Victorian Current Acts

PUBLIC INTEREST DISCLOSURES ACT 2012 - SECT 31B

S. 31B(1) amended by No. 31/2024 s. 113(Sch.  1 item 28.15).

    (1)     If a public interest disclosure that relates to Integrity Oversight Victoria or an Integrity Oversight Victoria Officer—

        (a)     is made to the Integrity and Oversight Committee in accordance with Division 2 of Part 2; or

        (b)     is notified to the Integrity and Oversight Committee under section 21—

the Integrity and Oversight Committee must assess the disclosure to determine whether or not the disclosure is a public interest complaint.

    (2)     Following an assessment under subsection (1), the Integrity and Oversight Committee must—

        (a)     determine that the disclosure is a public interest complaint if the Committee considers that—

              (i)     the disclosure shows or tends to show—

    (A)     a person, public officer or public body has engaged, is engaging or proposes to engage in improper conduct; or

    (B)     a public officer or public body has taken, is taking or proposes to take detrimental action against a person in contravention of section 45; or

              (ii)     the person who made the disclosure believes on reasonable grounds that the disclosure shows or tends to show—

    (A)     a person, public officer or public body has engaged, is engaging or proposes to engage in improper conduct; or

    (B)     a public officer or public body has taken, is taking or proposes to take detrimental action against a person in contravention of section 45; or

        (b)     determine that the disclosure is not a public interest complaint in any other case.

Note

The protections under Part 6 apply to a public interest disclosure whether or not the Integrity and Oversight Committee has determined that the disclosure is a public interest complaint.

    (3)     A determination under subsection (2) must be made within a reasonable time after the disclosure is made, or notified, to the Integrity and Oversight Committee.

    (4)     The Integrity and Oversight Committee must not exercise any of its powers of investigation under the Parliamentary Committees Act 2003 when making an assessment under subsection (1).

    (5)     Sections 27, 28, 29 and 30 apply to a public interest disclosure assessed by the Integrity and Oversight Committee under subsection (1) as if a reference to the IBAC were a reference to the Integrity and Oversight Committee.

Pt 4 (Heading) amended by No. 2/2019 s. 10.

Part 4—Disclosures determined to be public interest complaints

S. 32 (Heading) amended by No. 2/2019 s. 11(1).