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Public interest disclosure

Find out about making a protected disclosure - that is, making a complaint or allegation about corrupt or improper conduct by a DPC staff member without fear of reprisal.

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Anyone has the right to make a complaint or allegation about corrupt or improper conduct by a DPC staff member without fear of reprisal.

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 2012 (PID Act) is designed to help people make disclosures about improper conduct within the public sector. The PID Act aims to make the public sector more open and accountable by encouraging people to make disclosures and protecting them when they do.

This page provides an overview of how members of the public can make a public interest disclosure to DPC. For more detailed information, download DPC’s Guide to Making and Handling Public Interest Disclosures: Procedures for the Department of Premier and Cabinet:

Guide to making and handling public interest disclosures - Department of Premier and Cabinet Word 319.28 KB Updated 9 Jan 2022 (opens in a new window)

Note that parts of this Guide are only relevant to DPC staff.

What can I make a public interest disclosure about?

You can make a public interest disclosure about:

These terms are defined by the PID Act and the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission Act 2011 (IBAC Act).

Examples of improper conduct include:

Examples of detrimental action include:

How do I make a public interest disclosure?

Public interest disclosures:

Who can I make a public interest disclosure to?

Public interest disclosures can be made to the public body’s Public Interest Disclosure Coordinators (contact details below), the Secretary of DPC, to your manager or executive if you are a DPC staff member, or directly to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC), the Victorian Ombudsman or the Victorian Inspectorate.

If you mistakenly make a disclosure to DPC that should have been made to another entity, DPC can redirect the disclosure to the correct entity.

IBAC, the Victorian Ombudsman and the Victorian Inspectorate can also receive public interest disclosures about the conduct of DPC and DPC staff.

These bodies can be contacted as follows:

IBAC

The Victorian Ombudsman

Integrity Oversight Victoria

If you wish to make a public interest disclosure about a public body or public officer who is not employed by DPC, please refer to the information available on the IBAC website (on pages 5 and 6).

What happens after I make a disclosure?

If DPC determines that your disclosure may be a public interest disclosure for the purposes of the PID Act, DPC may determine that a disclosure is not a public interest disclosure if conduct in question is trivial, there is no supporting or insufficient evidence, or the information is found to be unreliable or to not be based on a reasonable belief.

Once DPC notifies IBAC of your public interest disclosure, IBAC makes its own separate assessment as it must assess, within a reasonable time, whether your disclosure is a public interest complaint.

If IBAC determines that your disclosure is a public interest complaint, it must either:

Regardless of whether IBAC determines your disclosure is a public interest complaint or not, the PID Act protects you from detrimental action taken in reprisal for you making the disclosure.

If DPC determines that your disclosure may not be a public interest disclosure, it will notify you of this also within 28 days of you making the disclosure.

DPC’s Public Interest Disclosure Coordinators

Geoffrey Beinart-Smollan Office of the General Counsel GPO Box 4912 Melbourne Victoria 3001 Department of Premier and Cabinet Email: geoffrey.beinart-smollan@dpc.vic.gov.au 03 8301 0119

Ned Jackson Office of the General Counsel GPO Box 4912 Melbourne Victoria 3001 Department of Premier and Cabinet Email: ned.jackson@dpc.vic.gov.au 03 9922 7892

Emily Magee Governance Branch GPO Box 4912 Melbourne Victoria 3001 Department of Premier and Cabinet Email: emily.magee@dpc.vic.gov.au

Governance

Updated 26 February 2026

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