All public sector workers should have the civil and political rights which are essential for the normal exercise of political freedoms, subject only to the obligations arising from the status and the nature of their work. International law protects the civil and political rights of public sector workers. Australia, however, is currently not a signatory to International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 151. This convention covers the protection of the right to organise, and civil and political rights for public sector workers.
Ratification of ILO Convention 151 would ensure that all Australian public sector workers would have their civil and political rights protected.
Instead of clearly defined civil and political rights for our public sector workers, protections varies by Australian jurisdiction. There is little clarity surrounding the wide-sweeping application of clause 13(11) of the APS Code of Conduct, which decrees that all APS employees must at all times behave in a way that upholds the APS Values and APS Employment Principles; and the integrity and good reputation of the employee's Agency and the APS.