Public Sector Integrity in Practice: An Analysis of Public Sector Integrity Reviews

The research contained in this document was written in 2023 by ANZSOG Research following the release of the final report of the Robodebt Royal Commission, which made public sector integrity highly salient both in the sector and in the public debate. It was subsequently made available through the APS Academy, and is republished here as part of ANZSOG’s Research Insights series.

The aim of the work was to create a body of knowledge to inform advice to governments looking to redouble their efforts to build a pro-integrity culture in the public sector. Accordingly, the focus here is on integrity practices: what government have done, and can do, to strengthen integrity within the sector.

The document comprises summaries of important and relatively recent reviews of the public sector that made recommendations regarding changes to integrity practices, based either on specific integrity failures or more generally on an understanding of integrity as a key capability for the sector to develop, and some other recent influential literature. The literature was selected based on profile and effect. The selection does not aim to be comprehensive, but rather wide enough to provide a snapshot of the kinds of reforms governments have undertaken (or proposed to undertake) and why.