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Last updated: 22 July 1991
Circular 1991/7: Practice and procedures for the receipt of Official Gifts
Please note: This document is for reference purposes only and is no longer considered by the APS Commission to be current. It may contain good practice advice and/or advice on the transitional arrangements between the 1922 and 1999 Public Service Acts.
The Government recently agreed on procedures to apply to Ministers and their staff, including families, who receive gifts in the course of their official duties while travelling overseas, from overseas visitors in Australia, and from Australian sources. The Government decided the same provisions would apply to officials, except the declaration and disposal system was to be operated by a recipient's department.
2. Under Public Service Regulation 37 - Benefits to officers, a Secretary may specify conditions for an officer to accept a benefit. Subregulation 37(7) says that directions issued by a Secretary for the acceptance of a benefit should be consistent with guidelines issued by the Public Service Commissioner.
3. Chapter 15, Acceptance of Gifts and Other Benefits, in the Guidelines on Official Conduct of Commonwealth Public Servants, July 1987, at subparagraphs 15.4 to 15.18, provides guidelines to Departments on how to manage the acceptance of gifts and benefits by staff members.
4. The attached guidelines for the receipt of official gifts are to be read in conjunction with Chapter 15. They should be included in directions issued by each Secretary to their staff members setting out the conditions for acceptance of a gift.
5. Any questions on this matter should be referred to Ian Edwards, Ethics and Conduct Section, telephone (06) 272 3670.
Denis J Ives
Public Service Commissioner
22 July 1991
Guidelines for the receipt of official gifts
These guidelines apply to all Ministers and their staffs (including families) who receive gifts in the course of their official duties while travelling overseas, from overseas visitors in Australia, and from Australian sources. The same provisions are to apply to officials except the declaration and disposal system is operated by a recipient's department or avency.
Practice and procedures
Gifts received in the course of official duty are to be declared:
- when received overseas, to Australian Customs at the point of entry if the gift
falls outside the normal duty free passenger concession, or if the gift is subject to
quarantine inspection. These concessions/ products are shown on the Customs, Quarantine
and Wildlife Statement that must be completed on arrival in Australia.
If an overseas gift does not qualify for duty free entry under the normal passenger concession, Customs duty and sales tax is payable at the appropriate rates. In the absence of actual valuation documents, the value for Customs purposes would normally be determined by reference to the value of similar goods in the country of origin. - whether received overseas or within Australia, to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet within 30 days of receipt, where the value of the gift is believed to exceed the stated limits (see paragraph 2 below) or where there is likely to be some particular sensitivity associated with the gift. Declaration proforma will be made available to Minister's Offices by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
2. A gift may be retained by the recipient if its value does not exceed the stated valuation limits of $500 for a gift received from an official (government) source, or $100 from a private or industry source. The value is assessed on the basis of the wholesale price in the country of origin for gifts received overseas, and Australian wholesale price for gifts received from Australian sources. Note: this value may be different from the Customs value described in sub-paragraph l(a).
3. Formal valuations should be obtained if the value of a gift exceeds the stated valuation limit, or if there is any doubt about its value. The valuation should be obtained by the recipient's agency, and the valuation certificate submitted, together with the recipient's declaration (see sub-paragraph l(b) above), to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
4. Valuations are to be obtained from valuers competent to value in the field, or selected from a list of accredited valuers issued by the Committee for Taxation Incentives for the Arts. (A guide to obtaining valuations will be issued to agencies). Any costs incurred in obtaining a valuation are to be borne by the recipient's agency.
5. Gifts in excess of the stated limits may be retained by the recipient if he/she elects to pay the difference between the stated valuation limit and the value of the gift.
6. Where a financial payment is required to meet this difference, the money should be forwarded with the valuation certificate to the Adviser, Official Gifts, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and made payable to the Collector of Public Moneys.
7. Where the value of the gift exceeds the stated valuation limits, and the recipient elects not to pay the difference, the gift is to be surrendered by the recipient to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Any recommendation for the future use of surrendered official gifts (which recipients are encouraged to provide) should be accompanied by a formal acknowledgement relinquishing the recipient's claim to ownership to allow the appropriate disposal action to be taken (see paragraph 8 below).
8. Gifts surrendered to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet may be:
- transferred on loan to Minister's offices, Commonwealth Government Offices, or buildings administered by the Commonwealth Government;
- transferred in title to Commonwealth departments, repositories of National Collections including museums, galleries, libraries, archives and special interest collections, education or community institutions;
- donated to a nominated non-profit organisation or charity, at the discretion of the recipient and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet;
- disposed of in an appropriate manner by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
9. Appropriate opportunities should be taken to inform overseas countries of the restrictions which apply to Australian Ministers and officials. Within Australia, for an occasion when a gift may be given, the Minister's Office should make clear the Government's policy discouraging the practice.
