Anonymity does not circumvent requirement to be impartial
Published
An APS employee published an article, anonymously, in which they made critical and derogatory comments about a senior member of parliament. The opinion piece was highly political and encouraged readers to not vote for the major parties. An investigation found the employee’s conduct did not uphold the APS value of impartiality.
The employee did not dispute being the author of the article. They argued their identity was not known to the public, and the article was not in connection to their APS employment.
Our review considered the importance of public confidence in the system of responsible government and how part of that relies on an impartial and apolitical public service. In recommending the breach decision be confirmed we cited a recent High Court of Australia decision that reasoned even anonymous communication, depending on the circumstances, may breach the Code of Conduct.
