) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
6 Renumbering of s 25 (Regulation-making power) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
7 Insertion of new pt 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
PART 7--INTEGRITY COMMISSIONER
Division 1--Purpose
25 Purpose of pt 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Division 2--Integrity commissioner
26 Integrity commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Division 3--Designated persons
27 Who are designated persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Division 4--Functions of integrity commissioner
28 Functions of integrity commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Division 5--Advice
29 Request for advice by designated persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
30 Designated persons about whom advice may be sought . . . . . . . . . . 7
31 Process for seeking advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2
Public Sector Ethics Amendment
32 Issues to which integrity commissioner must or may have
regard when giving advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Division 6--Confidentiality and protection
33 Secrecy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
34 Authorisation of particular disclosures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
35 Limited protection to designated persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
36 Protection for integrity commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Division 7--General
37 General provisions about integrity commissioner's appointment . . . 12
38 Terms of appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
39 Leave of absence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
40 Resignation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
41 Termination of appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
42 Acting integrity commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
43 Report to Premier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
8 Insertion of new schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
SCHEDULE
DICTIONARY
PART 3--AMENDMENT OF FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
ACT 1992
9 Act amended in pt 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
10 Amendment of sch 1 (Secrecy provisions giving exemption) . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1999
A BILL
FOR
An Act to amend the Public Sector Ethics Act 1994, and for other
purposes
s1 4 s4
Public Sector Ethics Amendment
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
ART 1--PRELIMINARY 2
P
title 3
Short
Clause 1. This Act may be cited as the Public Sector Ethics Amendment Act 4
1999. 5
PART 2--AMENDMENT OF PUBLIC SECTOR 6
ETHICS ACT 1994 7
amended in pt 2 8
Act
Clause 2. This part amends the Public Sector Ethics Act 1994. 9
of title 10
Amendment
Clause 3. Title, after `conduct'-- 11
insert-- 12
`, and to provide for an integrity commissioner'. 13
of s 2 (Definitions) 14
Amendment
Clause 4.(1) Section 2, `In this Act--' 15
omit, insert-- 16
`The dictionary in the schedule defines particular words used in this 17
Act.'. 18
(2) Section 2, definitions-- 19
relocate to the dictionary. 20
s5 5 s7
Public Sector Ethics Amendment
of pt 7 (Miscellaneous) 1
Renumbering
Clause 5. Part 7-- 2
renumber as part 8. 3
of s 25 (Regulation-making power) 4
Renumbering
Clause 6. Section 25-- 5
renumber as section 44. 6
of new pt 7 7
Insertion
Clause 7. After part 6-- 8
insert-- 9
`PART 7--INTEGRITY COMMISSIONER 10
`Division 1--Purpose of part 11
of pt 7 12
`Purpose
`25. This purpose of this part is to help Ministers and others to avoid 13
conflicts of interest and in so doing to encourage confidence in public 14
institutions. 15
2--Integrity commissioner 16
`Division
commissioner 17
`Integrity
`26. There is to be a Queensland Integrity Commissioner. 18
s7 6 s7
Public Sector Ethics Amendment
3--Designated persons 1
`Division
are designated persons 2
`Who
`27.(1) Each of the following persons is a "designated person"-- 3
(a) the Premier; 4
(b) a Minister; 5
(c) a Parliamentary Secretary; 6
(d) a government member of a parliamentary committee; 7
(e) a statutory office holder; 8
(f) a chief executive officer of a department of government or a 9
public service office; 10
(g) a senior executive officer or senior officer employed in a 11
department of government or public service office; 12
(h) a chief executive officer of a government entity or a senior 13
executive equivalent employed in a government entity who is 14
nominated by the Minister responsible for administering the 15
entity; 16
(i) a person employed in the office of a Minister, or engaged, to give 17
advice to the Minister; 18
(j) a person employed in the office of a Parliamentary Secretary, or 19
engaged, to give advice to the Parliamentary Secretary; 20
(k) without limiting paragraph (i) or (j), a person, or a person within a 21
class of person, nominated by a Minister or Parliamentary 22
Secretary. 23
`(2) A nomination under subsection (1)(h) or (k) must be by signed 24
notice given to the integrity commissioner. 25
s7 7 s7
Public Sector Ethics Amendment
`Division 4--Functions of integrity commissioner 1
of integrity commissioner 2
`Functions
`28. The integrity commissioner has the following functions-- 3
(a) to give advice to designated persons about conflict of interest 4
issues as provided under division 5; 5
(b) to give advice to the Premier, if the Premier asks, on issues 6
concerning ethics and integrity, including standard-setting for 7
issues concerning ethics and integrity; 8
(c) to contribute to public understanding of public integrity standards 9
by contributing to public discussion of policy and practice relevant 10
to the integrity commissioner's functions. 11
`Division 5--Advice 12
for advice by designated persons 13
`Request
`29.(1) The integrity commissioner may give advice about a conflict of 14
interest issue only if-- 15
(a) the person seeking the advice is a designated person; and 16
(b) the person makes a written request for the advice and, if the 17
person is a senior officer, the request is accompanied by a signed 18
authority to seek the advice from the chief executive officer of the 19
department, public service office or government entity in which 20
the person is employed. 21
`(2) In this section-- 22
"senior officer" includes a senior executive officer and senior executive 23
equivalent. 24
persons about whom advice may be sought 25
`Designated
`30.(1) A designated person may seek advice about a conflict of interest 26
issue involving the person. 27
s7 8 s7
Public Sector Ethics Amendment
`(2) The Premier may seek advice about a conflict of interest issue 1
involving any designated person. 2
`(3) A Minister may seek advice about a conflict of interest issue 3
involving a designated person who is-- 4
(a) a statutory office holder whose office is established under an Act 5
administered by the Minister; or 6
(b) the chief executive of a department administered by the Minister; 7
or 8
(c) a chief executive officer of a government entity nominated by the 9
Minister under section 27(1)(h); or 10
(d) mentioned in section 27(1)(i); or 11
(e) nominated by the Minister under section 27(1)(k). 12
`(4) A Parliamentary Secretary may seek advice about a conflict of 13
interest issue involving a designated person who is-- 14
(a) mentioned in section 27(1)(j); or 15
(b) nominated by the Parliamentary Secretary under section 27(1)(k). 16
`(5) The chief executive officer of a department or public service office 17
may seek advice about a conflict of interest issue involving a designated 18
person employed in the department or office. 19
`(6) The chief executive officer of a government entity who is nominated 20
by the Minister under section 27(1)(h) may seek advice about a conflict of 21
interest issue involving a senior executive equivalent who is-- 22
(a) nominated by the Minister under section 27(1)(h); and 23
(b) employed in the entity managed by the chief executive officer. 24
`(7) To remove any doubt, it is declared that advice must not be sought 25
by or about a person who has been, but is not presently, a designated 26
person. 27
for seeking advice 28
`Process
`31.(1) A request for advice under section 30 must disclose all relevant 29
information about the conflict of interest issue for which the advice is 30
sought. 31
s7 9 s7
Public Sector Ethics Amendment
`(2) The integrity commissioner may ask the designated person for 1
further information for the purpose of giving the advice. 2
`(3) The integrity commissioner may refuse to give the advice if the 3
integrity commissioner reasonably believes that-- 4
(a) he or she does not have enough information about the conflict of 5
interest issue to give the advice; or 6
(b) the advice is asked for in circumstances where the giving of the 7
advice would not be in keeping with the purpose of this part. 8
`(4) Advice given under this division must be in writing. 9
to which integrity commissioner must or may have regard 10
`Issues
when giving advice 11
`32. The integrity commissioner when giving advice about a conflict of 12
interest issue to a designated person-- 13
(a) must have regard to the following-- 14
(i) approved codes of conduct; 15
(ii) ethical standards or codes of conduct adopted by the 16
Legislative Assembly by resolution; 17
(iii) ethical standards or codes of conduct approved by the 18
Premier for Ministers; and 19
(b) may have regard to other ethical standards the integrity 20
commissioner considers appropriate. 21
`Division 6--Confidentiality and protection 22
23
`Secrecy
`33.(1) A person must not record, use or disclose information about a 24
conflict of interest issue about anyone that came to the person's knowledge 25
because of the person's involvement in the administration of this part. 26
Maximum penalty--85 penalty units or 1 year's imprisonment. 27
s7 10 s7
Public Sector Ethics Amendment
`(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person's recording, use or 1
disclosure of information if the recording, use or disclosure is-- 2
(a) in the performance of his or her functions under this part; or 3
(b) authorised under this or another Act. 4
`(3) A person who is or has been involved in the administration of this 5
part is not, in any proceeding, compellable to disclose information about a 6
conflict of interest issue about anyone that came to the person's knowledge 7
because of the person's involvement in the administration of this part. 8
of particular disclosures 9
`Authorisation
`34.(1) A relevant document about a conflict of interest issue may be 10
disclosed under subsections (2) to (7). 11
`(2) A person who is or has been a designated person to whom a relevant 12
document relates may disclose the document. 13
`(3) The integrity commissioner may disclose a relevant document to the 14
person who is or has been the designated person to whom the relevant 15
document relates. 16
`(4) The integrity commissioner must give a copy of a relevant document 17
relating to a particular designated person, other than a senior executive 18
officer, senior officer or senior executive equivalent-- 19
(a) to the Premier, if-- 20
(i) the Premier asks for a copy of the document; or 21
(ii) the integrity commissioner reasonably believes that the 22
person has an actual and significant conflict of interest; or 23
(b) to a Minister, if the Minister asks for a copy of the document and 24
the person is a person about whom the Minister may seek advice 25
under section 30(3); or 26
(c) to a Parliamentary Secretary, if the Parliamentary Secretary asks 27
for a copy of the document and the person is a person about 28
whom the Parliamentary Secretary may seek advice under 29
section 30(4). 30
`(5) The integrity commissioner may give a copy of a relevant document 31
to the Premier under subsection (4)(a)(ii) only if-- 32
s7 11 s7
Public Sector Ethics Amendment
(a) the integrity commissioner advises the designated person in 1
writing that the commissioner has the belief mentioned in the 2
provision and is therefore required under subsection (4)(a) to give 3
a copy of the document to the Premier; and 4
(b) the designated person fails to resolve the conflict to the integrity 5
commissioner's satisfaction within 7 days after being given the 6
advice mentioned in paragraph (a). 7
`(6) The integrity commissioner must give a copy of a relevant document 8
relating to a particular designated person to the chief executive officer of a 9
department or public service office if-- 10
(a) the chief executive officer asks for a copy of the document; and 11
(b) the person is a person about whom the chief executive officer 12
may seek advice under section 30(5). 13
`(7) The integrity commissioner must give a copy of a relevant document 14
relating to a particular designated person to the chief executive officer of a 15
government entity who is nominated by the Minister under section 27(1)(h) 16
if-- 17
(a) the chief executive officer asks for a copy of the document; and 18
(b) the person is a person about whom the chief executive officer 19
may seek advice under section 30(6). 20
`(8) To remove any doubt, it is declared that the integrity commissioner 21
must not disclose a relevant document relating to a person who has been, 22
but is not presently, a designated person, other than under subsection (3). 23
`(9) In this section-- 24
"designated person to whom the relevant documents relate" means the 25
designated person involved in a conflict of interest issue and to whom 26
the relevant documents relate. 27
"relevant document", for a conflict of interest issue, means each of the 28
following documents-- 29
(a) the request for advice; 30
(b) any further information requested by the integrity commissioner 31
under section 31(2) and given to the integrity commissioner; 32
(c) the advice given by the integrity commissioner about the issue. 33
s7 12 s7
Public Sector Ethics Amendment
protection to designated persons 1
`Limited
`35.(1) This section applies if a designated person-- 2
(a) asks under this part for the integrity commissioner's advice about 3
a conflict of interest issue involving the designated person; and 4
(b) discloses all relevant information about the issue to the integrity 5
commissioner when seeking the advice; and 6
(c) does an act to resolve the conflict substantially in accordance with 7
the integrity commissioner's advice on the issue. 8
`(2) The designated person is not liable in a civil proceeding or under an 9
administrative process for the act taken by the person to resolve the conflict. 10
`(3) To remove any doubt, it is declared that subsection (2) does not 11
affect the designated person's liability for an act or omission done or made 12
in connection with the conflict of interest issue before the person receives 13
the integrity commissioner's advice. 14
for integrity commissioner 15
`Protection
`36. The integrity commissioner is not liable in a civil proceeding or 16
under an administrative process for an act or omission done or made by the 17
integrity commissioner acting in good faith for the purposes of this part. 18
`Division 7--General 19
provisions about integrity commissioner's appointment 20
`General
`37.(1) The integrity commissioner is to be appointed by the Governor in 21
Council. 22
`(2) A person is qualified for appointment as the integrity commissioner 23
if the person has knowledge, experience, personal qualities and standing 24
within the community suitable to the office. 25
`(3) Subject to sections 40 and 41, the integrity commissioner holds 26
office for the term, not longer than 5 years, stated in the instrument of 27
appointment. 28
s7 13 s7
Public Sector Ethics Amendment
`(4) The integrity commissioner is to be appointed under this Act, and 1
not under the Public Service Act 1996. 2
of appointment 3
`Terms
`38.(1) The integrity commissioner is to be paid the remuneration and 4
allowances decided by the Governor in Council. 5
`(2) The integrity commissioner holds office on the terms decided by the 6
Governor in Council, to the extent the terms are not otherwise provided for 7
by this Act. 8
of absence 9
`Leave
`39. The Minister may grant leave of absence to the integrity 10
commissioner on the terms the Minister considers appropriate. 11
12
`Resignation
`40. The integrity commissioner may resign by signed notice given to the 13
Minister. 14
of appointment 15
`Termination
`41. The Governor in Council may terminate the appointment of the 16
integrity commissioner if the integrity commissioner-- 17
(a) can not satisfactorily perform the integrity commissioner's duties; 18
or 19
(b) is convicted of an indictable offence; or 20
(c) is guilty of misconduct of a kind that could warrant dismissal 21
from the public service if the integrity commissioner were a 22
public service officer; or 23
(d) is absent, without the Minister's leave and without reasonable 24
excuse, for 14 consecutive days or 28 days in any year. 25
s8 14 s8
Public Sector Ethics Amendment
integrity commissioner 1
`Acting
`42. The Governor in Council may appoint a person to act as integrity 2
commissioner-- 3
(a) during a vacancy in the office; or 4
(b) during any period, or during all periods, when the integrity 5
commissioner is absent from duty or from the State or, for 6
another reason, can not perform the duties of the office. 7
to Premier 8
`Report
`43.(1) The integrity commissioner must, as soon as practicable after the 9
end of each financial year, give the Premier a written report about the 10
performance of the commissioner's functions for the financial year. 11
`(2) The report must be in general terms and must not contain 12
information likely to identify individuals who sought the commissioner's 13
advice about a conflict of interest issue.'. 14
of new schedule 15
Insertion
Clause 8. After section 44, as renumbered-- 16
insert-- 17
`SCHEDULE 18
`DICTIONARY 19
section 2 20
"conflict of interest issue", involving a person, means a issue about a 21
conflict between the person's personal interests and the person's 22
official duties. 23
"designated person" see section 27. 24
s8 15 s8
Public Sector Ethics Amendment
"government entity" has the meaning given by the Public Service Act 1
1996, section 21, but does not include a department or a public service 2
office. 3
"government member", of a parliamentary committee, means a member 4
of the Legislative Assembly-- 5
(a) who is a member of a political party recognised in the Legislative 6
Assembly as being in government; or 7
(b) who was appointed to the committee on the nomination of a 8
member of a political party recognised in the Legislative 9
Assembly as being in government. 10
" information", in part 7, includes a document. 11
"integrity commissioner" means the Queensland Integrity Commissioner. 12
"parliamentary committee" means a committee of the Legislative 13
Assembly. 14
"Parliamentary Secretary" means a member of the Legislative Assembly 15
appointed as a Parliamentary Secretary under the Constitution Act 16
1867, section 57. 17
"public service office" means an entity declared under the Public Service 18
Act 1996, section 17, to be a public service office. 19
"remuneration" includes salary. 20
"senior executive equivalent" means an employee, other than a chief 21
executive officer, of a government entity whose remuneration is equal 22
to or greater than the remuneration payable to a senior officer. 23
"senior executive officer" means an officer, other than a chief executive, 24
employed under the Public Service Act 1996 as a senior executive. 25
s9 16 s 10
Public Sector Ethics Amendment
"senior officer" see the Public Service Act 1996, section 63(1).1 1
"statutory office" see the Public Service Act 1996, section 108.2'. 2
PART 3--AMENDMENT OF FREEDOM OF 3
INFORMATION ACT 1992 4
amended in pt 3 5
Act
Clause 9. This part amends the Freedom of Information Act 1992. 6
of sch 1 (Secrecy provisions giving exemption) 7
Amendment
Clause 10. Schedule 1-- 8
insert-- 9
`Public Sector Ethics Act 1994, section 33(1)'. 10
11
© State of Queensland 1999
1 The Public Service Act 1996, section 63(1) provides--
`63.(1) A senior officer is an officer (other than a senior executive) declared to be
a senior officer under a directive of the commissioner.'.
2 The Public Service Act 1996, section 108(1) provides--
`108.(1) A "statutory office" is an office established under an Act to which a
person may only be appointed by the Governor in Council or a Minister.'.
[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]