Chapter 3: Embedding the APS Values and Code of Conduct

Agency-specific values

The Values in Agencies project found that four of the six participating agencies had developed and were actively promoting their own values, principles or behaviours to reflect and support the way in which their agency functions. The project also found that employees were well aware of agency values but were less familiar with the APS Values and the Code of Conduct and the bottom-line nature of their legal responsibilities.

The agency survey found that 63% of agencies have developed their own agency-specific values, principles or behaviours and seven per cent are developing them. The practice is more common in both large and medium agencies (77% for both) than small agencies (46%). Seventy-seven per cent of those agencies that do have their own values, principles or behaviours provided a copy of them with their completed survey. Analysis of these documents indicates that more than half of those agencies represent their values, principles or behaviours as ‘values’. None of these agency-specific values sets conflicts with the intent and purpose of the APS Values and Code, but some may confuse employees.

Indeed, the results of the employee survey indicate some confusion among employees about whether their agency has its own values, principles or behaviours. For example, the proportion of employees from large agencies which do have their own values, principles or behaviours who responded that the agency had developed its own values/behaviours varied between 34% and 89%. There may be a number of reasons for this. One possibility is agencies are not making sufficiently clear to employees the relationship between agency values and the APS Values, resulting in confusion. This could also result in uncertainty among employees about what their responsibilities are in relation to the different sets of values.

The Values in Agencies project concluded that, to ensure that agency values reinforce the APS Values and do not prejudice employees’ understanding of their obligations towards the APS Values, agencies should draw on the grouping of the APS Values set out at the beginning of this chapter, and cross-reference agency values to the APS Values. Alternatively, agency-specific principles and behaviours should not be represented as ‘values’, and their status should be clearly distinguished from the statutory APS Values.

Agencies should, of course, avoid agency-specific principles or behaviours that may conflict with, or create confusion with, the intent and purpose of the APS Values and Code. Where an agency promotes its own agency-specific principles or behaviours, an explanation of the relationship between those and the APS Values would be useful when presenting agency-specific materials to employees and other stakeholders where relevant. This would help to reinforce the APS Values and the responsibilities that accompany them.