3. All you need to know about a public interest disclosure

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3.1 What is a public interest disclosure?

A public interest disclosure (PID) is a report, complaint or allegation, about:

  • improper conduct by a public body or officer or a person
  • detrimental action (reprisal) that’s happened, happening now or is planned against an individual by a public body or officer or a person because they’re directly or indirectly involved with a PID.

Your report, complaint or allegation must contain new information, which is not publicly known, or information you reasonably believe is new information.

3.2 What is ‘improper conduct’?

‘Improper conduct’ is:

  • corrupt conduct

  • it’s also work-related conduct by a public body or officer that is:

    • a criminal offence
    • serious professional misconduct
    • dishonest performance of a public function
    • an intentional or reckless breach of public trust or misuse of information or material acquired while conducting the functions of a public body or officer
    • a substantial:
    • mismanagement of public resources
    • risk to people’s health or safety
    • environmental risk.

    • any person’s actions that:
    • impact the honest performance of a function of a public body or officer; or
    • are intended to impact the effective performance of functions or exercise of a powers by a public body or officer that results in someone, or an associate (someone connected to the person) obtaining under any Act or subordinate instrument:
    • a licence, permit, approval, authority or other entitlement
    • an appointment to a statutory office or board of any public body
    • a financial benefit, or real or personal property
    • any other direct or indirect monetary or proprietary gain that the person or associate would not have otherwise obtained.
    • a conspiracy or attempt to engage in improper conduct as set out above.

    NB: Trivial conduct is not improper conduct

    3.3 What is ‘detrimental action’?

‘Detrimental action’ includes:

  • acts that cause injury, loss or damage
  • intimidation or harassment
  • discrimination, disadvantage or adverse treatment in relation to someone’s job, career, profession, trade or business, including taking disciplinary action.

Threats of ‘detrimental action’, or encouraging or allowing someone else to make such threats, are also detrimental action.

BUT… the detrimental action must be:

  • by a public body or officer; and
  • in reprisal for the public interest disclosure.

Detrimental action is in reprisal for a PID if it is taken or threatened because, or in the belief that, the other person, or anyone else had or intended to either:

  • make the PID; or
  • cooperate with an investigation of the PID.

HOWEVER, it is not detrimental action if at any time the discloser provided information about the PID that they knew to be false or misleading.

Please note

Action by management against a person who has made a PID is not considered reprisal unless the management action was taken because the PID was made.

3.4 Who you can make a PID about

‘Public bodies’, including:

  • public sector bodies
  • incorporated or unincorporated bodies established under an Act for a public purpose, including universities
  • the Electoral Boundaries Commission
  • Councils established under the Local Government Act 2020
  • a body performing a public function for Victoria or a public body or officer
  • any other body or entity that is listed as a public body in the regulations.

Please note

You cannot make a disclosure about:

  • a court
  • an investigating panel or its members (appointed by the Judicial Commission).

You can make a PID even if you can't identify the person or organisation it's about.

See section 6 of the PID Act for more information or visit vpsc.vic.gov.au.

‘Public officers’, including:

  • public servants including Victorian Inspectorate (VI) and Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) officers
  • local government councillors and council employees
  • university employees and teachers
  • Victoria Police
  • members of Parliament, including Ministers
  • ministerial officers, parliamentary advisers and officers, electorate officers
  • judicial officers, including coroners, members of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), associate judges, judicial registrars
  • judicial employees
  • statutory office holders, including the Auditor-General and the Victorian Ombudsman, and the Director of Public Prosecutions
  • the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor or Administrator of the State
  • a person that is performing a public function on behalf of Victoria or a public officer or body
  • a person who holds or a person who is part of a group of persons who hold, an office that the legislation says is a public office
  • a person who does work for (including acting on behalf of someone else) a public body or a public officer.

‘The conduct of anyone’ that:

  • negatively affects the honest performance of a public body or officer carrying out their functions; or
  • intends to negatively affect the effective performance of a public body or officer and results in an outcome where the person or their associate/s have wrongly benefited.

Please note

You cannot make a disclosure about:

  • a court
  • an investigating panel or its members (appointed by the Judicial Commissioner).

You can make a PID even if you can't identify the person or organisation it's about.

See section 6 of the PID Act for more information or visit vpsc.vic.gov.au.

3.5 How to opt out of making a PID

  1. State in writing that your disclosure isn’t a PID.
  2. Give that written statement to the entity you are disclosing to no later than 28 days after making your PID.

See s19 of the PID Act for more detail.

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