The Commonwealth Integrity Maturity Framework is a set of 8 integrity principles, that are derived from the key Commonwealth integrity laws, policies and procedures. Each principle summarises the corresponding governance obligations and controls.
Each integrity principle is accompanied by a 4-level maturity scale, with each level of maturity building on the previous level.
Click on the below to find out more about the Integrity Principles and Maturity Indicators.
Integrity Principles
Overarching maturity index
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Integrity principles and maturity indicators
Principle 1: Values and Code of Conduct
Value
- Impartial: apolitical, unbiased, frank, honest and timely
- Committed to Service: professional, objective, innovative, efficient and collaborative
- Accountable: open and accountable to the Australian community
- Respectful and Inclusive: promoting equality and diversity of all people, including their gender, race, sex, heritage, culture, rights and ability
- Safety and Wellbeing: health and safety obligations are upheld; people are physically and psychologically safe at work
- Ethical: demonstrate leadership, be trustworthy, act with integrity, honesty, truthfulness, and accuracy
- Merit-based decision-making: decisions consider evidence, equity, legality and value for money and are transparent and accountable.
- Stewardship: look ahead, meet future challenges, be self-critical; sustain wisdom, expertise and continuity; build partnerships and the capability of others; remain steadfast to the public interest and sustain a culture of integrity
Code of Conduct
- Obligations of honesty, integrity, care, diligence, safety, respect, courtesy; avoidance (and prevention) of bullying, harassment and discrimination
- Compliance with laws and reasonable directions
- Maintain appropriate confidentiality
- Not provide false or misleading information
- Avoid and manage actual, perceived and potential conflicts of interest, and declare material personal interests
- Proper, efficient, effective, economical and ethical use of resources
- Not misuse duties, status, power or authority to gain a benefit or to cause detriment
- Uphold the integrity and good reputation of the entity and the Australian public service
- Maintain capability to investigate, sanction and record breaches of the Code along with avenues for appeal and review
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Principle 2: Integrity knowledge and performance management
Implement standards and systems governing:
- The knowledge and capabilities required by employees soon after entry and at key stages of career to ensure they can effectively implement integrity policies and procedures
- How agreed values are best addressed when assessing an employee’s performance
- Considering a person’s ability to model, champion and advance institutional integrity in leadership/management, recruitment and performance reviews
- Each head of entity in their annual performance report explicitly address their success in achieving high professional standards of conduct, delivery and stewardship in the entity they lead
Principle 2: Integrity Maturity Indicators | |
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Principle 3: Integrity policies, resources and systems
- Maintain policies governing:
- gifts and benefits
- outside employment or volunteering
- information management and record-keeping
- privacy and confidentiality
- roles and responsibilities regarding the reporting and management of potential misconduct
- Impartiality, including use of social media and political activity
- Diversity, inclusion and respectful workplace behaviours
- Provide access to integrity advice
- Maintain systems to report and manage:
- Actual, perceived and potential conflict of interest and declarations of associations, assets and interests
- suspected misconduct, bullying, harassment, unlawful discrimination, fraud or corruption, including suspected wrongdoing under the Public Interest Disclosure Act, and information on how to contact authorised officers
- responses to ethical failures
- protection of reporting persons or witnesses
- gifts, benefits, hospitality, entertainment, and sponsored travel
Principle 3: Integrity Maturity Indicators | |
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Principle 4: Integrity risk management Integrity Controls - Commonwealth Risk Management Policy
- Ensure principles of the risk management framework are integrated in the entity’s integrity framework to ensure consistency
- Ensure integrity and risk management is embedded in key business processes—such as governance, project planning, fraud control, audit, procurement, recruitment and assurance
- Assign responsibilities for managing and monitoring risk and integrity
- Develop a positive risk and pro-integrity culture—where:
- leaders, managers and supervisors consistently and positively role-model and discuss the importance of managing risk and encouraging a positive integrity culture
- employees talk openly and honestly about risk and integrity, raising concerns with authority figures, and those being challenged respond positively
- officials understand the risks facing their entity and consistently make appropriate risk-based decisions with the risk appetite of the entity
- Communicate and consult about risk and integrity in a timely and effective manner to internal and external stakeholders
- Maintain an appropriate level of resources and capability to manage risks, including consideration of the severity of the risks as informed by risk appetite
- Regularly review the effectiveness of controls to manage integrity risks – periodically and when there are changes to the operating environment
- Work collaboratively to identify and manage any shared integrity risks with other Commonwealth entities and relevant stakeholders
Integrity Controls:
Commonwealth Risk Management Policy
Principle 4: Integrity Maturity Indicators ( Commonwealth Risk Management Capability Maturity Model) | |
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Integrated |
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Optimal |
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Principle 5: Prevent, detect and manage fraud and corruption
- Conduct fraud and corruption risk assessments regularly
- Implement a fraud and corruption control plan for identified risks
- Prevent fraud and corruption, including by ensuring that officials know what constitutes fraud and corruption, and the risk of fraud and corruption is considered in planning and activities
- Detect fraud and corruption and provide a process to report suspected fraud and corruption confidentially
- Investigate or deal with fraud and corruption or suspected fraud and corruption, and recording and reporting fraud and corruption
Integrity Controls:
Commonwealth Fraud Control Framework
PGPA Rule
Principle 5: Integrity Maturity Indicators | |
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(*note: maturity indicators in Principle 1 relating to Code of Conduct investigations also relate to fraud/corruption investigations under this Principle)
Principle 6: Integrity in public resource management
- Uphold efficient, effective, economical and ethical use and management of public resources including as part of demonstrating value for money
- Maintain probity, accountability and transparency in the management of public resources, including assessment and provision of grants and procurement, and avoidance of political or other bias
- Contractors to declare conflicts of interest, not act fraudulently, and comply with all relevant Commonwealth laws and policies, including relevant APS or entity code of conduct provisions
- Officials to behave ethically and to manage the risk of fraud and/or unethical or corrupt conduct by the supplier or employees, including, depending on ethical risk, the use of a Probity Plan, a Fraud Control Plan and/or a Supply Chain Risk Plans
- Manage the risk of unethical supplier practices, such as actual, perceived or potential conflicts of interest, fraud, corruption, tax avoidance, and modern slavery
Integrity Controls:
PGPA Act and PGPA Rule
Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines
Australian Government Contract Management Guide
Resource Management Framework
Commonwealth Procurement Rules
Policy on Ethics and Probity in Procurement
Principle 6: Integrity Maturity Indicators | |
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Principle 7: Protect people, information and assets
Integrity Controls – Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF)
- Assess and manage risks to the security of people, information and assets, and share information on risks as appropriate
- Screen and vet personnel and contractors to assess their eligibility and suitability, including integrity and honesty
- Assess and manage the ongoing suitability of personnel, and share relevant, appropriate concerns
- Ensure contractors comply with PSPF requirements
- Ensure separating personnel are informed of ongoing security obligations
- Assess the maturity of security capability and risk culture
Integrity Controls:
Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF)
Principle 7: Integrity Maturity Indicators | |
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(*note: based on Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF) Maturity Self- Assessment Model)
Principle 8: Monitor and evaluate organisational integrity
Monitor and evaluate integrity performance, including periodically assessing the maturity of the institution’s management of integrity risks, ideally including:
- Integrity incident evaluation and response
- Integrity testing (where available)
- A participative assessment and learning process involving a cross-section of employees, informed by integrity metrics, monitoring and reporting
- Identification of current and emerging integrity threats and vulnerabilities associated with the entity’s mandate, powers and functions, and consequent integrity risks
- Consideration of the likelihood and potential harm of integrity risks
- Identify and assess risks that require improved or new governance controls
- Recommending the implementation and monitoring of governance controls to mitigate risks
- Assessment of the level of maturity of the integrity governance system
- Reporting, and decision making, on recommendations to reach desired maturity levels, and to sustain a culture of integrity where institutional systems, policies and practices are purposeful, proportionate, legitimate and trustworthy
Principle 8: Integrity Maturity Indicators | |
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