Improving Human Rights Considerations and Compliance within the Public Sector
The Australian Government has tasked the Australian Public Service Commission to revise the Australian Public Service Values (APS Values) to a ‘smaller set of core values that are meaningful, memorable and effective in driving change’. Among other considerations, this revision should seek to ‘affirm the importance of including consideration of human rights issues in policy making’. On 28 July 2010, the HRLRC made a Submission to the APSC setting out the reasons for which the APS Values and Code of Conduct should be revised to require that the APS ‘actively respects, protects, promotes and fulfils human rights’, and the other educational and cultural measures and strategies that would support the entrenchment and realization of this value.
On 5 November 2010, the HRLRC made a further Submission to the APSC in response to a 'Proposed New Set of APS Values' released by the APS on 3 November.