Integrity Coordinating Group

The Integrity Coordinating Group promotes policy coherence and operational coordination in the ongoing work of Western Australia's core public sector integrity institutions.

Last updated: 12 January 2022

The Integrity Coordinating Group seeks to achieve operational cooperation and consistency through public awareness, workplace education, prevention, advice and investigation activities across a range of integrity themes.

The group is not established by any statute and is an informal administrative arrangement to enable member agencies to coordinate their activities, avoid duplication and overlap, and better promote integrity to the public sector. Each member remains bound by their own statutory powers and limitations.

The group comprises the:

Integrity means earning and sustaining public trust by:

serving the public interest
using powers responsibly, for the purpose and in the manner for which they were intended
acting with honesty and transparency, making reasoned decisions without bias by following fair and objective processes
preventing and addressing improper conduct, disclosing facts without hiding or distorting them
not allowing decisions or actions to be influenced by personal or private interests.

The public sector serves the public as determined by the democratically elected Government of the day, without bias towards one political party or another. This ‘political impartiality’ endures so there is continuity in the business of government regardless of which party is in power.

Impartiality means neutrality, independence and objectivity, fairness and balance, open-mindedness and even-handedness. This detachment does not mean apathy, indifference or unresponsiveness to public policy priorities determined by the Government and parliament.

Political impartiality requires public officers to demonstrate loyalty to the state of Western Australia, led by the elected Government, and to successive governments, and enables successive governments to have confidence in the public sector. In addition, the way public servants interact with the community affects the perceptions and attitudes the community have of public sector agencies and officers.

Serving the public interest also involves identifying and promoting opportunities to serve the Western Australian public, and advocating innovative solutions to community concerns. In serving the duly elected Government, a balance needs to be maintained between the dual roles of public servants being responsible to the minister and responsive to the public.