Commonwealth public servants have been warned not to use work computers to trawl for extra-marital sex, in the wake of the Ashley Madison controversy.
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Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd has laid down the law on the use of Commonwealth government email addresses to create accounts on the cheating site and other internet sex services.
While Mr Lloyd does not believe media reports that of "hundreds" of Commonwealth email addresses discovered as part of the massive data breach of Ashley Madison clients, he's not taking any chances with cheaters.
The commissioner has warned that using a government email address to set up an Ashley Madison account, a clear signal of intent to breakwedding vows, could also violate the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct.
But Mr Lloyd, writing in his monthly newsletter, did not specify which was worse.
The website, which uses the catchphrase "Life is short. Have an affair", was set up for married people seeking partners for affairs.
Email addresses of thousands of would-be cheaters were published in August by hackers who broke into the website's database, sending unfaithful lovers the world over into panic.
Fairfax reported in the wake of the data release that more than 700 Australian government email addresses (.gov.au) apparently linked to Ashley Madison users had been posted online.
Mr Lloyd wrote that he was not buying into the hype generated by media reporting of public service love rats in the wake of the data breach.
"It is clear that some of those reports have exaggerated the number of Australian Public Service employees involved in this activity," the Commissioner wrote.
"It is also likely that a number of the email addresses supplied to the website were fake ones." "Nonetheless, all public servants should remember their responsibilities to their agency and the service as a whole."
Mr Lloyd said he did not mind public servants using their email for some personal purposes, just as long as it did not get too personal.
"While most public servants can use their work email for some personal purposes, this usage must be consistent with the Code of Conduct and the policies that individual agencies have developed," he wrote.
"Usage of a public service email account for this type of site is inappropriate." "Under the Code, employees of the Australian Public Service have strong responsibilities to uphold the reputation of the service.
"Email and the internet are important tools that can help the public service function more efficiently.
"They should not be misused or abused by any public servant."
