Victorian Current Acts

PUBLIC INTEREST DISCLOSURES ACT 2012 - SECT 53

    (1)     A person or body must not disclose information likely to lead to the identification of a person who has made an assessable disclosure.

Penalty:     In the case of a natural person, 120 penalty units or 12 months imprisonment or both.

In the case of a body corporate, 600 penalty units.

    (2)     Subsection (1) does not apply if—

        (a)     the person who made the assessable disclosure has given written consent to an investigating entity to disclose—

              (i)     any information likely to lead to the person's identification; or

              (ii)     specific information likely to lead to the person's identification—

and the information is disclosed by the investigating entity after and in accordance with that consent; or

S. 53(2)(ab) inserted by No. 2/2019 s. 31(a).

        (ab)     the person who made the assessable disclosure has given written consent to the Integrity and Oversight Committee or to an independent investigator engaged by the Committee under Part 4A to disclose—

              (i)     any information likely to lead to the person's identification; or

              (ii)     specific information likely to lead to the person's identification—

and the information is disclosed by the Committee or the independent investigator after and in accordance with that consent; or

        (b)     the person or body discloses the information in accordance with section 54; or

S. 53(2)(c) substituted by No. 2/2019 s. 31(b), amended by No. 31/2024 s. 113(Sch.  1 item 28.31).

        (c)     the IBAC, Integrity Oversight Victoria or the Integrity and Oversight Committee has determined that the assessable disclosure is not a public interest complaint and the person or body discloses the information after that determination; or

S. 53(2)(d) amended by No. 2/2019 s. 31(c).

        (d)     an investigating entity has—

              (i)     published in a report to Parliament under this or any other Act, or otherwise made public, the information; and

              (ii)     in doing so, acted consistently with the obligations relating to confidentiality that apply to the investigating entity under this Act—

and the person or body discloses the information after that publication; or

S. 53(2)(e) inserted by No. 2/2019 s. 31(d).

        (e)     the Integrity and Oversight Committee has published the information in a report to Parliament under this or any other Act and the person or body discloses the information after that publication.