The gifts of dinners revealed here were exposed only due to freedom of information requests and media pressure. The federal regulators – ASIC, ACCC as well as the banking regulator and the tax office – keep gift and hospitality records but do not routinely publish them. If you’re in the public eye you really need to be in the position to say 'I’ve nothing to hide'. Former ACCC head Graeme Samuel A tax office spokesperson said the ATO encouraged staff to “politely decline any offers of gifts or hospitality if this can be done without causing offence”. The regulators are under mounting pressure to do so, including from the Commonwealth Auditor-General and former ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel who has slammed hobnobbing between watchdogs and businesses they are supposed to police.

Mr Samuel, a former Macquarie Bank executive director, said the gifts and dinners should be made public. “If you’re in the public eye you really need to be in the position to say 'I’ve nothing to hide'.” Illustration: Matt Golding Credit: Accountability around relationships with business is under heavy scrutiny following the banking royal commission and other corporate scandals. ASIC provided The Age with records from 2014-2017, previously released under freedom of information laws, listing gifts including a private label Barossa Valley wine from the Bank of China, an Emirates international flight upgrade, and tickets to the Byron Bay Bluesfest. The commission, led by chairman James Shipton, refused to provide the register for 2018.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, which regulates banking, insurance and superannuation, said it had an internal register but refused to provide it to The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. The ACCC, led by chair Rod Sims, does not publish a register. When pressed for a copy, the regulator provided documents that excluded the names of some donors, their value and whether or not gifts had been accepted, all of which had earlier been released in response to an FoI request. It later released more ordered records for 2018. Hospitality accepted by ACCC staff in recent years range includes a box of organic food, bottles of champagne, wireless headphones and lunch at Melbourne’s Ginger Boy restaurant. ASIC staff have also received a regular supply of complimentary bottles of wine and champagne from national and foreign banks, a private training course from venture capital firms, free airfares and accommodation to attend conferences and access to a corporate box. Mr Samuel said corporate gifts and hospitality, including at major sporting events such as the Australian Open, football matches and the spring racing carnival, were often important to corporate strategies for influencing regulators and politicians.

“Gifts and hospitality are not given for reasons of altruism,” Mr Samuel said. He said they were for “ingratiation”. “It’s about creating that sense of obligation or a relationship so that officials start to think ‘maybe I shouldn’t be as tough on this lot’,” he said. He said regulators and politicians should refuse all gifts and hospitality, including entertainment at sporting events. ASIC, the ACCC and APRA are independent authorities, but their in-house monitoring of gifts and hospitality reflect a wider problem across the Commonwealth public service.

In a 2018 report, Auditor-General Grant Hehir criticised the handling of gifts and hospitality across the public service, noting a lack of “whole-of-government guidance” including minimum requirements. He also urged departments and agencies to publish registers online, a call that has been largely ignored. As it has done with the establishment of an anti-corruption body, the Commonwealth has lagged behind the states on the issue of gifts and hospitality. States and territories including Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania have more consistent and transparent approaches.

The Australian Public Services Commission encourages the keeping of registers, but rules and records are managed internally by individual departments and agencies. The commission refused requests for an interview. ASIC’s policy on gifts and benefits includes that staff are required to decline any gift or benefit accept in “special situations” and that staff and commissioners must not accept gifts that may create a real or perceived conflict of interest. A spokeswoman said ASIC was undertaking a review “which could lead to changes to the policy as it relates to gifts". An APRA spokesperson said employees must not accept any gifts where staff have, or may be perceived as having, a conflict of interest.

An ACCC spokeswoman said ACCC staff must declare any item of more than $50 value. The ATO maintains a register of offers of gifts or hospitality valued at more than $200, but the register is not publicly available.