Page 1912 - Week 06 - Thursday, 8 June 2006
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about the identity of a discloser revealing it to anyone else without proper authority under the act.
By limiting the number of people who know about a public interest disclosure, the chances that a person will be subjected to the more subtle forms of reprisal are significantly reduced. These types of reprisals can be very damaging to reputation and career prospects and are a real barrier to encouraging people to report improper conduct. In cases where a discloser is not willing to identify themselves at all, it is more difficult to establish whether the information has been revealed in good faith. However, the act will allow investigations to proceed where a disclosure is made anonymously as the allegations may be so significant that they must be investigated.
The bill also protects a person who makes a disclosure from reprisals that are more overt. The immunity provided by the bill specifies that making a public interest disclosure is not a breach of confidence, a breach of professional ethics or a breach of professional conduct. A person cannot be subject to disciplinary action or dismissal from their employment for making a public interest disclosure and does not incur any civil or criminal liability because of making a public interest disclosure.
The bill includes new offences punishable by heavy fines and imprisonment for up to a year. It will be an offence to injure, harass or discriminate against a person in an attempt to deter them from making a public interest disclosure or to punish them for making a public interest disclosure. A person who feels that they have been injured, harassed or discriminated against for making a public interest disclosure will be able to sue for damages and will also have access to remedies under the Human Rights Commission Act 2005. This will include orders to stop particular conduct, compensate loss or damage or relocate a person to a new job.
While confidentiality of disclosures to protect informants is a primary objective, the bill also includes measures to ensure that this confidentiality cannot be abused by government bodies to prevent maladministration being exposed or addressed. The bill requires that all public interest disclosures must be reported to an independent supervisor. The Commissioner for Public Administration will supervise disclosures relating to employment matters. The Auditor-General will supervise disclosures relating to financial mismanagement. The ACT Ombudsman will be able to supervise any public interest disclosure, including those relating to the Commissioner for Public Administration or the Auditor-General.
The supervisor is able to step in and take responsibility for investigating a public interest disclosure if satisfied that it would be better for the supervisor to investigate the matter. This might occur, for instance, when a disclosure implicated a chief executive officer of a government body. The supervisor can also review any decision of a government body to refuse to investigate or to cease investigating a public interest disclosure. The supervisor is also responsible for ensuring that chief executive officers of government bodies take appropriate action to protect the public interest once an investigation has been completed and the investigator has made recommendations.
The bill clearly sets out processes for reporting and investigating public interest disclosures. This includes a specific provision about referral of matters to the police and
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