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Australian Government Guide for Public Servants Participating Online

The Australian Public Service Commission has updated its APS Values and Code of Conduct in practice to assist public servants who wish to participate online.

Guidance is available under Chapter 3 - Managing official information, and Chapter 15 - APS employees as citizens. Text is available below:

Participating online (Chapter 3 Managing Official Information)

Web 2.0 provides public servants with unprecedented opportunities to open up government decision making and implementation to contributions from the community. In a professional and respectful manner, APS employees should engage in robust policy conversations.

Equally, as citizens, APS employees should also embrace the opportunity to add to the mix of opinions contributing to sound, sustainable policies and service delivery approaches. Employees should also consider carefully whether they should identify themselves as either an APS employee or an employee of their agency.

There are some ground rules. The APS Values and Code of Conduct, including Public Service Regulation 2.1, apply to working with online media in the same way as when participating in any other public forum. The requirements include:

• being apolitical, impartial and professional
• behaving with respect and courtesy, and without harassment
• dealing appropriately with information, recognising that some information needs to remain confidential
• delivering services fairly, effectively, impartially and courteously to the Australian public
• being sensitive to the diversity of the Australian public
• taking reasonable steps to avoid conflicts of interest
• making proper use of Commonwealth resources
• upholding the APS Values and the integrity and good reputation of the APS.

APS employees need to ensure that they fully understand the APS Values and Code of Conduct and how they apply to official or personal communications. If in doubt, they should stop and think about whether to comment and what to say16, consult their agency’s policies, seek advice from someone in authority in their agency, or consult the Ethics Advisory Service in the Australian Public Service Commission.

Agencies may find it helpful to provide guidance and training to employees in using ICT resources, including personal use, the use of social media, and any rules or policies about representing their agency online. It would be particularly helpful to workshop scenarios around some of the more complex or ‘grey’ issues that arise for employees in deciding whether and how to participate online, in the performance of their duties or otherwise, consistent with the above principles.

The Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) Web Publishing Guide helps Australian Government agencies to manage their websites and to identify their legal and policy obligations. The guide includes advice on using Web 2.0 technologies.

Source: APS Values and Code of Conduct in practice - Section 1: Relationship with the Government and the Parliament - Chapter 3: Managing official information

Participating online (Chapter 15 - APS employees as citizen)

Web 2.0 provides public servants with unprecedented opportunities to open up government decision making and implementation to contributions from the community. In a professional and respectful manner, APS employees should engage in robust policy conversations.

Equally, as citizens, APS employees should also embrace the opportunity to add to the mix of opinions contributing to sound, sustainable policies and service delivery approaches. Employees should also consider carefully whether they should identify themselves as either an APS employee or an employee of their agency.

There are some ground rules. The APS Values and Code of Conduct, including Public Service Regulation 2.1, apply to working with online media in the same way as when participating in any other public forum. The requirements include:

• being apolitical, impartial and professional
• behaving with respect and courtesy, and without harassment
• dealing appropriately with information, recognising that some information needs to remain confidential
• delivering services fairly, effectively, impartially and courteously to the Australian public
• being sensitive to the diversity of the Australian public
• taking reasonable steps to avoid conflicts of interest
• making proper use of Commonwealth resources
• upholding the APS Values and the integrity and good reputation of the APS.

APS employees need to ensure that they fully understand the APS Values and Code of Conduct and how they apply to official or personal communications. If in doubt, they should stop and think about whether to comment and what to say16, consult their agency’s policies, seek advice from someone in authority in their agency, or consult the Ethics Advisory Service in the Australian Public Service Commission.

Agencies may find it helpful to provide guidance and training to employees in using ICT resources, including personal use, the use of social media, and any rules or policies about representing their agency online. It would be particularly helpful to workshop scenarios around some of the more complex or ‘grey’ issues that arise for employees in deciding whether and how to participate online, in the performance of their duties or otherwise, consistent with the above principles.

The Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) Web Publishing Guide helps Australian Government agencies to manage their websites and to identify their legal and policy obligations. The guide includes advice on using Web 2.0 technologies.

Source: APS Values and Code of Conduct in practice - Section 4: Personal behaviour - Chapter 15: APS employees as citizens

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