An Overview of the Public Service Commission

The Commission is supported by a small team of civil servants from the Executive Officer, Secretarial and Clerical grades. At the end of 2025, the number of established posts in the Commission Secretariat was 34. An organisation chart of the Commission Secretariat is at Appendix II.

The Commission’s role is advisory. With a few exceptions specified in section (s.) 6(2) of the PSCO¹, the Commission advises on the appointments and promotions of civil servants to posts with a maximum monthly salary at Master Pay Scale Point 26 ($59,110 as at end of 2025) or above, up to and including Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Department (HoDs). The appointment of the Principal Officials of the executive authorities of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) as stipulated under the Basic Law of the HKSAR of the People’s Republic of China does not fall under the purview of the Commission. At the end of June 2025, the number of established civil service posts falling under the Commission’s purview was about 55 000 out of a total of about 190 000. However, irrespective of rank, the following categories of cases are required to be referred to the Commission for advice. They are –

As regards disciplinary cases, the Administration is required under s.18 of the PS(A)O³ to consult the Commission before inflicting any punishment under s.9, s.10 or s.11 of the PS(A)O upon Category A officers with the exception of the exclusions specified in the PSCO. Category A officers refer to those who are appointed to and confirmed in an established office or are members of the Civil Service Provident Fund (CSPF) Scheme⁴. They include virtually all officers except those on probation, agreement and some who are remunerated on the Model Scale 1 Pay Scale. At the end of June 2025, the number of Category A officers falling under the Commission’s purview for disciplinary matters was about 125 000.

The Commission also handles representations from officers on matters falling within its statutory purview and in which the officers have a direct and definable interest. In addition, the Commission is required to advise on any matter relating to the Civil Service that may be referred to it by the CE. The Commission also advises the Secretary for the Civil Service on policy and procedural issues pertaining to appointments, promotions and discipline as well as on a wide range of subjects relating to human resource management.

The business of the Commission is normally conducted through circulation of papers. Meetings are held to discuss major policy issues or cases which are complex or involve important points of principle. At such meetings, representatives of CSB and senior managements of Bureaux/Departments (B/Ds) may be invited to apprise the Commission of the background of the issue or case but the Commission forms its views independently.

In examining submissions from B/Ds, the Commission’s primary aim is to ensure that the recommendations are well justified and are arrived at following the laid down procedures and stipulated guidelines. To achieve this, the Commission has devised a meticulous vetting system and, in the process, may require B/Ds to provide clarifications and supplementary information. In some cases, B/Ds would revise their recommendations after taking into account the Commission’s observations. In other cases, the Commission is able to be satisfied with the propriety of the recommendations after examining the elaborations provided. The Commission also tenders suggestions or reminders to B/Ds on areas worthy of management attention. The ultimate objective is to facilitate the pursuit of excellence in the administration of the appointment, promotion and disciplinary systems in the Civil Service.

In accordance with s.12(1) of the PSCO, the Chairman or any member of the Commission or any other person is prohibited from publishing or disclosing to any unauthorised person any information which has come to his knowledge in respect of any matter referred to the Commission under the Ordinance. Under s.13 of the PSCO, every person is prohibited from influencing or attempting to influence any decision of the Commission or the Chairman or any member of the Commission. These provisions serve to provide a clear and firm legal basis for safeguarding the confidentiality and impartial conduct of the Commission’s business.

In 2025, the Commission advised on 1 097 submissions covering recruitment, promotions and disciplinary cases as well as other appointment-related subjects. Queries were raised in respect of 722 submissions, resulting in 98 re-submissions (14%) with recommendations revised by B/Ds in the light of the Commission’s comments. All submissions in 2025 were completed within the pledged processing time⁵. A statistical breakdown of these cases and a comparison with those in the past four years are provided in Appendix III.

Furthermore, the Commission Chairman continued to attend board meetings convened by various B/Ds (hereafter referred to as “selection meetings”), covering appointments, promotions, and further employment matters, in the capacity of an observer. During these meetings, the Commission Chairman offered strategic insights and suggested enhancement measures to address observed inadequacies as necessary, while also providing guidance on compliance with established rules and procedures. This year, the Commission Chairman attended over 60 selection meetings, with several Commission Members also participating as observers in some of these meetings.

Separately, the Commission handled a total of 42 representations and complaints in 2025. We deal with representations and complaints seriously as follows –

The Commission has a key role to ensure compliance and consistency in the application of policies and procedures pertaining to appointments, promotions and discipline in the Civil Service. While staff training and development are the fundamental responsibilities of departmental and grade managements (GMs), the Commission has been working with CSB to promote a holistic approach in developing a comprehensive Human Resource Management strategy which best serves the interest of the Civil Service.

Specifically, robust staff management is essential for sustaining high standards of performance and conduct in the Civil Service. In some disciplinary cases, if supervisors properly and diligently fulfill their supervisory and monitoring responsibilities, some acts of misconduct by their subordinates could be detected at an early stage or even totally avoided. This is particularly important for those supervisors at the middle level to do so as many of them are usually responsible for supervising sizable teams of junior/frontline staff. It is imperative for them to equip themselves with the necessary skills to manage staff with performance and/or conduct issues. The Commission is pleased that CSB, taking heed of the Commission’s advice, launched an online training programme for these supervisors in December 2025 with a view to strengthening their staff management skills. More details about this training initiative are set out in Chapter 5.

In 2025, the Commission continued to field officers from the Commission Secretariat to participate by offering observations and views in training sessions and workshops organised for officers of the Executive Officer Grade and GMs. Equipping them with the necessary knowledge and expertise in human resource management is imperative in ensuring that the recruitment, management of probationers, promotion and performance management systems are administered properly and in full compliance with civil service policies and rules. These interactive training sessions and workshops fostered active engagement, where officers could exchange experiences and deepen their understanding of human resource management practices. We were delighted with the positive feedback gauged. Moreover, these forums have strengthened communication between the Commission and B/Ds, allowing subject officers to become better acquainted with the Commission’s standard and requirements, thereby enhancing our mutual efficiency.

Last year, the Commission advised B/Ds, where necessary, to arrange for supervising officers to attend the relevant appraisal management courses organised by the Civil Service College. The Commission is pleased to note that B/Ds have responded positively, addressing actively the identified inadequacies in performance management by providing necessary training to their supervisory officers. The Commission will continue to work closely with CSB in this regard.

Separately, through our scrutiny of various submissions, the Commission has observed that certain B/Ds may face different challenges in handling matters related to appointments, performance management and staff development. To foster mutual understanding, the Commission will normally schedule targeted visits to two B/Ds in a year. During these visits, the Commission will have exchanges with these B/Ds and may suggest enhancement measures and, if necessary, ask the B/Ds to report back to the Commission on the progress of the measures taken and the improvements made. The visits arranged for the Commission in 2025 are set out in Chapter 6. The Commission will continue to visit B/Ds to discuss areas and matters of mutual interest.

An Index of the advice and observations of the Commission on civil service recruitment, appointment, discipline and other human resource management issues cited in the Commission’s Annual Reports since 2001 is provided on the homepage. The objective is to provide human resource management practitioners in B/Ds and general readers with a ready guide for quick searches of the required information.