Australian Capital Territory
Corrections Management (Dress Standards and Code of Conduct for Corrections Staff) Policy 2011
Notifiable instrument NI2011-300
made under the  
Corrections Management Act 2007, section 14(1) (Corrections policies and operating procedures) 

1	Name of instrument
This instrument is the Corrections Management (Dress Standards and Code of Conduct for Corrections Staff) Policy 2011.

2	Commencement
This instrument commences on the day after it is notified.
3	Policy
I make the
DRESS STANDARDS AND CODE OF CONDUCT FOR CORRECTIONS STAFF policy
attached to this instrument, to facilitate the effective and efficient management of correctional services.

Bernadette Mitcherson
Executive Director 
ACT Corrective Services
9 June 2011

All Correctional Facilities

Dress Standards & Code of Conduct 
for Corrections Staff 
Policy

Purpose
Authority
Legislation
Policy
Principles
Dress Standards
Beards          
Protocol and Courtesy
Personnel Administration
Daily Attendance Records (Time Sheets, Attendance Register and Overtime Sheet)           
Code of Ethics
Forms/Templates
Related Policies/Procedures

Purpose
To outline the dress standards and code of conduct for corrections staff policy.

Authority
Legislation
Corrections Management Act 2007, section 14 
Public Sector Management Act 1994

Policy
Principles
The attributes of a corrections officer include maturity, flexibility, a sense of responsibility and willingness to accept the terms and conditions of their employment as set out in the relevant legislation and management standards, including the requirement to wear a uniform.

Dress Standards
All uniformed officers must abide by the ACT Corrective Services (ACTCS) Corrections Officer Dress Manual. CO3s shall inspect their staff for neatness and correctness of dress and accoutrements.

Uniformed clothing shall be fitted and worn appropriately, taking into consideration the environment that officers work in, the need for the officer’s comfort and any occupational safety and health requirements. 

Other employees of the Department of Corrective Services not issued with a uniform, whilst working in a prison environment, shall adopt a common sense approach as to what they wear by maintaining a reasonable standard of dress that reflects the department’s professionalism. 

Non uniformed staff must consider occupational health and safety aspects of employment within a prison environment and dress accordingly e.g. closed toe shoes and conservative coverage. 

Non uniformed staff must not wear clothing simular in colour and style to the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC) prisoner uniform. 

The Superintendent shall permit variations for members to wear specific clothing for religious or cultural reasons provided there are no security and safety implications and they comply with general principals and appearance requirements. 

Beards
Officers shall report for duty clean shaven, with the exception of officers who have grown beards. Beards shall be kept trimmed and neat and tidy at all times. 

An officer, who reports for duty in an unshaven or untidy condition, shall be instructed by the CO3 to rectify their dress and appearance.  Any absence from the workplace to rectify a uniform shall be deemed unauthorised leave and shall be recorded as such, until the officer concerned returns to duty.

An exemption from shaving may be made in circumstances where a corrections officer produces a medical certificate endorsing his non-shaving.

Protocol and Courtesy
A corrections officer shall maintain appropriate dress and bearing at all times they are on duty and shall not move about the AMC, or in public, with their hands in their pockets.

A corrections officer who performs duty on a post, at which he or she is seated, shall as a matter of professional courtesy, stand when the Executive/Deputy Executive Director, Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent or a CO3 enters their area of responsibility.

The officer shall greet senior staff and report to the senior officer the status of the area and number of prisoners.

Personnel Administration
Daily Attendance Records (Time Sheets, Attendance Register and Overtime Sheet)
A Daily Attendance Record/Register, including KRONOS Workforce Central, is an accountable document and is subject to audit. Any attempt to fraudulently claim salary or overtime or any false entry, including false certification, may render an officer liable to prosecution under the provisions of the ACT Crimes (Offences against the Government) Act 1989.

It is a corrections officer’s responsibility to ensure his/her log on into the KRONOS Workforce Central system is completed correctly each time they access the system.

A corrections officer shall enter all details of arrival and departure at the AMC using the KRONOS system and sign into and out of a register held in the x-ray airlock in the gatehouse.

Registers and the KRONOS Workforce Central system shall reflect the actual rostered shifts performed during the relevant pay period and for any periods during which a corrections officer was absent on leave.

Any officer commencing duty at a location which does not have the KRONOS Workforce Central system must contact the CO3 on duty at the time of arrival and departure e.g. working from the hospital. Time sheets will not be authorised without confirmation of attendance. 

Code of Ethics
Officers, as public service employees, are obligated to adhere to a code of ethics including;
a)	exercise reasonable care and skill;
b)	act impartially;
c)	act with probity;
d)	treat members of the public and other public employees with courtesy and sensitivity to their rights, duties and aspirations;
e)	in dealing with members of the public, make all reasonable efforts to assist them to understand their entitlements under the territory laws and to understand any requirements that they are obliged to satisfy under those laws;
f)	not harass a member of the public or another public employee, whether sexually or otherwise;
g)	not unlawfully coerce a member of the public or another public employee;
h)	comply with management standards and all other territory laws;
i)	comply with any lawful and reasonable direction given by a person having authority to give the direction;
j)	if the employee has an interest, pecuniary or otherwise, that could conflict, or appear to conflict, with the proper performance of his or her duties, the employee must, as soon as possible after the relevant facts come to the employees notice – 
i.	disclose the interest to his or her supervisor; and
ii.	take reasonable action to avoid the conflict;
k)	not take, or seek to take, improper advantage of his or her position in order to obtain a benefit for the employee or any other person;
l)	not take, or seek to take, improper advantage for the benefit of the employee or any other person, of any information acquired, or any document to which the employee has access, as a consequence of his or her employment;
m)	not disclose, without lawful authority – 
i.	any information acquired by him or her as a consequence of his or her employment; or 
ii.	any information acquired by him or her from any document to which he of she has access as a consequence of his or her employment;
n)	not make a comment that he or she is not authorised to make where the comment may be expected to be taken to be an official comment;
o)	not make improper use of the property of the Territory;
p)	avoid waste and extravagance in the use of the property of the Territory;
q)	report to an appropriate authority – 
i.	any corrupt or fraudulent conduct in the public sector that comes to his or her attention; or
ii.	any possible maladministration in the public sector that he or she has reason to suspect.

Forms/Templates 
Uniform Application Form
Officers Report Form

Related Policies/Procedures
Corrections Officer Dress Manual
ACTCS Code of Ethical Conduct