Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts (1) A public officer
or any other person may report to the Public Sector Commissioner any matter
which that person suspects on reasonable grounds concerns or may concern minor
misconduct that —
(a) has
or may have occurred; or
(b) is
or may be occurring; or
(c) is
or may be about to occur; or
(d) is
likely to occur.
(2) A report may be
made to the Public Sector Commissioner orally or in writing.
(3) This section has
effect despite —
(a) the
provisions of any other Act, whether enacted before or after this Act; and
(b) any
obligation the person has to maintain confidentiality about a matter to which
the allegation relates.
(4) A person who
exercises the power conferred by subsection (1) does not commit an offence by
reason of that exercise.
(5) A person who makes
a report under this section and who does so —
(a)
knowing that the content of the report is false or misleading in a material
respect; or
(b)
maliciously or recklessly,
is guilty of a crime.
Penalty: a fine of $60 000 and imprisonment for 3
years.
Summary conviction penalty: a fine of $10 000.
(6) A charge cannot be
brought against a person under subsection (5) other than by the Director of
Public Prosecutions.
(7) A publication by
—
(a) a
complainant; or
(b) a
person who has relied upon information derived from a complainant; or
(c) a
person who has no reliable source of knowledge (which is to be presumed in the
absence of proof to the contrary),
that an allegation has
been made about a person to the Public Sector Commissioner carries with it an
inference that there were reasonable grounds for making the complaint.
[Section 45E inserted: No. 35 of 2014 s. 21.]