Where there is a suggestion that public officials have engaged in improper conduct it is vital that those who observe or suspect such behaviour speak up and report it. The Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012 (PID) is the Victorian ‘whistleblower’ legislation and encourages people to come forward and provide information by offering legal protections.

Legal protections 

The PID provides protection to:

  • those who make disclosures, by providing for the confidentiality of the content of the disclosure and the identity of the person who made the disclosure; and
  • anyone who may suffer from detrimental action as a result of the disclosure. 

Reporting

The Judicial Commission can receive a public interest disclosure about a judicial officer or a non-judicial member of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).

If you wish to make a public interest disclosure to the Judicial Commission you should contact the Judicial Commission and indicate that you want the information you provide treated as a public interest disclosure. If the Judicial Commission considers that a disclosure may meet the requirements of a public interest disclosure under the PID, it must refer the disclosure to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC). If IBAC determines the disclosure is a public interest disclosure, IBAC may investigate the disclosure or may refer it back to the Judicial Commission for investigation.

Further information

More information on the system and procedures for reporting disclosures of improper conduct or detrimental action can be downloaded from the link below.

Author
Judicial Commission of Victoria
Publisher
Judicial Commission of Victoria
Date of Publication