Gifts, benefits and bequests

DCJ is committed to achieving the highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct. DCJ employees must conduct themselves with the highest possible level of integrity and accountability, which includes the appropriate management of Gifts, Benefits and Bequests (GBB).

Occasionally employees may be placed in the position of being offered a GBB from clients, clients' families, carers, visitors, organisations or a third party provider, often as a 'thank you' for work undertaken as a DCJ representative. GBB are often genuine gestures of appreciation, however, any GBB regardless of its value (other than token gifts – refer to the Policy and Procedure), which is accepted by an employee could imply that a relationship exists where integrity and objectivity is being compromised.

The GBB Policy and Procedure (PDF , 274.4 KB) is designed to educate employees on the potential risks that accepting a GBB can create. These potential risks can have a detrimental effect on the great work DCJ does. The policy and procedure serves to guide employees in dealing with situations where they will be offered GBB and to assist supervisors and delegated officers with strategies on how to deal with GBB offered to their staff.

An employee must not seek personal benefit or reward for the work they undertake, or make improper use of their work, role, delegation and/or authority to gain personal benefit. If an employee is offered or receives a GBB, this must be managed in accordance with the GBB policy and procedure.

Soliciting GBB is corrupt conduct. The consequences for any employee who solicits a GBB will result in disciplinary action and may result in criminal charges, convictions and imprisonment.

There are significant risks for an employee accepting GBB from third party providers such as suppliers (including funded non-government organisations – NGOs), recipients of services, or individuals, families and carers.

Generally, employees should not accept offers of gifts, benefits or bequests. However, the GBB Policy and Procedure guides staff on how to deal with GBB including the following situations:

• Where there may be a Conflict of Interest
• General expectations of DCJ staff
• Breaches of the Policy and Procedure
• Hospitality
• Sporting, Entertainment and Cultural Events
• Travel and accommodation
• Competitive scholarships and awards
• Token gifts and gifts between employees
• Bequests
• Limited circumstances where gifts and benefits may be accepted
• Process for declaring and approving GBB

How do I submit a declaration

For accessibility reasons, it is highly recommended that you complete the online declaration form using either a laptop/tablet or PC.

Please see the Gifts, Benefits and Bequests Declaration form and answer all questions.

Business Ethics & Compliance Unit (BECU) Dashboard

A dashboard has been established to support the following business ethics programs:

• Senior Executive Private Interest Declarations (SEPID)
  
• Conflicts of Interest (COI)
• Secondary Employment and Unpaid Work (SEUW)
• Gifts, Benefits and Bequests (GBB)

For declarants, to have easy access to their Declarations. The Dashboard is designed to view all declarations whether they are in draft, pending or completed in one place for each of the above programs. 

For supervisors and delegated officers, the Dashboard is designed to list all declarations/applications assigned to you for review and recommendation. This includes reminders for declarations that require periodic review as part of a management strategy or approval.

Steps to gain access to the Dashboard

Step 1 - You will receive a workflow email from one of the Business Ethics and Compliance inboxes which contains a unique password to access the declaration/application and also a link to the Business Ethics and Compliance Unit Dashboard at the bottom.

Step 2 - Once you receive this email click on the link, contained in the email, please enter your email, and copy and paste the password (please ensure that there are no spaces, commas etc. as it is case and character sensitive).

You will also be required to confirm that you are not a robot.

Step 3 - You will then be prompted to set up your own unique password for the Dashboard. Please note this down for future reference when you need to access the Dashboard.

Please note that any workflow email you receive will include your nominated password so that you can access the Dashboard for all declarations/applications in one system.

Security of your information

Declarations will be stored in a secure database in accordance with Information and Digital Services (IDS) policies and with the Privacy & Personal Information Protection Act 1998. 

All personal and health information collected, managed and disclosed under the program will comply with the requirements of the NSW Privacy Laws as outlined in the Department’s Privacy Management Plan.

Relevant documents

• Gifts, Benefits and Bequests (GBB) Policy and Procedure (PDF, 279.8 KB)
• Gifts, Benefits and Bequests (GBB) register 13 May to 30 June 2021 (PDF, 94.8 KB)
• Gifts, Benefits and Bequests (GBB) register 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 (PDF, 98.6 KB)
• BECU Dashboard Quick Reference Guide (PDF, 930.4 KB)
• Public Service Commissioner Direction - Managing gifts and benefits

Contact and support

Advice and support is available from the Business Ethics and Compliance Unit (BECU) at GiftsBenefitsBequests@facs.nsw.gov.au

If you have trouble accessing the documents on this page or to request an accessible version, please contact us.