A plan to gag ACT public servants from damaging the reputation of government outside of work may be incompatible with human rights law, according to the territory's human rights commissioner.
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The changes, if passed by the ACT parliament, would see workers who harmed the government's reputation outside of the office face misconduct proceedings, and potentially be sacked.
They would be required to dob in co-workers who they see doing the same.
The changes have been strongly criticised for overly and unnecessarily curbing freedom of speech, although the government says public servants will still be free to express political views, as long as it is clear they are acting as a private citizen.
Human Rights Commissioner Helen Watchirs has now raised her own concerns, saying the laws go further than those applying to federal bureaucrats, and possibly conflict with the Human Rights Act.
"I think it probably crosses over to the incompatible," she said.
Dr Watchirs wants amendments to soften the legislation before it is debated in ACT parliament next month, and the addition of a public interest defence to better protect workers.
"I can see that there is need for some sort of regulation, but this certainly goes too far," she said.
She has also expressed "disappointment" that the ACT government, which has been considering the changes for more than a year, did not consult with her office.
The government has been consulting with the Community and Public Sector Union, and ACT regional secretary Vince McDevitt said the laws now proposed were much improved.
"We've been highlighting our members' concerns about this process for 18 months now and our input has ensured the legislation in its current form is a vast improvement on what was originally proposed," Mr McDevitt said.
"Clearly offensive behaviour should not be tolerated, but the ACT government must equally ensure that they respect the rights of staff to fully engage in public life, including to express their views as private citizens in their own time," he said.
"The rise of social media means it is in our members' best interests for the ACT government to provide clear guidelines, as is already the case for Commonwealth workers and people working for state and territory governments elsewhere in the country."
Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson said the Liberals would closely examine the amendments, but did not say whether or not his party would support them.
"The right to freedom of speech and expression shouldn't be needlessly curtailed; but the ongoing professionalism of the ACT public service needs to be upheld," he said.
Earlier this week, a justice and community safety committee's scrutiny report on the amendments warned it was arguable the proposal "effectively burdens political communication in an extensive way".
The committee questioned the human rights compatibility of the changes, and asked for a government response.
The new laws are chiefly aimed at what public servants say on social media, where the lines between official and private conduct are blurred.
The ACT government's Commissioner for Public Administration Bronwen Overton-Clarke said the laws would clarify that bureaucrats must "uphold the good reputation of the ACTPS at all times that they are identifiable as a public servant".
