4.1 Who can accept your public interest disclosure?
You can make your disclosure to IBAC unless it’s about:
- IBAC or an IBAC officer
- Integrity Oversight Victoria or one of our officers
- a Public Interest Monitor.
A public service body can accept public interest disclosures by its members, officers or employees, except public interest disclosures about members of Parliament.
Only Integrity Oversight Victoria can receive public interest disclosures about:
- IBAC or IBAC officers
- a Public Interest Monitor.
Any disclosure relating to Integrity Oversight Victoria must go to the Integrity and Oversight Committee of Parliament or to a Presiding Officer.
Public interest disclosures about members of the Legislative Assembly are made to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the Parliamentary Workplace Standards and Integrity Commission or IBAC and public interest disclosures about members of the Legislative Council are made to the President of the Legislative Council, Parliamentary Workplace Standards and Integrity Commission or IBAC.
Table A outlines who you can take your public interest disclosure to.
Table B outlines which organisations and officers take public interest disclosures.
If the subject of your disclosure is in Table A, then take it to:
- IBAC
- Victorian Ombudsman
- Integrity Oversight Victoria
- a public service body
- a council in which the person that your disclosure is about is a member, officer or employee or if you are a member, officer or employee of a council, either to that council or to IBAC or the Chief Municipal Inspector.
The PID Act may not protect public interest disclosures made to unauthorised people or bodies.
Table A: Who to make your disclosure to?
| If your disclosure is about the following | Make disclosure to |
|---|---|
| Chief Commissioner of Police | IBAC
|
| Director of Public Prosecutions | |
| Chief Crown Prosecutor | |
| Solicitor General | |
| Governor | |
| Lieutenant Governor or Administrator | |
| Director, Police Integrity | |
| Electoral Commissioner | |
| Commissioner appointed under the Inquiries Act 2014 | |
| A member of a Board of Inquiry | |
| A judicial officer | |
| A judicial employee | |
| A Ministerial officer | |
| A Parliamentary adviser | |
| An electorate officer | |
| A Parliamentary officer | |
| Minister of the Crown who is not a member of Parliament | IBAC or the Parliamentary Workplace Standards and Integrity Commission |
| A Councillor | IBAC, the Victorian Ombudsman or Chief Municipal Inspector |
| Information Commissioner | IBAC or the Victorian Ombudsman |
| Health Complaints Commissioner | |
| A council | Chief Municipal Inspector To the relevant council
|
| A member of a council | |
| An officer of a council | |
| An employee of a council | |
| The Chief Examiner or an Examiner appointed under Section 21 of the Major Crime (Investigative Powers) Act 2004 | IBAC or Integrity Oversight Victoria |
| A Victorian Ombudsman officer | |
| A Victorian Auditor-General’s Office officer | |
| A Judicial Commission officer (other than a judicial member of the Board of the Judicial Commission) | |
| A member of police personnel (other than the Chief Commissioner) | IBAC or Victoria Police |
| Member of Parliament (Legislative Council) | President of the Legislative Council, the the Parliamentary Workplace Standards and Integrity Commission or IBAC |
| Member of Parliament (Legislative Assembly) | Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the Parliamentary Workplace Standards and Integrity Commission or IBAC |
| IBAC | Integrity Oversight Victoria |
| An IBAC officer | |
| A Public Interest Monitor | |
| Victorian Inspectorate or an Integrity Oversight Victoria officer | Integrity and Oversight Committee, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly or the President of the Legislative Council |
| Judicial officer or a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal member who isn't a judicial officer | IBAC or the Judicial Commission |
Table B: Organisations that can receive public interest disclosures
| Organisation | Officers who can receive disclosures |
|---|---|
| IBAC | Commissioner |
| Deputy Commissioner | |
| Chief Executive Officer | |
| IBAC officer | |
| Victorian Ombudsman | Victorian Ombudsman |
| Victorian Ombudsman officer | |
| Integrity Oversight Victoria | Chief Integrity Inspector |
| Integrity Oversight Victoria officer | |
| Victoria Police | Victoria Police personnel with a rank of sergeant or above (including personnel acting in a role) |
| Disclosures by Victoria Police personnel go to their direct or indirect manager or supervisor | |
Public service body Public service bodies can only receive disclosures that relate to their conduct and are made by their own members, officers or employees. These disclosures can also be made to IBAC, the Victorian Ombudsman or Integrity Oversight Victoria. | Head of the relevant public service body |
| A person the public service body’s PID procedures identify as a person who can receive a PID about that body, e.g. a PID Coordinator | |
| The discloser’s direct or indirect manager or supervisor | |
A council Councils can receive disclosures about the conduct of a member, officer or employee, or disclosures made by their members, officers or employees unless it is required to be made to another entity or relates to a member of Parliament. These can also be made to IBAC, the Victorian Ombudsman, the Chief Municipal Inspector or Integrity Oversight Victoria. | Chief Executive Officer |
| A person that council’s procedures identify as a person who can receive a disclosure about the council, e.g. a PID Coordinator | |
| The discloser’s direct or indirect manager or supervisor | |
| Judicial Commission of Victoria | Director of the Judicial Commission of Victoria |
| Integrity and Oversight Committee | A member of the Integrity and Oversight Committee |
4.2 Who can make a public interest disclosure?
Any person or group of people can make a public interest disclosure.
A company or business can’t, but its officers or employees can.
4.3 Can I get someone to lodge a public interest disclosure on my behalf?
Yes, a public interest disclosure can be lodged on behalf of someone else.
You need written consent to lodge a public interest disclosure on behalf of another person. This is known as appointing an agent.
If you appoint an agent to make a public interest disclosure on your behalf--only you will get the protections.
4.4 You can submit a public interest disclosure in 2 ways
Once you have worked out the right organisation to make your disclosure to, then you can make it in one of these ways.
1. By telling someone
You can do this:
- in person
- by phone
- via voicemail
- in private to limit the possibility of reprisals.
2. By writing it down
Then you can:
- deliver it to the right person
- mail it
- email it to the right person’s official address
- submit via online public interest disclosure form.
Leave a message on 1800 518 197 if you want to submit a public interest disclosure in person or need some help.
Integrity Oversight Victoria contact details
Integrity Oversight Victoria, PO Box 617 Collins Street West 8007
Email: info@integrityoversight.vic.gov.au
Website: www.integrityoversight.vic.gov.au
Phone: 1800 518 197
Request a call back on 1800 518 197 if you want to submit a PID in person or need some help.
4.5 Can I be anonymous?
Yes, that’s easily done via:
- the online public interest disclosure form
- an anonymous phone call
- a confidential face-to-face meeting.
4.6 What to include in your public interest disclosure
- a description of the alleged improper conduct or detrimental action
- details of the relevant person or body and any witnesses
- supporting information and copies of documents
- your contacts details (unless you want to remain anonymous).
If you are subject to confidentiality obligations under a Victorian Act or required to keep information confidential, for example, because of an agreement or practice, you will not be in breach if you make a public interest disclosure as long as the public interest disclosure is not false or misleading.
4.7 Options for getting help
- if you need some help, ask the agency receiving your public interest disclosure
- public bodies, Victorian state government departments, administrative offices and local councils have assigned PID Coordinators. They receive and handle public interest disclosures and provide support
- call 131 450 for translating and interpreting services.
4.8 External disclosures
In limited circumstances you can submit a public interest disclosure to a person or body that’s not usually able to receive them (e.g. a journalist). These are called external disclosures.
They can only be made where:
- You have previously made a public interest disclosure that was classified as a public interest complaint.
- You did not make it anonymously and
- One of the following applies:
- the entity you originally submitted the public interest disclosure to hasn’t updated you on any of its actions for 6 months after telling you that it had been assessed as a public interest complaint and your request for an update has not had a response for at least 30 days
- the investigation into your public interest complaint is over 12 months old and it’s been over 30 days since you requested an update and you have not received a response or
- the investigation into your public interest complaint is over 12 months old and you received an update within 30 days of requesting it, but 6 months after receiving an update you have not been advised that the investigation has been completed.
The subject matter of your external disclosure must be substantially the same as the subject matter of your public interest disclosure.
Exemptions include information:
- that may prejudice a criminal investigation or legal proceeding which you are aware of or
- that might reveal investigation methods used by IBAC or Victoria Police.
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