Gifts, benefits and hospitality policy

This policy is important for keeping our organisational integrity and maintaining public trust. The policy sets standards and expectations to help us follow the Code of Conduct for Victorian Public Sector Employees and the Standing Directions 2018 issued under the Financial Management Act 1994.

Why managing gifts, benefits and hospitality matters

The Code and the Public Administration Act 2004 set out rules for all public sector staff to behave according to shared values. These values include acting with integrity, impartiality and accountability. These rules set basic requirements for declaring and managing gifts, benefits, and hospitality. Accepting or giving gifts, benefits, or hospitality can lead to concerns of unfair treatment. These risks can happen anywhere in an organisation, but some jobs or situations have a higher risk and need stronger controls. These include:

Making important decisions
Regulating businesses or individuals
Handing out money, subsidies, or other financial benefits
Buying goods or services (procurement).

Who must follow this policy

This policy applies to all EPA employees. This includes:

Governing Board members
CEO, Executive Directors, Directors and Managers
Employees (whether on-going, fixed term or temporary)
Contractors, consultants, recruitment agency staff and trainees
Seconded staff from Victoria Government organisations.

Key principles guiding this policy

Acting in public interest

Our employees must always put the public first. They have to protect our reputation by being open and careful with gifts, benefits, and hospitality. Staff should never accept anything that could make others think they are unfair or that could lead to a conflict. By handling these offers in the right way, employees help keep public trust in our choices and make sure decisions are made for the right reasons.

Being accountable for offers and decisions

Employees are responsible for:

Reporting all offers of gifts, benefits, or hospitality that are not token (over $50), even if they say no to the offer. They must do this within 14 days.
Saying no to offers of gifts, benefits, or hospitality that are not token, unless there is a good business reason. If there is a good reason to accept, approval is needed first.
Giving gifts, benefits, or hospitality to others only when it's reasonable to do so.
Completing yearly gifts, benefits, and hospitality training.

People leaders must:

Make sure their team members handle offers of gifts, benefits, or hospitality appropriately.
Lead by example by following the rules themselves.
Help team members understand the rules and requirements.

Managers and leaders need to know about the risks their teams might face at work and support their team members understand how and manage these risks.

If an employee is asked to speak at a work-related event, they may be allowed to have their travel and accommodation costs paid for. This must be approved by their manager and only if it helps our work.

How compliance is monitored and reported

Compliance with this policy is checked using different controls and steps, explained in the Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality Procedure. Information about gifts, benefits, and hospitality is kept in a register and reported to the Senior Executive Committee and the Risk and Audit Committee every year. The register is also published on the external website as required in the Victorian Public Sector Commission (VPSC) Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality Minimum Accountabilities. Staff who breach this policy may face disciplinary action.

Reporting concerns and breaches

If you think someone at EPA has not reported a gift, benefit, or hospitality—or that these things are not being managed properly—you should tell your manager, an authorised representative, or the Chief Quality Officer. We protect staff who speak up in good faith. Anyone who tries to harm someone for speaking up may face disciplinary action.

Further information

Responsibilities

Governing Board

The Governing Board has overall accountability for EPA’s governance, risk management and ensuring compliance with applicable legislation and policies. The Governing Board approves this policy and ensures its periodic review.

Risk and Audit committee (RAC)

The RAC reports to and advises the Governing Board and our management on risk management systems and practices and the compliance and control environment. The RAC is responsible for reviewing the effectiveness of our Integrity Framework and organisational systems and policies for setting and monitoring compliance with applicable laws, regulations, Ministerial Directions, Standards and government policies. The RAC reviews this policy for approval by the Governing Board.

Senior Executive committee (SEC)

Endorses this policy for review by the RAC and approval from the Governing Board when due for review.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Ensures that our staff are aware of and comply with this policy, and we develop policies and procedures that apply the minimum accountabilities set out in the Victorian Public Sector Commission’s Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality Policy Framework.

Executive Directors/ Branch Directors

Manages the receipt or provision of gifts, benefits or hospitality within their divisions and branches.

Chief Quality Officer

Advises on the operation of this policy, including on matters that require investigation due to a reported breach, and ensures that we have systems and processes in place for managing the receipt or provision of gifts, benefits or hospitality.

Assurance, Risk and Integrity Unit

Advises on the operation of this policy and has responsibility for governance of a gifts benefits and hospitality register. Maintains and publicly communicates the annual gifts register.

People leaders

Manages the receipt or provision of gifts, benefits or hospitality within their teams.

EPA staff

Adheres to the standards set out in this policy and participates in mandatory periodic education and training to ensure they understand their obligations under this policy. All staff must declare the receipt of gifts, benefits or hospitality.

Key terms used in this policy

Benefits include preferential treatment, privileged access, favours, or other advantage offered to an individual. They may include invitations to sporting, cultural or social events, access to discounts and loyalty programs and promises of a new job. The value of benefits may be difficult to define in dollars, but as they are valued by the individual, they may be used to influence the individual’s behaviour.
Conflicts may be:
- Actual: There is a real conflict between an employee’s public duties and private interests. Potential: An employee has private interests that could conflict with their public duties. This refers to circumstances where it is foreseeable that a conflict may arise in future and steps should be taken now to mitigate that future risk.
- Perceived: The public or a third party could reasonably form the view that an employee’s private interests could improperly influence their decisions or actions, now or in the future.
Gifts are free or discounted items or services and any item or service that would generally be seen by the public as a gift. These include items of high value (for example, artwork, jewellery, or expensive pens), low value (e.g. small bunch of flowers), consumables (for example, Chocolates) and services (for example, painting and repairs).

Fundraising by public sector organisations that is consistent with relevant legislation and any government policy is not prohibited under the minimum accountabilities
Furthers the conduct of official business or other legitimate goals of our organisation, the public sector or the State. An offer must be refused unless there is a legitimate business reason to accept. The legitimate business reason of an accepted offer must be publicly defensible, as it will be published on the gift, benefit and hospitality register that is published externally on an annual basis.