APS looking at next steps in pro-integrity agenda, PM&C secretary Glyn Davis says

Glyn Davis, the nation's top federal public servant, said the National Anti-Corruption Commission would test long-held and common assumptions that overall corruption levels were modest in federal government institutions.

He said there was "profound" support for the NACC inside the Australian Public Service and on the board of federal department secretaries.

Conversations had started in the public service on the pro-integrity agenda, and among areas being discussed were decision-making on contracts, post-APS employment, training in record keeping, and greater "day-to-day" transparency, such as a recent decision to begin releasing agendas and papers from secretaries board meetings.

Professor Davis said he expected the issues to be discussed and resolved in 2023, as the APS embarks on reforms announced by Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher and focused significantly on stronger integrity.

Speaking days after the bill to create the NACC passed Parliament, Professor Davis said the watchdog would put to the test common views that corruption levels were modest in federal government institutions.

"Having this integrity regime will test that set of beliefs, contest it pretty rigorously, and may change our perceptions," he said.

"I hope not. I hope what we find is that, in fact, we have an overwhelming number of public servants committed to absolute integrity. And that's what I expect to find, I'm not anticipating we'll find something different.

"But transparency is transparency. If we don't find that, it'll be there for all to see."

The creation of the NACC will bring attention to the public service's keeping of records, which are needed to assist the watchdog's work tracing decisions within the bureaucracy, Professor Davis said.

"There's going to be a process of going back and looking at how we record, what our practices are," he said.

"There's a big training component in that, just teaching all of us in the public service that we have a responsibility to maintain records and to make them accessible."

While the government planned to reduce the public service's reliance on contracting, it would still engage with contractors and the integrity agenda would look at how contracts were decided, acquitted and evaluated, Professor Davis said.

The public service would also consider potential risks involved in post-APS employment for public servants.

"What happens when people leave, particularly when they leave with commercially sensitive information? And is there interest in actually trying to be more systematic about how that's managed? That's a conversation, it isn't a resolved outcome."

Professor Davis also said the public service was discussing the freedom of information regime as part of the integrity reform agenda, but flagged discussions were at an early stage.

"There's no one looking to wind back freedom of information. That's not the agenda," he said.

"There is an interesting question about how it's changed over the years. It's gone from the search for documents, which was what it originally was, to something much broader. But it has administrative processes around it that are still premised on, that you're searching for an existing document.

"And so there are some questions about could we make it more efficient, more appropriate. That's the conversation."

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Professor Davis said the NACC, which will be created next year, had strong support in both the public service's leadership and in its broader workforce.

"The support for the NACC is really profound. People want and it's important to have anti-corruption measures. And they want to see that sort of work. No public servant wants to live in fear of being accused of things, and discovering that there aren't systems and processes to properly deal with that.

"You wouldn't give your life to public service if you didn't have a core belief that it matters, what you do is important. It's a contribution to a nation, and it has to be done ethically and professionally. So I think those values are universal."

Senator Gallagher announced integrity would be one of the four cornerstones of the Labor government's agenda to reform the public service, saying the APS was "one of the critical pillars of political integrity".

Public Sector Reform secretary Gordon de Brouwer has said while the creation of the NACC would be a major step, the reform agenda would bring other practical changes to workplaces for public servants, including in record-keeping, relationships with contractors, and post-public service employment.

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