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Demonstrate knowledge of the New Zealand State Services Code of
Conduct
Level
3
Credits
5
Purpose
People credited with this unit standard are able to: describe the New Zealand
State Services Code of Conduct; discuss the role of the State Services Code
of Conduct within a State Services organisation and its impact on an
individual State Services employee; and describe the Protected Disclosures
Act 2000 and its relevance to the State Services Code of Conduct.
Subfield
Public Sector Services
Domain
Public Sector Core Skills
Status
Registered
Status date
25 January 2008
Date version published
20 November 2009
Planned review date
31 December 2012
Entry information
Open.
Accreditation
Evaluation of documentation and visit by NZQA and
industry.
Standard setting body (SSB)
The Skills Organisation
Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan (AMAP) reference
0121
This AMAP can be accessed at http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework/search/index.do.
Special notes
1
This unit standard is intended for persons who are working in the New Zealand State
Services.
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2
The State Services Code of Conduct entitled Standards of Integrity and Conduct, and
the publications Understanding the Code of Conduct – Guidance for State servants
and Implementing the Code of Conduct – Resources for organisations, issued in
2007 by the State Services Commissioner under section 57 of the State Sector Act
1988, are the main resources for this unit standard. Other resources that can be
used include the State Services Commission resource kits entitled Walking the Talk:
Making Values Real and Walking the Line: Managing Conflicts of Interest, which
have accompanying video recordings, and the State Services Commission website
http://www.ssc.govt.nz.
The Office of the Auditor General’s website http://www.oag.govt.nz, provides
information relevant to the Code including guidelines on conflicts of interest,
managing sensitive expenditure, and procurement.
3
Definition
Standards of Integrity and Conduct comprises the core standards for the State
Services as described in the Code of Conduct. The Code sets out the standards with
which ‘an agency (including its employees)’ must comply. It specifies the standards
of integrity and conduct required of people working in the State Services. There are
four groups of standards in the Code – Fair, Impartial, Responsible, Trustworthy.
4
Legislation relevant to this standard includes: State Sector Act 1988; Crown Entities
Act 2004; Official Information Act 1982; Privacy Act 1993; New Zealand Public Health
and Disability Act 2000; Employment Relations Act 2000; Protected Disclosures Act
2000; and Human Rights Act 1993.
Elements and performance criteria
Element 1
Describe the New Zealand State Services Code of Conduct.
Performance criteria
1.1
The description identifies and explains the purpose of the State Services Code
of Conduct.
1.2
The description identifies and explains the standards of integrity and conduct
established by the State Services Code of Conduct.
Range
1.3
Fair, Impartial, Responsible, Trustworthy.
Where they exist, other codes of conduct and/or values or ethics statements
relevant to the State Services organisation within which the candidate is
employed are identified. The relationship between these and the State Services
Code of Conduct are explained.
Range
codes of conduct and/or values or ethics statements as developed
by a Chief Executive or Board of a State Services organisation.
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Element 2
Discuss the role of the State Services Code of Conduct within a State Services
organisation and its impact upon an individual State Services employee.
Performance criteria
2.1
The discussion identifies and describes policies and procedures of a State
Services organisation that are consistent with the standards of integrity and
conduct established by the State Services Code of Conduct.
Range
an example of one policy and one procedure for each of the four
groups of standards are required.
2.2
The standards of integrity and conduct established by the State Services Code
of Conduct are identified and explained in the context of their implications for
the behaviour and responsibilities of an individual State Services employee.
2.3
A recent example, case or scenario illustrating the importance of the State
Services Code of Conduct to an individual State Services employee or a State
Services organisation is identified and explained.
Element 3
Describe the Protected Disclosures Act 2000 and its relevance to the State Services Code
of Conduct.
Performance criteria
3.1
The description identifies and outlines the main purpose(s) of the Act.
3.2
The description identifies and describes the kind of disclosures covered by the
Act and the implications of these in relation to the State Services Code of
Conduct.
3.3
The description identifies and describes the internal procedures for making a
disclosure in the State sector organisation in which the candidate is employed.
Please note
Providers must be accredited by NZQA, or an inter-institutional body with delegated
authority for quality assurance, before they can report credits from assessment against
unit standards or deliver courses of study leading to that assessment.
Industry Training Organisations must be accredited by NZQA before they can register
credits from assessment against unit standards.
Accredited providers and Industry Training Organisations assessing against unit standards
must engage with the moderation system that applies to those standards.
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Accreditation requirements and an outline of the moderation system that applies to this
standard are outlined in the Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan (AMAP). The
AMAP also includes useful information about special requirements for organisations
wishing to develop education and training programmes, such as minimum qualifications for
tutors and assessors, and special resource requirements.
Comments on this unit standard
Please contact The Skills Organisation info@skills.org.nz if you wish to suggest changes
to the content of this unit standard.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016