Integrity good practice guide

Finance Integrity Metrics Register

Finance has developed an Integrity Metrics Register to support its quarterly Integrity Dashboard. The Register describes the integrity indicator, its data source and the basis for its inclusion.

Metric	Description	Examples	Integrity indicators and considerations
Performance management data	Data that indicates whether appropriate performance management practices are in place and whether performance is being appropriately managed across the organisation	Percentage of staff that have a performance agreement in place Percentage of staff that have undertaken a mid- or end-of- cycle assessment Active number of under-performance cases	High rates of performance agreements in place, and regular performance conversations occurring, may indicate employees and managers are clear on expected deliverables, behaviours, career goals and development needs.
Unscheduled leave absence	Monitoring of unscheduled absences	Number of days of unscheduled absence Number of employees whose unscheduled absence has reached or exceeded organisational thresholds	Higher than usual unscheduled absences or changes to attendance patterns may indicate: health concerns for employees, including stress and burnout and cultural concerns within teams.
Overtime and leave balances	Records of overtime, flex- time/time off in lieu (TOIL) and excess leave balances.	Days of overtime worked (APS1-6). Flex-time accumulated; maximums and minimums reached (APS1-6) TOIL accumulated; maximums and minimums reached (EL and SES). Instances of accumulated leave over 40 days	High levels of overtime, flex-time, or TOIL may indicate excessive workload or performance concerns, which may impact upon staff integrity. Regular overtime or after hours work can raise integrity concerns in terms of unsupervised work. High leave balances may indicate: employees are not accessing their leave entitlements Increased chance of stress and burnout feeling that they cannot take leave due to workload.
Code of conduct reports	Monitoring number, type, action time and outcomes of reports and investigations.	Number of code of conduct investigations active and closed	Monitoring code of conduct reports is important in identifying and responding to inappropriate behaviour, preventing it from reoccurring, and demonstrating to the agency that employees will be held accountable if they are found to have breached the Code.
Compensable claims	Monitoring number, type, action time and outcomes of compensable claims.	Number of compensable claims	Changes to the number of compensable claims may indicate broader integrity concerns within a business area, i.e. those claiming compensation for workplace injury due to stress or other workplace concerns.
Work, health and safety (WHS) reports and incidents	Monitoring number, type, action time and outcomes of WHS reports.	Number of work, health and safety incidents by group/division	Changes to the number of WHS reports may indicate broader integrity concerns within a business area, such as not making employee safety a business priority.
Training completion rates	Monitoring and reporting on training that has an integrity focus. This includes the mandatory integrity training for all employees new to the APS.	Percentage that have completed mandatory integrity training within the required timeframe from induction	Providing and monitoring completion of integrity training will assist with uplifting integrity awareness and capability. Also ensures that agencies are meeting their obligations as outlined the Commissioner’s Directions.
Cessation processes	Exit interviews and surveys provide an invaluable source of integrity information.	Rate of completion of exit interviews/ surveys Correlation of perceived integrity issues in exit surveys with broader agency responses to Census/pulse survey questions	Staff members who are leaving an agency are most likely to raise integrity concerns during exit processes – they have nothing to lose or to fear given they are ceasing employment. This is a key opportunity to collect important information on integrity issues.
Conflict of interest declarations	Monitoring and reporting on conflict of interest declarations and conflict of interest management plans.	Number of conflict of interest declarations benchmarked against previous records for an equivalent period	Encouraging, monitoring and reporting on Conflict of interest declarations supports employees to work with integrity, be accountable and be transparent.
Gifts and benefits reporting	Monitoring and reporting on gifts and benefits.	Gifts, benefits or hospitality accepted, measured against gifts or hospitality offered Percentage of gift declarations approved within the required timeframe	Encouraging, monitoring and reporting on gift and benefits supports employees to work with integrity, be accountable and be transparent.
Outside Employment and volunteering	Monitoring and reporting on requests for approval of outside employment and volunteering.	Nature and frequency of outside employment and volunteering requests Number of requests for approval of outside employment/volunteering and percentage of requests approved	Encouraging, monitoring and reporting on outside employment and volunteering requests supports employees to work with integrity, be accountable and be transparent.
Security clearances Cessation Secrecy	Tracking and reporting on security clearance status and processing.	Number of APS clearances granted and confirmed Number of staff or contractors PSPF non-compliant on separation Temporary access – short term and provisional Number of departure forms submitted Cessation Secrecy Undertakings	Monitoring security clearance processes ensures that the agency is aware of potential onboarding delays, high risk role requirements and so on. A high number of pending security clearances for staff already engaged presents a higher risk to integrity.
Breaches (personal, physical and ICT)	Monitoring and reporting on breaches.	Number and severity of personal security incidents Number and severity of physical security breaches Number and severity of ICT security breaches	Changes to the number of breaches may indicate broader integrity concerns within a business area. This may indicate that business processes need updating or better awareness.
Fraud and corruption reports and investigations	Monitoring number, type, action time and outcomes of fraud and corruption reports and investigations.	Number of fraud allegations Reporting channels for allegations of fraud and corruption (handled internally or reported to law enforcement agencies) Fraud Risk Assessment completed Fraud awareness training completed	Monitoring fraud and corruption reports is important in identifying and responding to illegal behaviour, preventing it from reoccurring, and demonstrating to the agency that employees and contractors will be held accountable if they are found to have participated in fraudulent or corrupt behaviours.
Privacy breaches	Monitoring number, type, action time and outcomes of privacy breaches.	Number of reported privacy breaches by group Types of privacy breach by group	An increase in privacy breaches may indicate broader integrity concerns within a business area such as poor induction and business processes.
Public Interest Disclosures	Monitoring number of Public Interest Disclosures (PID).	Number of PID made	Changes to the number of PID may indicate broader integrity concerns within an agency. Emphasis on a particular area may highlight the need for reformed integrity practices in relation to that area.
Late Contracts published to Austender	Monitoring late number of contracts published to Austender website	Number of late published contracts over 42 days Total number of contracts	All entities must report contracts over $10k on Austender within 42 days of entering an arrangement. Monitoring this metric ensures good record keeping practices and compliance with mandatory requirements.
Late Invoices paid	Monitoring number of late invoices paid	Number of late invoices paid Total number of invoices	High number of late invoices accrue interest if payments are not made within the maximum payment terms.