In November, several Queensland Police close personal protection officers were assigned to the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, one of the wealthiest individuals in the world, during his stay in Cairns.

A Queensland Police Service spokesman said a member of the Sultan's travelling party handed $11,000 in US dollars to an Australian government representative at the end of his stay, with the intention it be distributed to members of the close protection team.

"The money was recorded by senior QPS members and the Commissioner [Ian Stewart] has since approved the entirety of this money be donated to two separate registered charities on behalf of the QPS," he said.

Official government guidelines state cash or items readily converted into cash must be refused, regardless of their value.

The details were revealed in the Queensland Police Service's gifts and benefits register, which notes it would have been "insulting" to refuse the money.

"Received from AusGov [Australian Government] Rep who had received from party of Sultan of Brunei on 17/11/18 during APEC, for forwarding," the QPS register reads.

"Previously offered two times to AusGov and accepted per their policies to avoid insulting the Sultan, who then passed to QPS.

"Unsuccessful attempts made to return [the money] but Sultan had left Australia and AusGov employees are unable to accept return due to the corporate policies."

The money was converted into $14,336.50 Australian dollars and donated to the Queensland Police Legacy Scheme and Community Supporting Police charities.

The APEC summit was held in Papua New Guinea but several world leaders, including US Vice-President Mike Pence, stayed in Cairns.

The official gifts and benefits registers from Queensland government departments also reveal presents to public servants of doughnuts, cufflinks, footy tickets and trips to the ballet.

Premier and Cabinet Director-General David Stewart received two guest badges and two 10-day entry passes to the Ekka from organisers and a set of handcrafted cufflinks from Governor Paul de Jersey.

Biosecurities Queensland chief biosecurity officer Malcolm Letts declared a ticket to a State of Origin match, gifted by accounting company BDO, saying attendance helped build relationships with private sector providers.

"[It] improves the understanding of how the government may maximise the value of services it provides to the public, and identifies any gaps that exist in the government/agricultural industry interface," the register stated.

Queensland Government Architect Malcolm Middleton scored two tickets to the opening night of the Don Quixote ballet in November from QPAC, worth $350, stating he was supporting a major government-funded initiative in the company of many other senior government members.

TransLink deputy director-general Matthew Longland was also at the ballet's opening night to "maintain strong relationships with external stakeholders and provide a beneficial networking opportunity".

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services northern region staff and volunteers received 40 tickets to a Cowboys game to "recognise local emergency heroes who keep our community safe".

Employees across several departments declared attendance at lunches, including the Roads Australia annual lunch, which one public servant listed as an opportunity to network and hear from State Development Minister Cameron Dick.

Doughnuts worth $300 were accepted by workers at Housing and Public Works contact centres at Mount Gravatt and Zillmere in December to celebrate the launch of a replacement telephone system.

The Public Service Commission was particularly diligent in reporting, with deputy commissioner Sonia Cooper declaring a $4 cup of coffee bought by an HR agency, even though the declaration limit is $150.

The most recent data from the December quarter is not yet available for every department, and the information is presented in different formats, with some departments publishing it on the government's open data portal, and others hosting it on their websites.

Public servants must not accept a gift worth more than $150 unless it can be shown to be of benefit to the department, the State of Queensland or the public generally.

Gifts or benefits cannot be accepted if it is likely to affect, or be reasonably perceived to affect, the independent and impartial performance of the employee's official duties.

Official guidelines state if it is not appropriate to accept a gift or benefit, it must be declined or returned.

A Queensland government spokesman said the data was published online to ensure transparency and accountability.