The Ethics Advisory Service is available to all Australian Public Service (APS) employees, including agency heads and SES staff, who wish to discuss and seek advice on ethical issues that occur in the workplace and make sound decisions around these issues.

How we can help

We provide advice on:

• the application and interpretation of the APS Values and Code of Conduct; sections 10 and 13 of the Public Service Act 1999 (the Act)
• strategies and techniques for ethical decision making in the APS
• interpretation of the misconduct and whistleblowing provisions of the Act; as well as advice on related policy and good practice.

Please note we do not provide advice on:

• technical and operational aspects of APS employment policy
• other aspects of public sector legislation, policy or management
• internal agency policies and processes unless the request comes from an agency head, an SES employee or an agency corporate management area
• the merits or outcome of any misconduct or whistleblowing disclosure cases.

We do not:

• provide counselling or act as a replacement for an agency’s Employee Assistance Programme
• undertake case management or provide advocacy service
• provide an avenue for complaint resolution
• provide legal advice
• accept whistleblower reports.

Contacting your own agency:

APS employees can also access policies, guidance and support in their own agency. The human resources area is a good place to start along with your agency’s Employee Assistance Provider.