General

This Act provides a framework for current and former public officials to disclose allegations of misconduct ("disclosable conduct") in the Commonwealth public sector.

Agencies are required to investigate disclosures of potential disclosable conduct.

Protection from reprisals is provided for current and former public officials making disclosures, and persons providing assistance in disclosure investigations and reviews.

What is a public interest disclosure?

A public interest disclosure is a disclosure of information relating to disclosable conduct alleged to have occurred within a Commonwealth agency (for relevant agencies, see sections   71 and 72).

There are 5 kinds of public interest disclosure (see section   26), which are as follows:

  (a)   an internal disclosure (disclosed within an agency);

  (b)   an external disclosure (disclosed outside Government);

  (c)   an emergency disclosure;

  (d)   a legal practitioner disclosure;

  (e)   a NACC disclosure.

What is disclosable conduct?

Disclosable conduct, broadly speaking, includes conduct that:

  (a)   is illegal or corrupt; or

  (b)   results in a wastage of money or property; or

  (c)   results in unreasonable danger or risk to health and safety; or

  (d)   results in danger, or an increased risk of danger, to the environment.

See section   29 for more detail relating to disclosable conduct.

Personal work - related conduct (for example, bullying or harassment) is not generally disclosable conduct. However, personal work - related conduct may be treated as disclosable conduct in some circumstances. See subsection   29(2A) and section   29A for more detail relating to personal work - related conduct.

Investigation of internal disclosures

Generally, this Act provides for a disclosure of disclosable conduct to be first investigated internally, as an internal disclosure.

Internal disclosures may be made by public officials (and former public officials) to supervisors and authorised officers of Commonwealth agencies, including, in appropriate cases, an authorised officer of the Ombudsman and the IGIS.

Part   3 deals with the allocation of the handling of internal disclosures to appropriate agencies, and their investigation by the principal officers of those agencies. Investigative agencies may instead use their own investigative powers to investigate disclosures.

If an authorised officer or principal officer of an agency considers that the conduct disclosed would be more appropriately investigated under another law or power, the officer must take reasonable steps to refer the conduct, or to facilitate its referral, for investigation under the other law or power.

Notice of decisions related to the allocation and investigation of disclosures must be given to the relevant discloser and:

  (a)   the Ombudsman; or

  (b)   the IGIS, for disclosures related to intelligence agencies, or ACIC or the Australian Federal Police in relation to that agency's intelligence functions.

The Ombudsman and the IGIS may also make recommendations to principal officers relating to the allocation and investigation of disclosures.

Administrative support for the investigation and review of internal disclosures

Part   4 provides for the following:

  (a)   obligations of principal officers, authorised officers and supervisors of public officials to facilitate and support the making of internal disclosures;

  (b)   functions of the Ombudsman and the IGIS to facilitate and support the operation of this Act;

  (c)   the sharing of information between relevant agencies, the Ombudsman and the IGIS to facilitate the investigation and review of internal disclosures;

  (d)   the public officials, agencies and principal officers covered by this Act;

  (e)   how this Act deals with disclosures in relation to agencies that are affected by machinery of government changes.

Protection of disclosers and witnesses

The protection provisions in Division   1 of Part   2 relate to all forms of public interest disclosure (whether internal, external, emergency, legal practitioner or NACC disclosure). They deal with the protection of disclosers, and witnesses (that is, persons providing assistance in disclosure investigations and reviews), from reprisals by providing for the following:

  (a)   immunity from liability that is related to disclosures and such assistance;

  (b)   criminal offences for such reprisals, and for disclosing the identity of disclosers;

  (c)   civil remedies for reprisals related to disclosures.

Other matters

Part   5 deals with additional matters related to the administration of this Act, including regular reports to Parliament by the Ombudsman.