The amendments to the Public Sector Management Act 1994 became effective on 1 December 2010.

This established an independent Public Sector Commissioner, bringing together the role of the Minister with responsibility for public sector management with the role of the Commissioner for Public Sector Standards. The Office of the Public Sector Standards Commissioner has been abolished.

The Public Sector Commissioner:

• has responsibility for setting and monitoring public sector standards and codes of ethics as well as oversight of matters of effectiveness and efficiency in the sector as a whole
• reports directly to Parliament (not through a Minister) on matters within his jurisdiction in much the same way that the Auditor General does
• reports on compliance with public sector standards and codes of ethics and the state of the public sector more generally

The Commissioner has recently published the requirements for training for Western Australian Public Servants.