New South Wales Bills New South Wales Bills[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]
This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
New South Wales
Protected Disclosures Amendment
(Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Contents
Page
1 Name of Act 2
2 Commencement 2
Schedule 1 Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92 3
Schedule 2 Amendment of other Acts 20
b2010-003-20.d31
New South Wales
Protected Disclosures Amendment
(Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
No , 2010
A Bill for
An Act to amend the Protected Disclosures Act 1994 to make further provision for
protecting public officials who make disclosures to which the Act applies; and for
other purposes.
Clause 1 Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
The Legislature of New South Wales enacts: 1
1 Name of Act 2
This Act is the Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest 3
Disclosures) Act 2010. 4
2 Commencement 5
This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation. 6
Page 2
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92 Schedule 1
Schedule 1 Amendment of Protected Disclosures 1
Act 1994 No 92 2
[1] Section 1 Name of Act 3
Omit "Protected Disclosures Act 1994". 4
Insert instead "Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994". 5
[2] Section 3 Object of Act 6
Omit "corrupt conduct, maladministration and serious and substantial waste" 7
from section 3 (1). 8
Insert instead "corrupt conduct, maladministration, serious and substantial 9
waste and government information contravention". 10
[3] Section 4 Definitions 11
Omit the definition of disciplinary proceeding. 12
[4] Section 4, definition of "government information contravention" 13
Insert in alphabetical order: 14
government information contravention means conduct of a kind 15
that constitutes a failure to exercise functions in accordance with 16
any provision of the Government Information (Public Access) 17
Act 2009. 18
[5] Section 4, definition of "investigating authority" 19
Omit paragraph (f). Insert instead: 20
(f) the local government investigating authority, or 21
[6] Section 4, definition of "local government investigating authority" 22
Insert in alphabetical order: 23
local government investigating authority means the 24
Director-General under section 429A (Complaints about 25
councils, councillors, delegates and staff) of the Local 26
Government Act 1993. 27
[7] Section 4, definition of "public authority" 28
Omit the definition. Insert instead: 29
public authority means any public authority whose conduct or 30
activities may be investigated by an investigating authority, and 31
includes (without limitation) each of the following: 32
(a) a Division of the Government Service, 33
Page 3
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Schedule 1 Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92
(b) a State owned corporation and any subsidiary of a State 1
owned corporation, 2
(c) a local government authority, 3
(d) the Police Force, PIC and PIC Inspector. 4
[8] Section 4, definition of "public official" 5
Omit the definition. Insert instead: 6
public official--see section 4A. 7
[9] Section 4, definition of "relevant investigation Act" 8
Omit the definition. Insert instead: 9
relevant investigation Act means: 10
(a) in relation to an investigating authority other than the local 11
government investigating authority--the Act that appoints 12
or constitutes the investigating authority, and 13
(b) in relation to the local government investigating 14
authority--the Local Government Act 1993. 15
[10] Section 4, definition of "Steering Committee" 16
Insert in alphabetical order: 17
Steering Committee means the Public Interest Disclosures 18
Steering Committee established by section 6A. 19
[11] Section 4 (2) 20
Insert at the end of section 4: 21
(2) Notes included in this Act do not form part of this Act. 22
[12] Section 4A 23
Insert after section 4: 24
4A Public officials 25
(1) In this Act, public official means an individual who is an 26
employee of or otherwise in the service of a public authority, and 27
includes (without limitation) each of the following: 28
(a) a person employed under the Public Sector Employment 29
and Management Act 2002, 30
(b) a member of Parliament, 31
(c) a person employed by either or both of the President of the 32
Legislative Council or the Speaker of the Legislative 33
Assembly, 34
Page 4
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92 Schedule 1
(d) any other individual having public official functions or 1
acting in a public official capacity whose conduct and 2
activities may be investigated by an investigating 3
authority, 4
(e) an individual in the service of the Crown, 5
(f) an individual who is engaged by a public authority under a 6
contract to provide services to or on behalf of the public 7
authority (referred to in this section as an independent 8
contractor to the public authority). 9
(2) An individual who is a public official because he or she is an 10
independent contractor to the public authority is taken to belong 11
to the public authority for the purposes of this Act. 12
[13] Sections 6A6D 13
Insert after section 6: 14
6A Steering Committee 15
(1) There is established by this Act a Public Interest Disclosures 16
Steering Committee consisting of the following members: 17
(a) the Ombudsman, who is to be the chairperson of the 18
Steering Committee, 19
(b) the Director-General of the Department of Premier and 20
Cabinet, 21
(c) the Auditor-General, 22
(d) the Commissioner for the Independent Commission 23
Against Corruption, 24
(e) the Commissioner for the PIC, 25
(f) the local government investigating authority, 26
(g) the Commissioner of Police, 27
(h) such other members as may be prescribed by the 28
regulations. 29
(2) The functions of the Steering Committee are: 30
(a) to provide advice to the Minister on the operation of this 31
Act and recommendations for reform, and 32
(b) to receive, consider and provide advice to the Minister on 33
any reports provided by the Ombudsman in the exercise of 34
functions under section 6B or as referred to in section 31A. 35
(3) A member of the Steering Committee may appoint a nominee to 36
act in the place of the member (either generally or for a particular 37
Page 5
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Schedule 1 Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92
purpose) and may revoke any such appointment. While acting in 1
the place of a member, the member's nominee has all the 2
functions of the member (including the functions of chairperson 3
in the case of the Ombudsman's nominee) and is taken to be a 4
member. 5
(4) The quorum for a meeting of the Steering Committee is 6
3 members of the Committee of whom 2 must be the 7
Ombudsman and the Director-General of the Department of 8
Premier and Cabinet (or their nominees). 9
(5) The Steering Committee is to determine its own procedures. 10
(6) The Ombudsman (as chairperson of the Steering Committee) is 11
to prepare an annual report of the Steering Committee's activities 12
and any recommendations made to the Minister during the 13
reporting period of 12 months ending on 30 June in each year. 14
(7) The annual report is to be prepared and provided to the Minister 15
as soon as practicable after the end of the reporting period and is 16
to be tabled by the Minister in each House of Parliament as soon 17
as practicable after the Minister receives it. 18
6B Oversight of Act by Ombudsman 19
(1) The Ombudsman has the following functions in connection with 20
the operation of this Act: 21
(a) to promote public awareness and understanding of this Act 22
and to promote the object of this Act, 23
(b) to provide information, advice, assistance and training to 24
public authorities, investigating authorities and public 25
officials on any matters relevant to this Act, 26
(c) to issue guidelines and other publications for the assistance 27
of public authorities and investigating authorities in 28
connection with their functions under this Act, 29
(d) to issue guidelines and other publications for the assistance 30
of public officials in connection with the protections 31
afforded to them under this Act, 32
(e) to monitor and provide reports (monitoring reports) to 33
Parliament on the exercise of functions under this Act and 34
compliance with this Act by public authorities (other than 35
investigating authorities), 36
(f) to audit and provide reports (audit reports) to Parliament 37
on the exercise of functions under this Act and compliance 38
with this Act by public authorities (other than investigating 39
authorities), 40
Page 6
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92 Schedule 1
(g) to provide reports and recommendations to the Minister 1
about proposals for legislative and administrative changes 2
to further the object of this Act. 3
Note. The Ombudsman is also chairperson of the Steering Committee. 4
(2) A monitoring report is to be provided once every 12 months. An 5
audit report is to be provided whenever the Ombudsman 6
considers it desirable to do so and at least once every 12 months. 7
(3) The Ombudsman must, as soon as practicable after 30 June in 8
each year, prepare and provide a report to Parliament on the 9
Ombudsman's activities under this section for the preceding 10
12 months. 11
(4) A report to Parliament under this section can be provided by 12
being included in the Ombudsman's annual report under 13
section 30 of the Ombudsman Act 1974 or can be provided as a 14
separate report and provided to the Presiding Officer of each 15
House of Parliament. 16
(5) Section 31AA of the Ombudsman Act 1974 applies to a report to 17
Parliament under this section as if the report were a report made 18
or furnished under Part 4 of that Act. 19
6C Provision of information to Ombudsman for audit purposes 20
(1) For the purposes of an audit under section 6B, the Ombudsman 21
may require the principal officer of or who constitutes a public 22
authority: 23
(a) to give the Ombudsman a statement of information, or 24
(b) to produce to the Ombudsman any document or other thing 25
under the person's control, or the production of which the 26
person may, in an official capacity, reasonably require, or 27
(c) to give the Ombudsman a copy of any such document. 28
(2) A requirement under this section must be in writing, must specify 29
or describe the information, document or thing required, and 30
must fix a time and specify a place for compliance. 31
(3) It is the duty of the principal officer of or who constitutes a public 32
authority to comply with any requirement of the Ombudsman 33
under this section. 34
(4) A provision of any Act or law that prevents or restricts access to 35
records or disclosure of information (other than section 22 of this 36
Act) does not prevent a person from complying, or affect the 37
person's duty to comply, with a requirement of the Ombudsman 38
under this section. 39
Page 7
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Schedule 1 Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92
(5) Anything done by a person in compliance with a requirement of 1
the Ombudsman under this section: 2
(a) does not constitute a breach of professional etiquette or 3
ethics or a departure from accepted standards of 4
professional conduct, and 5
(b) does not give rise to any liability for defamation or other 6
civil liability. 7
6D Public interest disclosures policies and guidelines 8
(1) Each public authority must have a policy that provides for its 9
procedures for receiving, assessing and dealing with protected 10
disclosures. 11
(2) The Ombudsman may adopt guidelines for the procedures of 12
public authorities for receiving, assessing and dealing with 13
protected disclosures. The guidelines may include a model policy 14
that provides for those procedures. 15
(3) A public authority must have regard to (but is not bound by) the 16
Ombudsman's guidelines in formulating a policy for the 17
purposes of this section. 18
[14] Section 8 Disclosures must be made by public officials 19
Omit "corrupt conduct, maladministration or serious and substantial waste of 20
public money" from section 8 (1) (c). 21
Insert instead "corrupt conduct, maladministration, serious and substantial 22
waste of public money or government information contravention". 23
[15] Section 8 (1) (c1) 24
Insert after section 8 (1) (c): 25
(c1) to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, the Clerk of the 26
Parliaments or the Executive Manager of the Department 27
of Parliamentary Services, but only if the disclosure 28
concerns the conduct of a member of Parliament and only 29
if the disclosure is made in accordance with any official 30
procedure established for the reporting of allegations of 31
corrupt conduct, maladministration or serious and 32
substantial waste of public money by a member of 33
Parliament, or 34
Page 8
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92 Schedule 1
[16] Section 9 Disclosures must be made voluntarily 1
Omit "corrupt conduct, maladministration or serious and substantial waste of 2
public money" from section 9 (3). 3
Insert instead "corrupt conduct, maladministration, serious and substantial 4
waste of public money or government information contravention". 5
[17] Section 9A 6
Insert after section 9: 7
9A Presumptions about beliefs on which disclosures are based 8
(1) For the purposes of determining whether a disclosure by a public 9
official is protected by this Act, an assertion by the public official 10
as to what the public official believes in connection with the 11
disclosure is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, evidence 12
of the belief asserted and that the belief is an honest belief. 13
(2) Such an assertion need not be express and can be inferred from 14
the nature or content of the disclosure. 15
[18] Sections 10, 11, 12, 12A, 12B, 12C, 13 and 14 16
Omit "that shows or tends to show" wherever occurring. 17
Insert instead "that the person making the disclosure honestly believes, on 18
reasonable grounds, shows or tends to show". 19
[19] Section 12B Disclosure concerning serious and substantial waste in 20
local government 21
Omit "Director-General of the Department of Local Government" from 22
section 12B (1). 23
Insert instead "local government investigating authority". 24
[20] Section 12D Disclosure to Information Commissioner 25
Omit section 12D (b). Insert instead: 26
(b) be disclosure of information that the person making the 27
disclosure honestly believes, on reasonable grounds, 28
shows or tends to show that a public authority or another 29
public official has engaged, is engaged or proposes to 30
engage in government information contravention. 31
Page 9
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Schedule 1 Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92
[21] Section 14 Disclosures to public officials 1
Omit "corrupt conduct, maladministration or serious and substantial waste of 2
public money" from section 14 (1) and (2) wherever occurring. 3
Insert instead "corrupt conduct, maladministration, serious and substantial 4
waste of public money or government information contravention". 5
[22] Section 14 (2) 6
Omit "corrupt conduct, maladministration or serious and substantial waste 7
(whether". 8
Insert instead "corrupt conduct, maladministration, serious and substantial 9
waste of public money or government information contravention (whether". 10
[23] Section 14 (2A) 11
Insert after section 14 (2): 12
(2A) To be protected by this Act, a disclosure by a public official to the 13
Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, the Clerk of the Parliaments 14
or the Executive Manager of the Department of Parliamentary 15
Services in accordance with any official procedure established 16
for the reporting of allegations of corrupt conduct, 17
maladministration or serious and substantial waste of public 18
money by a member of Parliament must be a disclosure of 19
information that the person making the disclosure honestly 20
believes, on reasonable grounds, shows or tends to show such 21
corrupt conduct, maladministration or serious and substantial 22
waste by a member of Parliament. 23
[24] Section 15 24
Omit the section. Insert instead: 25
15 Protection of misdirected disclosures 26
(1) A misdirected disclosure by a public official to an investigating 27
authority that the public official honestly believed (at the time the 28
disclosure was made) was the appropriate investigating authority 29
to deal with the matter is a protected disclosure if: 30
(a) the investigating authority (whether because it is not 31
authorised to investigate the matter under the relevant 32
investigation Act or otherwise) refers the disclosure under 33
Part 4 to another investigating authority or to a public 34
official or public authority, or 35
(b) the investigating authority could have referred the 36
disclosure under Part 4 but did not do so because it has 37
Page 10
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92 Schedule 1
power to investigate the matter concerned under the 1
relevant investigation Act. 2
(2) A misdirected disclosure is a disclosure that is not a protected 3
disclosure because it was not made to the appropriate 4
investigating authority (but that would have been a protected 5
disclosure had it been made to the appropriate investigating 6
authority). 7
[25] Section 16 Disclosures made on frivolous or other grounds 8
Omit the section. 9
[26] Section 20 Protection against reprisals 10
Omit the penalty from section 20 (1). Insert instead: 11
Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units or imprisonment for 12
2 years, or both. 13
[27] Section 20 (1B) and (1C) 14
Insert after section 20 (1A): 15
(1B) A public official who takes detrimental action against another 16
person that is substantially in reprisal for the other person making 17
a protected disclosure is guilty of engaging in conduct that 18
constitutes misconduct in the performance of his or her duties as 19
a public official and that justifies the taking of disciplinary action 20
against the public official, including disciplinary action provided 21
for: 22
(a) by or under an Act that regulates the employment or 23
service of the public official, or 24
(b) by or under a contract of employment or contract for 25
services that governs the employment or engagement of 26
the public official. 27
(1C) This section extends to a case where the person who takes the 28
detrimental action does so because the person believes or 29
suspects that the other person made or may have made a protected 30
disclosure even if the other person did not in fact make a 31
protected disclosure. 32
[28] Section 20 (4) 33
Insert after section 20 (3): 34
(4) An investigating authority or public authority must refer any 35
evidence of an offence under this section to the Director of Public 36
Page 11
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Schedule 1 Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92
Prosecutions or (if the alleged offence relates to conduct of the 1
Director of Public Prosecutions) the Attorney General. 2
[29] Sections 20A and 20B 3
Insert after section 20: 4
20A Compensation for reprisals 5
(1) A person who takes detrimental action against another person 6
that is substantially in reprisal for the other person making a 7
protected disclosure is liable in damages for any loss that the 8
other person suffers as a result of that detrimental action. 9
(2) This section extends to a case where the person who takes the 10
detrimental action does so because the person believes or 11
suspects that the other person made or may have made a protected 12
disclosure even if the other person did not in fact make a 13
protected disclosure. 14
(3) Damages recoverable under this section do not include 15
exemplary or punitive damages or damages in the nature of 16
aggravated damages. 17
(4) An entitlement to damages arising under this section does not 18
constitute redress in relation to detrimental action comprising 19
dismissal from employment, for the purposes of section 90 20
(Effect of availability of other remedies) of the Industrial 21
Relations Act 1996 or any other law. 22
20B Injunctions to prevent reprisals 23
(1) An investigating authority, or any other public authority with the 24
approval of the Attorney General, may apply to the Supreme 25
Court for an injunction to prevent a contravention of section 20 26
(Protection against reprisals). 27
(2) The Supreme Court may, on application under this section, grant 28
an injunction restraining a person from engaging in conduct in 29
which the person has engaged, is engaged or is proposing to 30
engage and that constituted, constitutes or would constitute a 31
contravention of section 20, and, if in the opinion of the Supreme 32
Court it is desirable to do so, requiring that person to do any act 33
or thing to remedy such a contravention. 34
(3) The Court may grant an interim injunction pending determination 35
of an application under this section if the Court thinks it is 36
desirable to do so. 37
(4) The Court may discharge or vary an injunction granted under this 38
section. 39
Page 12
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92 Schedule 1
(5) The power of the Court to grant an injunction restraining a person 1
from engaging in conduct may be exercised: 2
(a) whether or not it appears to the Court that the person 3
intends to engage again, or to continue to engage, in 4
conduct of that kind, and 5
(b) whether or not the person has previously engaged in 6
conduct of that kind, and 7
(c) whether or not there is an imminent danger of substantial 8
damage to any person if the first-mentioned person 9
engages in conduct of that kind. 10
(6) The Court must not require an applicant for an injunction under 11
this section or any other person, as a condition of granting an 12
interim injunction, to give an undertaking as to damages. 13
[30] Section 22 Confidentiality guidelines 14
Omit section 22 (a). Insert instead: 15
(a) the person consents in writing to the disclosure of that 16
information, or it is generally known that the person has 17
made the protected disclosure as a result of the person 18
having voluntarily identified themselves (otherwise than 19
by making the protected disclosure) as the person who 20
made the protected disclosure, or 21
[31] Section 22 (2) 22
Insert at the end of section 22: 23
(2) As part of its procedures for receiving, assessing and dealing with 24
protected disclosures, a public authority must establish 25
procedures for ensuring that a public official who belongs to the 26
public authority maintains confidentiality in connection with a 27
protected disclosure made by the public official. 28
Note. These procedures are required to be the subject of a policy of the 29
public authority under section 6D. 30
[32] Section 25 Referral of disclosures by investigating authorities 31
Omit "corrupt conduct, maladministration or serious and substantial waste" 32
from section 25 (1). 33
Insert instead "corrupt conduct, maladministration, serious and substantial 34
waste or government information contravention". 35
Page 13
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Schedule 1 Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92
[33] Section 25 (8) 1
Insert after section 25 (7): 2
(8) A protected disclosure that is referred under this section remains 3
a protected disclosure after it is referred. 4
[34] Section 26 Referral of disclosures by public officials 5
Omit "corrupt conduct, maladministration or serious and substantial waste" 6
from section 26 (1). 7
Insert instead "corrupt conduct, maladministration, serious and substantial 8
waste or government information contravention". 9
[35] Section 26 (3) 10
Insert after section 26 (2): 11
(3) A protected disclosure that is referred under this section remains 12
a protected disclosure after it is referred. 13
[36] Section 26A 14
Insert after section 26: 15
26A Transitional disclosure procedure when public authority becomes 16
separate office within another public authority 17
(1) If a public authority becomes a separate office within another 18
public authority (the new public authority), a disclosure made to 19
the principal officer of the separate office during the transition 20
period is taken to have been made to the principal officer of the 21
new public authority. 22
(2) The transition period is the period beginning when the public 23
authority becomes a separate office within the new public 24
authority and ending when either of the following happens: 25
(a) a procedure is established by the new public authority that 26
provides for the reporting of allegations of corrupt 27
conduct, maladministration or serious and substantial 28
waste of public money by officers of the separate office, 29
(b) an existing procedure of the new public authority is varied 30
or confirmed to be applicable to the reporting of 31
allegations of corrupt conduct, maladministration or 32
serious and substantial waste of public money by officers 33
of the separate office. 34
(3) A public authority can be the new public authority under this 35
section even if the public authority is not newly created and even 36
if it is formed by the amalgamation of 2 or more existing public 37
Page 14
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92 Schedule 1
authorities that become separate offices of the new public 1
authority. 2
[37] Section 30 Regulations 3
Insert at the end of the section: 4
(2) The Minister must not recommend the making of a regulation 5
under this Act unless the Minister certifies that the Minister has 6
consulted with the Steering Committee concerning the making of 7
the regulation. 8
[38] Sections 3131B 9
Insert after section 30: 10
31 Reports to Parliament by public authorities 11
(1) Each public authority must, within 4 months after the end of each 12
reporting year, prepare an annual report on the public authority's 13
obligations under this Act for submission to the Minister 14
responsible for the public authority. A copy of the report is to be 15
provided to the Ombudsman. 16
(2) An annual report under this section must be tabled in each House 17
of Parliament by the relevant Minister as soon as practicable after 18
it is prepared unless it is included in an annual report prepared for 19
the purposes of the Annual Reports (Departments) Act 1985 or 20
the Annual Reports (Statutory Bodies) Act 1984. 21
(3) The regulations may make provision for or with respect to: 22
(a) the information to be included in annual reports, and 23
(b) the form in which annual reports are to be prepared. 24
(4) In this section, a reference to the reporting year of a public 25
authority is a reference to: 26
(a) the financial year of the public authority for the purposes 27
of the Annual Reports (Departments) Act 1985 or the 28
Annual Reports (Statutory Bodies) Act 1984, or 29
(b) if the public authority does not have a financial year for the 30
purposes of either of those Acts, the year ending 30 June. 31
31A Special report by Ombudsman 32
(1) The power of the Ombudsman to make a special report under 33
section 31 (Special report to Parliament) of the Ombudsman Act 34
1974 extends to the making of a special report on any matter 35
arising in connection with the discharge of the Ombudsman's 36
functions under or in connection with the operation of this Act, 37
Page 15
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Schedule 1 Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92
including systemic or other problems identified by the 1
Ombudsman in connection with the operation of this Act. 2
(2) A special report can include proposals for legislative change. 3
Note. The requirements of the Ombudsman Act 1974 apply in respect of 4
a special report under section 31 of that Act on matters arising under this 5
Act. 6
31B Review of Commonwealth legislation 7
(1) The Steering Committee is to review any legislation of the 8
Commonwealth that is enacted in response to the 2009 report 9
Whistleblower protection: A comprehensive scheme for the 10
Commonwealth public sector of the House of Representatives 11
Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. 12
(2) The review is to be conducted within 6 months after the 13
enactment of the Commonwealth legislation (or within 6 months 14
after the commencement of this section if the Commonwealth 15
legislation is enacted before the commencement of this section). 16
(3) The Steering Committee is to provide the Minister with a report 17
on the outcome of the review and any recommendations for 18
reform of this Act arising from the review. 19
(4) A copy of the Steering Committee's report is to be tabled in each 20
House of Parliament as soon as practicable after the report is 21
provided to the Minister. 22
[39] Section 32 23
Omit the section. Insert instead: 24
32 Review of Act 25
(1) A joint committee of members of Parliament is to review this Act 26
to determine whether the policy objectives of the Act remain 27
valid and whether the terms of the Act remain appropriate for 28
securing those objectives. 29
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the review is to consider: 30
(a) the effectiveness of the amendments made by the 31
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest 32
Disclosures) Act 2010, in particular the amendments 33
providing for the role of the Steering Committee and the 34
Ombudsman, and 35
(b) whether the structures in place to support the operation of 36
the protected disclosures scheme remain appropriate, and 37
Page 16
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92 Schedule 1
(c) the need for further review of the Act after the review 1
under this section. 2
(3) The joint committee is to consult on the review with each of the 3
members of the Steering Committee and the members of the 4
Steering Committee may assist the joint committee on the review 5
and provide advice in connection with the review. 6
(4) The review is to be undertaken as soon as possible after the period 7
of 5 years from the date of assent to the Protected Disclosures 8
Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Act 2010. 9
(5) A report on the outcome of the review is to be provided to the 10
Minister administering this Act and tabled in each House of 11
Parliament within 12 months after the end of the period of 12
5 years. 13
[40] Schedule 2 Savings, transitional and other provisions 14
Insert at the end of clause 1 (1): 15
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) 16
Act 2010 17
[41] Schedule 2, Part 3 18
Insert after Part 2: 19
Part 3 Provisions consequent on enactment of 20
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public 21
Interest Disclosures) Act 2010 22
7 Definition 23
In this Part: 24
amending Act means the Protected Disclosures Amendment 25
(Public Interest Disclosures) Act 2010. 26
8 Amended definition of "public official" 27
This Act extends to a disclosure of information made by a person 28
who becomes a public official for the purposes of this Act 29
because of the amendment by the amending Act of the definition 30
of public official (being a disclosure made after the 31
commencement of the amendment) even if the disclosure relates 32
to conduct or activities engaged in, or matters arising, before the 33
commencement of the amendment. 34
Page 17
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Schedule 1 Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92
9 Public interest disclosures policies 1
A public authority is not required to have a policy under 2
section 6D until 3 months after the commencement of that 3
section. 4
10 Frivolous or vexatious disclosures 5
A disclosure that is not protected by this Act because of the 6
operation of section 16 (Disclosures made on frivolous or other 7
grounds) before the repeal of that section by the amending Act 8
continues to be a disclosure that is not protected by this Act 9
despite the repeal of that section. 10
11 Protection against reprisals 11
(1) The amendment made by the amending Act to the maximum 12
penalty for an offence under section 20 (1) does not apply to an 13
offence committed before the commencement of the amendment. 14
(2) Section 20 (1B) does not apply in respect of detrimental action 15
taken before the commencement of that subsection but does 16
apply to detrimental action taken after that commencement in 17
respect of a protected disclosure made before that 18
commencement. 19
(3) Section 20 (4) does not apply to evidence of an offence 20
committed before the commencement of that subsection. 21
12 Compensation for reprisals 22
Section 20A does not apply in respect of detrimental action taken 23
against a person before the commencement of that section. 24
13 Injunctions to prevent reprisals 25
Section 20B extends to conduct that occurs before the 26
commencement of that section but not so as to authorise the grant 27
of an injunction requiring a person to do any act or thing to 28
remedy a contravention occurring before the commencement of 29
that section. 30
14 Confidentiality 31
The amendment of section 22 (a) by the amending Act extends to 32
the voluntary and public identification of a person occurring 33
before the commencement of that amendment and to a protected 34
disclosure made before that commencement. 35
Page 18
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Amendment of Protected Disclosures Act 1994 No 92 Schedule 1
15 Transitional disclosure procedure when public authority becomes 1
separate office within another public authority 2
Section 26A extends to a disclosure made before the 3
commencement of that section (when a public authority becomes 4
a separate office within another public authority before that 5
commencement) but only if the transition period referred to in 6
that section ends after the commencement of the section. 7
16 Local government investigating authority 8
(1) For the purposes of this Act, a reference in Division 1 of Part 5 of 9
Chapter 13 of the Local Government Act 1993 to the 10
Director-General is to be construed as a reference to the Chief 11
Executive, Local Government, in the Department of Premier and 12
Cabinet, until an administrative changes order made after the 13
commencement of this clause under Part 4.2 of the Public Sector 14
Employment and Management Act 2002 provides otherwise. 15
(2) A disclosure made by a public official on or after 1 July 2009 and 16
before the commencement of this clause to the Deputy 17
Director-General (Local Government) of the Department of 18
Premier and Cabinet or the Chief Executive, Local Government, 19
in the Department of Premier and Cabinet, that would be 20
protected by this Act had the disclosure been made to the 21
Director-General of the Department of Premier and Cabinet is 22
taken to have been made to the Director-General of that 23
Department. 24
Note. 1 July 2009 is the date of commencement of the Public Sector 25
Employment and Management (Departmental Amalgamations) Order 26
2009. That order resulted in references to the Director-General of the 27
Department of Local Government being construed as references to the 28
Director-General of the Department of Premier and Cabinet. 29
[42] Long title 30
Omit "maladministration and waste". 31
Insert instead "maladministration, waste and government information 32
contravention". 33
Page 19
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Schedule 2 Amendment of other Acts
Schedule 2 Amendment of other Acts 1
2.1 Defamation Act 2005 No 77 2
[1] Schedule 1 Additional publications to which absolute privilege applies 3
Omit "Protected Disclosures Act 1994" from the heading to item 26. 4
Insert instead "Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994". 5
[2] Schedule 1, item 26 (1) 6
Omit "a public official or public authority referred to in section 8 (1) (b) or (c) 7
of the Protected Disclosures Act 1994 of a disclosure made to the public 8
official or public authority". 9
Insert instead "a person or public authority referred to in section 8 (1) (b), (c) 10
or (c1) of the Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994 of a disclosure made to the 11
person or public authority". 12
2.2 Education (School Administrative and Support Staff) Act 13
1987 No 240 14
Section 29 Meaning of "misconduct" 15
Omit "Protected Disclosures Act 1994" from section 29 (1) (c). 16
Insert instead "Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994". 17
2.3 Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 No 52 18
Schedule 1 Information for which there is conclusive presumption of 19
overriding public interest against disclosure 20
Omit "Protected Disclosures Act 1994--section 22 (Confidentiality 21
guideline)" from item 1. 22
Insert instead "Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994--section 22 23
(Confidentiality guidelines)". 24
2.4 Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 No 71 25
Sections 5 (3) (h) and 68 (3) 26
Omit "Protected Disclosures Act 1994" wherever occurring. 27
Insert instead "Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994". 28
Page 20
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Amendment of other Acts Schedule 2
2.5 Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988 1
No 35 2
Section 111D Complaints by public officials 3
Omit "Protected Disclosures Act 1994" from section 111D (1). 4
Insert instead "Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994". 5
2.6 Local Government Act 1993 No 30 6
Section 429A Complaints about councils, councillors, delegates and 7
staff 8
Omit "Protected Disclosures Act 1994" from section 429A (1). 9
Insert instead "Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994". 10
2.7 Major Events Act 2009 No 73 11
Section 6 Designation of responsible authority 12
Omit "Protected Disclosures Act 1994" from section 6 (b). 13
Insert instead "Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994". 14
2.8 Ombudsman Act 1974 No 68 15
Schedule 1 Excluded conduct of public authorities 16
Omit "Protected Disclosures Act 1994" from item 12 (c). 17
Insert instead "Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994". 18
2.9 Police Act 1990 No 47 19
Section 206 Protection against reprisals 20
Omit "Protected Disclosures Act 1994" from section 206 (2B) and (4) 21
wherever occurring. 22
Insert instead "Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994". 23
2.10 Police Integrity Commission Act 1996 No 28 24
Section 135 Complaints by public officials 25
Omit "Protected Disclosures Act 1994" from section 135 (1) and (2) wherever 26
occurring. 27
Insert instead "Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994". 28
Page 21
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Schedule 2 Amendment of other Acts
2.11 Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 1
No 133 2
Sections 4 (3) (e) and 62 (3) 3
Omit "Protected Disclosures Act 1994" wherever occurring. 4
Insert instead "Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994". 5
2.12 Public Finance and Audit Act 1983 No 152 6
Section 52C Definitions 7
Omit "Protected Disclosures Act 1994" from the definition of public official. 8
Insert instead "Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994". 9
2.13 Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002 No 43 10
Section 43 Meaning of "misconduct" 11
Omit "Protected Disclosures Act 1994" from section 43 (1) (c). 12
Insert instead "Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994". 13
2.14 Road Transport (General) Act 2005 No 11 14
Section 116 Dismissal or other victimisation of employee or contractor 15
assisting with or reporting breaches 16
Omit "Protected Disclosures Act 1994" from section 116 (11). 17
Insert instead "Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994". 18
2.15 Teaching Service Act 1980 No 23 19
Section 93C Meaning of "misconduct" 20
Omit "Protected Disclosures Act 1994" from section 93C (1) (c). 21
Insert instead "Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994". 22
Page 22
Protected Disclosures Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures) Bill 2010
Amendment of other Acts Schedule 2
2.16 Technical and Further Education Commission Act 1990 1
No 118 2
Section 22E Meaning of "misconduct" 3
Omit "Protected Disclosures Act 1994" from section 22E (1) (c). 4
Insert instead "Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994". 5
Page 23
[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]