More than 870 public servants found guilty of corrupt behaviour in last six years

The APSC State of the Service report, tabled in parliament last week, shared that 874 staff have been found to have breached the APS Code of Conduct for corrupt behaviour since the 2017-18 financial year.

The figures are trending down, though: the last financial year saw 56 employees found guilty of conduct considered corrupt, compared to 138 staff the year before, and 228 staff in 2020-21.

It's been a difficult year for the public service as it tries to rebuild its image following the damning robodebt royal commission report, and the fall of ex-Home Affairs boss Michael Pezzullo, who was investigated and fired over allegations that he tried to influence political matters.

In his first State of the Service report as APS commissioner, Doctor Gordon de Brouwer referenced these challenges as he laid out his hopes for a more robust public service.

"Whether it is agencies considering the findings of major reviews like the Robodebt Royal Commission, or an individual employee reflecting on a wrong call, what matters is that the APS is a workplace where people can provide frank, evidence-based advice, and change course when needed," Dr de Brouwer wrote.

He said that his vision for the next five years was "to deliver a world-leading service, an APS that is a great place to work with rewarding careers for our people, and an unwavering focus on integrity and capability".

The State of the Service report, drawing on results from the APS census published at the same time, revealed that investigations into potential Code of Conduct breaches by 555 employees were finalised last financial year.

The vast majority of those cases were proved.

The report also revealed that 162 employees were found to have behaved dishonestly and without integrity in relation to their APS employment, while 29 failed to take reasonable steps to avoid a conflict of interest.

Meanwhile, 35 employees were found to have used inside information or their power in the APS to benefit themselves or someone else, or cause detriment to their agency, the Commonwealth or another person.

Acknowledging these results, the report said that "APS agencies are collaborating on renewed APS-wide efforts to build and maintain a pro-integrity culture in the APS, responding to the findings of recent inquiries including the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme".

We also learnt what happened to the staff found to have breached the code this last financial year. The vast majority faced a reprimand.

Investigations underway at National Anti-Corruption Commission

These figures came just days before the independent National Anti-Corruption Commission announced it had received 2247 referrals since its establishment in July.

The commission has the power to investigate public officials - including ministers, parliamentarians and their staff, as well as public servants and government contractors - over allegations of corrupt conduct.

In a media alert on Wednesday, the commission said 1667 of these referrals had been excluded because they didn't involve a Commonwealth public official or didn't raise a corruption issue.

The commission has opened nine investigations, referred three corruption issues to relevant Commonwealth agencies, and launched 13 preliminary investigations to acquire more information about whether there is a corruption issue present.

The statement also said that 172 referrals were pending triage, 58 were in active triage and another 152 were under assessment.