Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) A person who takes
or threatens to take detrimental action against another because or
substantially because anyone has made, or intends to make, a disclosure of
public interest information under this Act commits an act of victimisation
which may be dealt with as a tort.
(2) Proceedings in
tort under subsection (1) may be taken against the perpetrator of an act
of victimisation or any employer of the perpetrator.
(3) In proceedings
against the employer of the perpetrator of an act of victimisation, it is a
defence for the employer to prove that the employer —
(a) was
not knowingly involved in the act of victimisation;
(b) did
not know and could not reasonably be expected to have known about the act of
victimisation; and
(c)
could not, by the exercise of reasonable care, have prevented the act of
victimisation.
(4) An act of
victimisation under this Act may be dealt with under the
Equal Opportunity Act 1984 as if it were an act that was unlawful under
section 67 of that Act but, if the victim commences proceedings in a
court under subsection (1), he or she cannot subsequently lodge a
complaint under the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 because of the act and,
conversely, if the victim lodges a complaint under that Act because of the
act, he or she cannot subsequently commence proceedings under
subsection (1) because of the act.
(5) If a complaint
alleging an act of victimisation under this Act has been lodged with the
Commissioner for Equal Opportunity and the Commissioner is of the opinion that
the subject matter of the complaint has already been adequately dealt with by
a competent authority, the Commissioner may decline to act on the complaint or
to proceed further with action on the complaint.
(6) Despite any other
provision of this Act, this section has no retrospective operation and no
proceeding may be taken under this section in relation to an act of
victimisation that occurred before the commencement of this Act.