The chief of Queensland’s Public Service Commission (PSC) has denied being uncooperative with a lobbying audit.

PSC chief Robert Setter is the latest point of focus in an integrity saga engulfing the Queensland Government.

He was among 21 department heads requested by the stage’s integrity commissioner to review their records of contact with lobbyists between December 2019 and November 2020.

The PSC oversees the Queensland integrity commissioner's budget, staffing and resources. This governance arrangement is not replicated for any other integrity agency in the state.

A letter from February 2021 reported by news media suggests Mr Setter believed that the integrity act “does not appear to contemplate agencies undertaking audits”, but has denied that he declined to cooperate.

“I did not decline to cooperate. I replied and offered to assist the Integrity Commissioner in meeting her statutory obligation by providing a copy of the Public Service Commission register for that period,” Mr Setter said in a statement.

“As I expressed to the director-general, Department of the Premier and Cabinet this morning, I regret that I did not follow up by providing the register.”

He said the organisation had no history of working with lobbyists.

At a press conference this week, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said “it should have been done”.

“I expect the heads of my department to comply with correspondence they receive - incoming and outgoing.”

The Premier would not say if she has confidence in the PSC chief. 

The state's integrity commissioner, Nikola Stepanov, says there has been a “substantial” increase in lobbying activity over the past two financial years.

Dr Stepanov has called for a formal review into inference in her office by the PSC.