In a landscape where public servants and political leaders face complex ethical challenges and public sector scandals often seem to proliferate, how can we ensure integrity and accountability in public governance? This course introduces students to key debates in public sector ethics. It explores the responsibilities of public officials and how they negotiate complex and often contested or competing values in their relationships with politicians, citizens, and other stakeholders. Through practical examples and case studies drawn from both Australian and international contexts, students will apply ethical frameworks to analyse decision-making processes, professional conduct, and public sector practices. Core ethical theories will be connected to contemporary policy challenges, with a focus on how personal, professional, organisational, and social influences shape ethical behaviour. Students will also evaluate a wide range of relevant scholarly and professional sources to critically assess approaches to fostering and codifying ethical leadership and promoting integrity in government.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Explain key concepts and theories in public sector ethics.
- Apply ethical frameworks to real world case studies of public sector debates, practices and dilemmas.
- Analyse how ethical norms and principles influence decision-making processes and professional conduct in the public sector.
- Evaluate relevant scholarly and professional sources on public sector ethics.
- Assess the role of personal, professional, organisational and social influences in shaping ethics in practice.
Indicative Assessment
- Short reflection (500 words) (10) [LO 1,4]
- Film response (1500 words) (30) [LO 1,3,4,5]
- Participation - weekly quizzes (10 x 1% each) (10) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Final research essay (3500 words) (50) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
The standard workload for a 6 unit course is 130 hours including class time and independent study.
Prescribed Texts
See Wattle
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $4680 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $6720 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.