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Requesting Advice from the Integrity Commissioner

The following questions will help you decide whether you are a designated person as defined by the Public Sector Ethics Act 1994 and therefore able to seek the Integrity Commissioner's advice. The questions will also guide you on how to go about seeking advice, how to respond to the advice and confidentiality provisions applying to the process.

Are you a designated person?

The following people are designated persons, as defined by the Act:

The Premier
Ministers
Parliamentary Secretaries
Government MPs and any person nominated by a Government Member to be a Member of a Parliamentary Committee
CEOs of government departments or public service offices
Statutory office holders
Senior Executive Officers or senior officers employed in a government department or public service office
CEOs of a government entity or a senior executive equivalent employed in a government entity and is nominated by the Minister responsible for administering that entity
Ministerial staff
Staff of Parliamentary Secretaries
Other persons nominated by a Minister or Parliamentary Secretary
- These persons include:

The Integrity Commissioner may give advice about a conflict of interest issue only where the conflict relates to a designated person. The Integrity Commissioner cannot provide advice to a junior staff member of a government department, nor can a designated person seek advice about a conflict of interest involving a junior member of staff unless that junior member of staff has been nominated by a Minister or Parliamentary Secretary as a designated person.

When a senior officer within a department, public service office or government entity seeks advice, the request must be accompanied by a signed authority to seek the advice from the chief executive officer of the department, public service office or government entity in which the person is employed.

I used to be a designated person but am no longer. Do I still have access to the Integrity Commissioner?

No.

Can a designated person seek advice about another person?

The Premier may seek advice about any conflict of interest any designated person may have. Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries and CEOs may seek advice about any conflict of interest a designated person under their administration may have. All designated persons can seek advice regarding their own conflicts of interest.

Can a designated person seek advice about someone who used to be a designated person but is no longer one?

No.

If I am a designated person how do I seek advice?

All requests must be in writing and should contain sufficient information to allow the Integrity Commissioner to decide whether there is a conflict of interest for the person concerned. Requests should be sent to the Integrity Commissioner's postal address.

How and when will I get a response?

The Integrity Commissioner aims to deal with all correspondence in a timely manner and will respond in writing. His reply will be sent by registered post and bear a privacy marking on the envelope.

Who else will see the advice?

If you write seeking advice about a possible conflict of interest relating to yourself, the Integrity Commissioner will send his reply to you. You are free to disclose that advice as you wish.

However, if you write seeking advice relating to another designated person, the Integrity Commissioner will send a copy of his advice to you if you request it and may copy it to the person to whom the advice relates.

The Integrity Commissioner must give to the Premier a copy of a relevant document involving a designated person, other than a senior executive officer, senior officer, or senior executive equivalent if -

the Premier asks for it; or
the Integrity Commissioner reasonably believes that the person concerned has an actual and significant conflict of interest.

The Integrity Commissioner will give a copy of his advice to the Premier under 2. only if the person fails to resolve his or her conflict to the Integrity Commissioner's satisfaction within 7 days of being given the advice.

What should I do once I receive the advice?

If the Integrity Commissioner advises that you have an actual and significant conflict of interest you should take steps to resolve that conflict.

And if I don't?

The Integrity Commissioner may give a copy of his advice to the Premier who will consider what action to take. Where the Integrity Commissioner advises a CEO that a senior executive officer or senior officer has an unresolved conflict of interest, the CEO is required, under the Crime and Misconduct Act 2001, to disclose that to the Crime and Misconduct Commission if the CEO suspects the unresolved conflict of interest may constitute official misconduct.

Furthermore, you will not benefit from the protection given by the Public Sector Ethics Act 1994 to designated persons who seek and act upon the Integrity Commissioner's advice to resolve a conflict of interest. This protection from liability in a civil proceeding or under an administrative process does not affect a designated person's liability for an act or omission done or made in connection with a conflict of interest issue before such a person receives the Integrity Commissioner's advice.

Can the Integrity Commissioner refuse to give advice?

Yes. The Integrity Commissioner may refuse to give advice if he reasonably believes that -

he does not have enough information about the conflict of interest issue to give advice; or
the advice is asked for in circumstances where the giving of advice would not be in keeping with the legislation creating and defining the role of the Queensland Integrity Commissioner.

Does the Integrity Commissioner have to justify his refusal?

Yes. He is required to record in writing the reasons why he has declined to give advice. He may disclose those reasons to the person to whom a request relates and to the designated person who requested the advice. The full details of when and to whom the Integrity Commissioner can disclose his reasons for refusing to give advice are contained in the Public Sector Ethics Act 1994, Part 7, Section 34.