print this page

related pages

on our site

news

Home page
> About the Commission > Public Service Commissioner > Speech
> Media
‹ Previous page

Responsibilities in the Caretaker period

'The Treasury Seminar Series'
28 August 2007

Introduction

I have been asked to speak to you today about public servants’ responsibilities during the Caretaker period.

But first, I would like to take a minute to discuss our responsibilities in the lead up to a Federal election. During this time, the growing political debate heightens awareness and sensitivity about our relationship with the Government, and we therefore need to be particularly vigilant with respect to our role as being an apolitical service.

It is imperative that we remain responsive to the Government at this time, providing honest, accurate and timely advice and implementing Government programmes; while also remaining apolitical and accountable to Parliament and the public. We must continue to be careful about the way we use and share information, being conscious of our audience and the potential for any of our remarks to be used out of context.

Remember, the Government is the Government until it is no longer the Government. First and foremost then, the thing to remember is that it is largely ‘business as usual’ until an election is actually called. This, in itself, can bring about its own tensions and sensitivities in terms of the pace of government initiatives, and the charged environment. So be mindful that, although it is ‘business as usual’, these are not ordinary times. You need to be prepared, you need to know how the period will affect workloads and workflow, and you need to plan accordingly. If in doubt ask somebody for help.

The period prior to the Caretaker period can be a challenging time for APS employees dealing with the Ministers’ offices. You will need to be conscious of the general framework that applies to our relationship with Ministers and their offices. A significant proportion of APS employees have direct contact with Ministers’ offices on matters of substance. For example, in 2005, 20% of all APS employees had been in direct contact with a Minister or their advisers in the previous 12 months. In Treasury, this is likely to be higher.

The Commission publication ‘Supporting Ministers, Upholding the Values’ provides guidance on managing this relationship, including a checklist for all APS employees.

The Pre-Election Period

 I would like to mention the guidelines for pre-election consultation with the Opposition. While these Guidelines are distinct from the Caretaker Conventions and commence on a different date, they actually form Part 7.5 of the Caretaker Conventions themselves.

Earlier this month, the Prime Minister notified all Ministers, Assistant Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries that the pre-election period was to commence on 15 August 2007. This date signals three months from when the House of Representatives is due to expire, that is, 16 November represents three years from the House’s first sitting day after the 2004 election, and the last possible sitting day this Parliamentary term.

The purpose of the pre-election consultation guidelines is to outline arrangements under which Shadow Ministers may have discussions with APS officials. Significantly, the guidelines highlight the importance of being apolitical in the APS, as officials are only authorised to discuss matters that relate to the machinery of government and administration, but they may include the administrative and technical practicalities involved in the implementation of Opposition policies. Officials are not authorised to discuss Government policies or to give opinions on matters of a party political nature.

The Caretaker Period

I would now like us to turn our minds to the official Caretaker period.

I am sure that most of you would be aware that the Caretaker period begins when an election is called (that is, when the House of Representatives is dissolved) , and finishes when the election results have been finalised or when the new government is sworn in and takes office. B y convention, Governments assume a caretaker role because, with the dissolution of Parliament, they cannot be held accountable for their decisions in the usual manner and because every election holds a chance of a change of government.

When the Caretaker arrangements begin, the Government is still the Government but, by convention, a number of important constraints come into operation. Their primary purpose is to avoid actions that will bind an incoming government, and limit its freedom of action.

Essentially, the Conventions are that the Government avoids:

• making major policy decisions;
• making significant appointments (for example, of agency heads or to boards or advisory committees); and
• entering major contracts or undertakings.

Other areas that could also be affected include: international negotiations, advertising campaigns and the content of websites.

There are a number of caretaker guidance resources available to us, such as:

• The Caretaker Conventions that the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) issue on the practices that need to be followed during the Caretaker period
• APS employees need to be familiar with the Conventions and managers need to make plans and arrangements for how they will manage the requirements of the Conventions according to their business functions and requirements, and you need to start doing this now.
• The Charter of Budget Honesty (implemented under the Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998 ) which requires the Secretaries of the Treasury and the Department of Finance and Administration to undertake specific actions, including maintaining guidelines for costing election policies and the release, within ten days of the writ for an election, of the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook report
• This report is of particular interest to you, but it also has implications for other agencies.
• Agreement making protocols during the Caretaker period, in the form of advice from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
• APS Advice 07 of 2007 informs agencies that where Ministerial endorsement of a proposed certified agreement has been obtained prior to the commencement of the Caretaker period, the remainder of the agreement making process can be completed.
• Internet and Electronic Communications - Guidance on Departmental and Ministerial Websites is available from the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO). Agencies are expected to comply with AGIMO guidelines at all times.
• PM&C have recently updated the Caretaker Conventions, the main changes being related to this area, so I urge you to take a look.
• The APS Values and Code of Conduct—the Values and Code can be found at sections 10 and 13 of the Public Service Act 1999.The Australian Public Service Commission Guide to Official Conduct for APS employees and agency heads provides specific advice on how to apply the values and the code. Of particular relevance is Section 4 entitled “Personal Behaviour”.
• Throughout this presentation you will often hear me say “you must exercise your judgement”. And, I really want to emphasis here, for those of you who are new to the APS, and for those of you who have new positions with added responsibilities, that what this means is that you must exercise your judgement in accordance with the APS Values and Code of Conduct.
• And in exercising your judgement, you must also balance the APS Values as a whole—that is, no single value should take precedence over another.

Having said that, I would like to emphasise the importance of what it means to be ‘apolitical’. This is the first value listed in the Public Service Act and it states:

the APS is apolitical, performing its functions in an impartial and professional manner (s10 (1)(a).

Being apolitical does not mean being ‘independent’: it means providing advice that is not influenced by party political considerations, or not acceding to requests from a Minister’s office that would involve engaging in party political activities. An apolitical APS is one whose staffing is free from political interference and that performs its functions in an impartial and professionally detached manner, unaffected by individual employees’ political allegiances.

What do the Conventions mean in practice?

The Caretaker Conventions are neither legally binding nor hard and fast rules and their application requires judgement and common sense. Agency heads and the Senior Executive Service have particular responsibility for advising Ministers and staff of the Conventions and their interpretation in particular circumstances as they arise. The general rule is that the business of government continues during the Caretaker period, as it involves ordinary matters of administration. We need to support the Government in its normal business; it is not for agencies to determine that factual information will not be provided because it may be used during an election campaign.

While the primary purpose of the Conventions is to avoid making any major decisions that would restrict a newly formed government, a number of the practices are also directed at protecting the apolitical nature of the APS. These issues include:

• avoiding the use of Commonwealth resources in a way that advantages a particular party;
• managing requests from Ministers’ offices for detailed information or advice;
• the conduct of information campaigns and political participation by APS employees during the Caretaker period.

Implications for agencies, managers and staff

So what are the implications for agencies, managers and staff?

Many agencies experience a build up in requests for briefings and speaking notes in the run up to a Caretaker period. In these circumstances, agencies should continue business as normal in applying the criteria of responsiveness, apolitical professionalism and accountability, in order to judge the appropriate response to requests from Ministers’ offices. Most importantly, agencies should be careful not to allow the possibility that an election will be called to constrain the capacity of the elected Government. In other words, you shouldn’t slow down or not serve the Government.

As managers, you need to make sure that your employees understand the kinds of issues that could arise in the lead up to an election and during the Caretaker period, such as:

• increased workloads, including incoming government briefs:
• Treasury and the Department of Finance have additional responsibilities in this period.
• adjustments that may need to be made to every day operations and projects, for example:
• Annual reports are due at the end of October; they can be tabled out of session. However, if you do not obtain clearance from the Minister before the Caretaker period begins, you will not get it tabled on time.
• The types of requests that a Minister’s office might make that may cause concern but to which it is legitimate to respond.

Implications for Treasury

As many of you are aware, the workload for Treasury will increase during the Caretaker period and quite substantially in some areas, as Treasury and the Department of Finance rise to meet joint responsibilities and obligations under the Charter of Budget Honesty.

The Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998 requires the Secretaries of the Treasury and the Department of Finance and Administration to take particular action in relation to the election.

It is not my role to speak about the intricacies of what will, and won’t, be required of you during this period. However, I do think it would be valuable to run through some of the tasks that you could be asked to do, as this will paint the picture and put us on the same page. I’ll then outline those APS Values and those elements of the Code of Conduct at section 13 that relate to those tasks, so that we might be able to identify some of the challenges and ramifications which may arise as a result.

Your department is charged with costing polices that affect revenue and in doing so you will be required:

• to release a pre-election economic and fiscal outlook report (the PEFO), to be provided within 10 days of the issue of the writ for a general election;
• to provide the best estimate of the full cost of a policy;
• to provide, for public release, costings as soon as possible after the request has been made and before polling day, but generally within five days;
• to cost both parties’ policies in a consistent manner;
• to only provide fiscal costings; and not provide policy advice or assessment of the economic impact of policies;
• to produce a report that fully justifies the published costings
• to use the most appropriate assumptions based on the best professional judgement of the Secretaries;
• to make clear the nature of assumptions when they are publicly released, and to maintain consistency in the use of assumptions when costing similar policies; and
• to have security arrangements in place that are similar to those that apply at Budget time, so that the confidentiality of the costings is protected until they are publicly released.

In performing these tasks, the Values and the Code will require you:

• to be apolitical, to do your work in an impartial and professional manner and to achieve results;
• to act with care and diligence, and behave with honesty and integrity;
• to be accountable for the analyses you make and the information you provide;
• to display leadership and ethical standards of the highest quality;
• to maintain confidentiality and to disclose and to take reasonable steps to avoid any conflict of interest.

What I have tried to point out here, by making direct links between some of the tasks that will be required of you and the Values and the Code, is to highlight some of the challenges that you might face in completing those tasks. However, there are two elements that seem to run throughout, that stand out to me, and they are integrity and achieving results. These have a direct relationship with your reputation, and that of your department and the public service as a whole.

As you are aware, the role of public service is to serve the Government of the day. The public service also has an important role in protecting the ‘public interest’ in terms of ensuring the integrity of government processes. That is, in ensuring compliance with the law and fair and impartial decision making in accordance with approved guidelines. In this case, it refers to the need for a particular level of impartiality and professionalism in order to ensure that the electorate has the best information on which to base its decisions on polling day.

These standards and principles will have to be maintained by you and your colleagues in Finance under considerable operational pressure. These include:

• the time and workload pressures involved in getting out information and advice accurately and on time;
• the intense scrutiny that your work will be subject to from all sides of politics and by the media, including the fact that both the Government and the Opposition will need to be assured that you are able to impartially serve a government of either political persuasion;
• the particularly authoritative roles and reputations that Treasury and Finance have as central agencies responsible for fiscal and budgetary policies and the responsibilities and expectations that come with these roles;
• the need to maintain effective relationships with other agencies so that quality information can be collected in tight time frames.

I should add that, even though departments are likely to ask Treasury and Finance officials to help them cost other proposals—generally ones their Ministers want costed—these proposals do not form part of the official Charter of Budget Honesty costings for the election and these departments cannot seek your endorsement of their costings.

A lot will be asked of Treasury during the Caretaker period, and a lot is riding on the quality of decisions that will be made here. Although you will come under pressure during this period, I hope I have made it clear that the same standards apply, and those standards are the APS Values and Code. They are our guide in the APS, and they can help you to make the right decisions, and are particularly helpful to apply when faced with a difficult decision and/or an ethical dilemma.

Sharing and using information

Another issue that I would like to discuss in a little more detail is the issue of sharing and using information. Non-disclosure of information is specifically covered by Public Service Regulation 2.1 and the Code of Conduct. Among other things, it means that APS employees need to consider on each occasion whether disclosing information could damage the effective working of government.

A simple approach to adopt might be to not provide material or information to anyone, including the media and parliamentarians, without authority from your supervisor.

I especially wanted to raise your awareness of this issue as many of you may be supervising staff or involved personally in providing costings on policies for both the Government and the Opposition as well as dealing with incoming government briefs. This means you are privy to information that is highly sensitive and confidential. Disclosure of this sort of information can be damaging to the integrity and reputation of the entire public service. So, to coin a phrase, remember that loose lips, sink ships.

You should also be careful about conversations you have outside of the workplace. Quite innocent remarks can be taken out of context and passed on in subsequent conversations to people who may misuse the information. So can emails prepared in haste. When in doubt, “shut up.”

What to do if there are problems

What to do if there are problems? It is important to remember that the application of the Conventions requires judgement and common sense. If you find yourself in a situation where you are unsure about how to handle issues that arise during the Caretaker period, you should raise the matter with senior management in the first instance. Again I would also like to encourage you to refer to the Values and Code, and if senior managers have any queries in relation to how these might or should be applied in the Caretaker period please feel free to contact the Commission’s SES adviser, Ms Georgia Tarjan, on 6202 3833.

The Government Division within PM&C also provides advice on the Caretaker Conventions. During the Caretaker period they will have a dedicated small team of staff who can provide guidance and advice to agencies on specific issues as they arise. To ensure a consistent application of Caretaker guidance within agencies, and to minimise the number of requests for advice to PM&C, agencies are encouraged to appoint one or two senior officers to be the initial contact for Caretaker enquiries. In Treasury those contacts can be found in the Strategic Communications Division and they are: Frank Di Giorgio and Mike Waslin.

Dealing with Ministers’ offices

Dealing with Ministers’ offices will require some thought and planning as the relationships that departments have developed will change during the caretaker period; mainly due to the restraints that are placed upon what information can be supplied to Ministers. Whilst you are required to comply with these restraints, it is also important to keep in mind the effort that has gone into developing, building and maintaining an effective relationship with Ministers and their offices, over the years.

Public servants should continue to supply factual information and advice to Ministers on the day-to-day business of government. Here, I am referring to the Caretaker Conventions—where it states that “the business of government continues and ordinary matters of administration still need to be addressed.” It is not up to an agency to determine that factual information cannot be supplied to a Minister because it may be drawn upon in speeches for use during an election campaign.

However, there are occasions where it may be appropriate to decline a Minister’s request – for example, if a request for information requires the use of significant resources and is clearly for use in an election campaign. If in doubt, agencies should discuss the purpose of the material with the Minister or their senior staff. I f you receive a request to provide what might be seen as inappropriate ‘support’ during a Caretaker period, you should bring the matter to the attention of your manager.

As I said earlier, the Conventions are clear that no major policy decisions should be made in the Caretaker period and, in most instances, agencies should also decline requests for policy advice during this period.

But, nothing is ever straightforward. Situations may arise where policy advice should be provided to Ministers. These situations would usually include urgent matters that involve responsible ongoing administration or protection of Australia's interests, and consultation with the Opposition would be sought. For example:

• in 1998 the Government agreed to provide urgent financial assistance to drought-affected areas in New South Wales;
• in 2004 the Government decided to deploy a hostage negotiation team to Iraq.

Whether or not a particular decision should be taken during the Caretaker period is ultimately a matter for the Minister, consulting with colleagues and the Prime Minister if the matter so requires. The main issue here is to use your judgement, and to remember that our basic responsibilities in the Caretaker period are to:

• protect the apolitical nature of the APS; and
• avoid breaching the Caretaker Conventions.

The last thing the Minister would want is to raise any controversy about a possible breach of the Caretaker Conventions whilst campaigning to win an election.

If Ministers consider that there are exceptional circumstances that require a policy decision then of course there are accepted processes for dealing with it that involve consultation with the Opposition.

This is not to say that agencies can’t proceed with policy development work, as you may need to in order to provide advice to the incoming government. You can proceed with policy development as long as contact with Ministers' offices is not required .

I should mention here the APS-wide convention that all agencies should prepare incoming government briefs that set out the key policy, operational and corporate issues that the agency is dealing with. These briefs are major briefing tasks, and are given to Ministers after an election when they are freshly sworn in. Their purpose is to ensure that the business of government is taken up smoothly and speedily after the election. The standard practice is to have three sets of briefing material: one for the same Government with the same Minister; one for the same Government with a different Minister; and one for a different Government.

In the lead up to an election, agency heads will need to ensure there is clarity with their Ministers and staff about the level and types of services that can be provided in the Caretaker period. Good practice is to discuss the implications of the Caretaker Conventions well in advance with the Chief of Staff, with a follow-up discussion with the Minister and their Chief of Staff and the agency head, as soon as the election is called and, if possible, before the Caretaker period commences.

Other things that are of a more practical nature and that can be overlooked if not careful include:

• Not posting political material on the Departmental website—in the Caretaker period it is more appropriate that Ministerial speeches, are posted on the party website. The Caretaker Conventions provide detailed information about agency responsibilities in relation Ministerial sites during the Caretaker period
• Depending on how many DLOs a Department has out-posted in Ministers’ offices, it may be appropriate for them to be recalled. Certainly it is okay to have one DLO remaining, but they should avoid assisting Ministers in any way that might be seen as party political
• Departmental publications that promote the Government policies should not be disseminated
• Cabinet papers need to be locked away.
• There is an accepted convention that Ministers do not seek access to documents recording the deliberations of Ministers in previous governments. Therefore, when we enter the caretaker period all Cabinet documents should be returned to the agency’s Cabinet Liaison Officer for storage until the election result is known. More information about this issue is outlined in Chapter 7 of the Cabinet Handbook available on PM&C’s website.

It is these kinds of matters that need to be considered fully.

Our concerns: links to broader Values issues

Now I would like to explore some of the issues that may affect you and your staff as individuals.

Participating in political activities

It is quite acceptable for APS employees to participate in political activities as part of normal community affairs. APS employees may become members of, or hold office in, any political party. W hether you are a member of a political party or not, as a member of the APS you are required to separate your personal views on policy issues from the performance of your official duties.

 What I am saying is that you really need to exercise judgement in an election period, if you are going to be involved in publicly promoting party or other views on certain issues and, if your duties are directly related to advising or directing the implementation or administration of government policy on those issues, you should be aware that this could pose a potential for conflicts of interest to arise, real or perceived.

You should also be aware that under section 13 (7) of the Public Service Act, the Code of Conduct states that—An APS employee must disclose, and take reasonable steps to avoid, any conflict of interest (real or apparent) in connection with APS employment.

Wearing or displaying political material while working

You also need to exercise judgement about wearing or displaying political material at work. While it is important to exercise a reasonable level of tolerance towards the expression of different political opinions, as APS employees you should be aware that wearing or displaying political material at work could create disharmony in the workplace. And if you have direct contact with the public, it is simply not appropriate to wear or display political material while working, as this may give the impression that the agency endorses the political material. In some circumstances, it may create doubts in the minds of some clients as to whether their queries or applications will be handled impartially.

Political campaigning

Some APS employees choose to campaign for candidates for political office. The role they play may range from handing out how-to-vote cards on election day to other activities with a higher profile.

If an APS employee has a significant role in a political campaign, there is a real potential for a conflict of interest, between taking a position on issues and impartially performing official duties. Please note the difference here between “participating in political activities” and actually “campaigning” - campaigning is taking a direct role in an election campaign. If a situation like this arises, the conflict should be discussed with management. There are ways of resolving such conflicts which might include: the employee taking leave, rearranging existing duties, transferring to other duties, or agreeing to take a less significant role in the political campaign.

So, if you are going to be involved in political campaigning, you really need to make a clear distinction between your tasks as a political campaigner and your duties as an APS employee. You need to make it clear that you are not undertaking these activities as part of you official duties; and you need to discuss the matter with your manager.

I should draw your attention to Section 13(8) of the Public Service Act – the Code of Conduct requires that an employee must use Commonwealth resources in a proper manner. APS employees who are campaigning in an election must not use government resources for campaigning, this includes: email, telephones, photocopies, and facsimile machines for any political activity.

In a year where there is heightened sensitivity, managers will need to judge carefully whether particular actions represent a breach of the Code of Conduct and what may be an appropriate response. Issues to take into account may include:

• whether the displayed material is in view of the public;
• whether the political material is being distributed indiscriminately, or whether, for example, a group such as a union is communicating a message relevant to its members and only to its members;
• whether public notices of meetings, rallies, etc include party political material; and
• whether the material being displayed or promulgated could be judged to be offensive to some groups and so may constitute workplace harassment.

Standing for Parliament

Oh, and just in case any of you are planning to stand for Parliament, Section 44 of the Australian Constitution provides that any person who holds any office of profit under the Crown: 'shall be incapable of being chosen or of sitting as a senator or a member of the House of Representatives'. APS employees are considered to hold an office of profit under the Crown and would need to resign before being able to nominate as candidates in a federal election. Employees who resign to contest an election, and who are unsuccessful, generally have the right to return to the APS after the election.

Post-election period

Let’s now take a quick look at what might happen after the election.

Machinery of Government changes

Once the Caretaker period has commenced, it is normal practice for the Secretary of PM&C to seek the views of other departmental secretaries on possible changes to administrative arrangements and machinery of government (MOG) issues in preparation for briefing the incoming Government. Suggestions on improvements aimed at greater efficiency and effectiveness are sought as well as advice on implementation issues arising from policy proposals put forward during the Caretaker period.

The terms, ‘machinery of government changes’ and ‘administrative re-arrangements’ are interchangeable and are used to describe a variety of organisational or functional changes that can occur within the Australian Government. While a MOG change may occur at any time, significant MOG changes usually occur immediately following an election.

Once the election result is known, the Secretary of PM&C provides a brief to the Prime Minister on possible MOG changes. Consultation with departments on the detail of this brief may be sort. Once the Prime Minister has announced the new Ministry and administrative arrangements, PM&C will consult with the departments affected, to ensure that the MOG changes are accurately reflected in the new Administrative Arrangements Order (AAO). In the event of major changes in portfolio responsibilities, the Secretary of PM&C will consult with Secretaries on the nature of the changes to ensure that consistent information can be given to agency staff.

This is a particularly intense period as the time between the announcement of the new Ministry and making the AAO is on average about three to five days.

New Ministerial arrangements take effect on the day that the new Ministry is sworn in. Similarly, any changes to the AAO take effect on the day that it is made. While the transfer of appropriations under section 32 of the FMA Act and the transfer of staff under section 72 of the Public Service Act are unlikely to be completed by the time the new AAO is made, the Prime Minister expects agency heads to implement AAO changes cooperatively and as soon as possible.

The key to achieving good results in implementing MOG changes is for agencies to take a co-operative and collegiate, whole-of-government approach. During this period, to facilitate a smooth transition it is important for managers to have constructive and open communication with their staff by providing early advice and by acting with integrity. I draw your attention to the recent publication by the Commission, ‘Implementing Machinery of Government Changes’, which provides practical guidance.

Conclusion

Well I hope this has given you a good overview of the issues associated with the lead up to an election during the Caretaker period, which is really only about a five week period that we experience every three years. Above all, I trust you appreciate the importance of referring to the Values and Code especially during times like these.

We must remember to at all times behave in a way that upholds the APS Values and the integrity and good reputation of the APS. It is very important for leaders in the APS to show the way by promoting, modelling and adhering to the Values and by providing guidance to their employees.

In summary, I refer you to the following guidance material:

• Caretaker Conventions, available on PM&C’s website
• Budget Honesty guidelines, available on Treasury’s website
• APS Values and Code of Conduct in Practice: Section 4, entitled ‘Personal Behaviour’, available on the Commission’s website
• Supporting Ministers, Upholding the Values , also available on the Commission’s website
• Guidance on Departmental and Ministerial Websites – available from AGIMO’s website.

And, remember, if in doubt; please speak to your manager.

Start of page

• Australian Public Service Commission • A-Z index • Privacy, legal & copyright • Contact us This page can be found at www.apsc.gov.au/media/briggs280807.htm