Gifts, benefits and hospitality may be provided to welcome guests, to facilitate the development of business relationships, to further public sector business outcomes and to celebrate achievements.
Requirements for providing gifts, benefits and hospitality
When deciding whether to provide gifts, benefits or hospitality, or the type of gift, benefit or hospitality to provide, individuals must ensure:
- any gift, benefit or hospitality is provided for a business reason in that it furthers the conduct of official business or other legitimate organisational goals, or promotes and supports government policy objectives and priorities
- that any costs are proportionate to the benefits obtained for the State, and would be considered reasonable in terms of community expectations (the ‘HOST’ test is a good reminder of what to think about in making this assessment)
- it does not raise an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest.
The HOST test is a good reminder of what to think about when deciding whether to offer hospitality or gifts to staff or stakeholders:
HOST test
| Hospitality | To whom is the gift or hospitality being provided? Will recipients be external business partners, or individuals of the host organisation? |
| Objectives | For what purpose will hospitality be provided? Is the hospitality being provided to further the conduct of official business? Will it promote and support government policy objectives and priorities? Will it contribute to staff wellbeing and workplace satisfaction? |
| Spend | Will public funds be spent? What type of hospitality will be provided? Will it be modest or expensive, and will alcohol be provided as a courtesy or an indulgence? Will the costs incurred be proportionate to the benefits obtained? |
| Trust | Will public trust be enhanced or diminished? Could you publicly explain the rationale for providing the gift or hospitality? Will the event be conducted in a manner which upholds the reputation of the public sector? Have records in relation to the gift or hospitality been kept in accordance with reporting and recording procedures? |
Containing costs
Individuals should contain costs involved in the provision of gifts, benefits and hospitality wherever possible. The following questions may be useful to assist individuals to decide the type of gift, benefit or hospitality to provide.
- Will the cost of providing the gift, benefit or hospitality be proportionate to the potential benefits?
- Is an external venue necessary or does the organisation have facilities to host the event?
- Is the proposed catering or hospitality proportionate to the number of attendees?
- Does the size of the event and number of attendees align with intended outcomes?
- Will providing the gift, benefit or hospitality be viewed by the public as excessive?
Records relating to the provision of hospitality, such as approval forms and records relating to procurement and expenditure, must be retained in accordance with their requirements under the Financial Management Act 1994.
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