Australia Updates Rules on Gifts and Benefits for Public Servants

The document replaces the 2019 guidance, which was primarily addressed to agency heads. The new Guidance establishes uniform minimum requirements for the internal policies of federal agencies and applies to Australian Public Service employees, agency heads and other public officials.

Under the document, gifts and benefits include any free or discounted goods or services offered to an official in connection with the performance of their official duties. These may include, in particular, tangible gifts, meals and other forms of hospitality, tickets to events, transport, accommodation, attendance at conferences and training, discounts, club memberships and other forms of preferential treatment.

The core principle is that an official should not accept a gift or benefit where this could affect, or could reasonably be perceived as affecting, their professionalism, impartiality or accountability, or undermine the reputation of the relevant agency or the Australian Public Service as a whole. At the same time, gifts and benefits may be accepted in limited circumstances, for example as part of protocol exchanges between government representatives where declining a gift may be considered culturally inappropriate, or where accepting a particular benefit is necessary for the performance of official duties and is in the public interest.

The Guidance sets out nine minimum requirements that must be reflected in each agency’s internal policy:

having an internal gifts and benefits policy;
identifying and managing integrity risks specific to the agency’s functions;
specifying gifts and benefits that must not be accepted;
defining the circumstances in which gifts and benefits may be accepted;
taking cultural considerations into account in managing gifts and benefits;
establishing arrangements for dealing with gifts and benefits that are offered or accepted;
establishing declaration requirements;
establishing public reporting requirements;
ensuring transparency while complying with privacy requirements.

In particular, gifts and benefits that must be strictly prohibited include bribes, cash, debit and gift cards, vouchers that can be exchanged for cash, cryptocurrency and other cash-equivalent items, as well as gifts and benefits prohibited under the Australian Government’s official travel rules.

The mandatory minimum declaration threshold of A$100, excluding Goods and Services Tax, remains in place. Agencies are, however, encouraged to set a lower threshold and introduce additional restrictions where this is warranted by the nature of their activities and the level of integrity risks.

At the same time, the APSC published a Model Gifts and Benefits Policy, which agencies may adopt or adapt to their specific circumstances, as well as a range of supporting materials:

Federal agencies must bring their internal policies and procedures into line with the new requirements by 31 January 2027.