Purpose

This procedure establishes a system for people to report conduct that they believe may be “improper conduct” or “detrimental action” by the City of Greater Geelong Council or its employees to the City's Public Interest Disclosures Co-ordinator in accordance with the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2012 (Vic). It also sets out how the City will handle such disclosures.

Scope

The City is committed to the aims and objectives of the Act in that it does not tolerate improper conduct by officers or employees, or the taking of reprisals against those who come forward to disclose such conduct.

The City recognises the value of transparency and accountability in its administrative and management practices, and supports the making of disclosures that reveal improper conduct, conduct involving a substantial mismanagement of public resources, criminal behaviour or conduct involving a substantial risk to public health and safety or the environment.

The City will take all reasonable steps to protect people who make public interest disclosures from any detrimental action in reprisal for making the disclosure. The City also acknowledges the importance of trying to ensure the welfare of everyone who may be involved in the disclosure and investigation of a public interest disclosure.

References

• Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012 (Vic)
• Fraud and Corruption Control Management Policy
• Councillor Code of Conduct
• Employee Code of Conduct

Definitions used in this procedure

The Act: The Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012 (Vic)

The City: For the purposes of this procedure, the City refers to the City of Greater Geelong, its councillors, employees, contractors and agents.

PIDs: PIDs (Public Interest Disclosures) are disclosures by a natural person of information that shows or tends to show or information that the person reasonably believes shows or tends to show improper conduct or detrimental action.

PID Co-ordinator: The PID Co-ordinator (Public Interest Disclosures Co-ordinator) for the City is the Lead Integrity and Review Officer. 

IBAC: The Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission.

Improper conduct: Improper conduct is a term that is defined in the Act (section 4).  It includes conduct by a public body or public official that is corrupt conduct (see below), or conduct that constitutes:

1. a criminal offence,
2. serious professional misconduct,
3. dishonest performance of public functions,
4. intentional or reckless breach of public trust,
5. intentional or reckless misuse of information or material that they obtained in the course of their functions as a public officer or body,
6. a substantial misuse of public resources,
7. A substantial risk to the health of safety of one or more persons,
8. A substantial risk to the environment
9. Conduct of any person that adversely affects the honest performance by a public officer or body of their public functions, or is intended to adversely affect the effective performance of the public officer or body of their functions and results in certain specific benefits to that person.
10. Conduct of any person that could constitute a conspiracy or attempt to engage in any of the conduct referred to above.

Note that less serious or trivial conduct is not included within the definition of improper conduct.

Corrupt conduct: Corrupt conduct means conduct -

1. of any person that adversely affects the honest performance by a public officer or public body of their public functions;
2. of a public officer or public body that constitutes or involves the dishonest performance of his or her or its functions as a public officer or public body;
3. of a public officer or a public body that constitutes or involves knowingly or recklessly breaching public trust;
4. of a public officer or a public body that involves the misuse of information or material acquired in the course of the performance of his her or its functions as a public officer or public body, whether or not for the benefit of the public officer or public body or any other person; or
5. that could constitute a conspiracy or an attempt to engage in any conduct referred to in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) above—
6. being conduct that would constitute a relevant offence.

Detrimental Action: Detrimental action includes:

• Action causing injury, loss or damage;
• Intimidation or harassment; and
• Discrimination, disadvantage or adverse treatment in relation to a person's employment, careers, profession, trade or business, including the taking of disciplinary action.

Welfare Officer: A person, usually from the People Function (or its equivalent), nominated by the PID Co-ordinator to look after the general welfare of the discloser.

Procedure

1. Authorities & Responsibilities

Employees are encouraged to report known or suspected incidents of improper conduct or detrimental action in accordance with this procedure.  Reports can be made directly to the PID Co-ordinator or if the employee prefers, to the employee’s Manager.

Managers will immediately report disclosures to the PID Co-ordinator for assessment.

The PID Co-ordinator will:

• Be a contact point for general advice about the operation of the Act for any person wishing to make a disclosure about improper conduct or detrimental action;
• Make arrangements for a disclosure to be made privately and discreetly and (if necessary), away from the workplace;
• Receive any disclosure made orally or in writing (from internal and external people);
• Commit to writing any disclosure made orally;
• Impartially assess the allegation and determine whether it is a disclosure made in accordance with Part 2 of the Act (that is, a PID);
• Be a contact point for general advice about the operation of the Act;
• Liaise with IBAC regarding the operation of the Act, including assisting IBAC investigators if required;
• Take all necessary steps to ensure the identity of the person making the disclosure and the identity of the person who is the subject of the disclosure are kept confidential;
• Refer the person making the disclosure to the Welfare Officer if required, to support the person making the disclosure and to protect them from any reprisals;
• Advise, to the extent possible, the discloser of the progress of an investigation into the PID (note that any investigation will be managed by the IBAC, meaning that the City may have limited information about its progress);
• Establish and manage a confidential filing system;
• Collate and publish statistics on disclosures made, as permitted by law.

The Welfare Officer is responsible for looking after the general welfare of the person making a PID.

The Welfare Officer will:

• Examine the immediate welfare and protection needs of a person making a PID and seek to foster a supportive work environment;
• Advise the person making a PID of the legislative and administrative protection available to him or her;
• Listen and respond to any concerns of harassment, intimidation or victimisation in reprisal for making a PID;
• Keep a thorough record of all aspects of the case management of the person making a PID, including all contact and follow up action; and
• Ensure strict confidentiality concerning the PID and the identity of the discloser is kept.

2. How to report suspected corruption

Disclosures of improper conduct or detrimental action by the City should be made to the City’s PID Co-ordinator or to the IBAC or Victorian Ombudsman.

All correspondence, phone calls and emails from internal or external persons who express a desire to make a PID to the City should be referred to the PID Co-ordinator.

These can be made in a number of ways.  They can be made face to face with the PID Co-ordinator, made in writing to the PID Co-ordinator via letter or email, or they can be made anonymously.  Note, however, that anonymous PIDs may result in the PID Co-ordinator being unable to obtain additional information from the discloser or keep the discloser informed.

Avenues for making contact with the PID Co-ordinator include addressing a sealed letter marked “strictly confidential” on the envelope to the Lead Integrity and Review Officer at the City. This can then either be left with the concierge at the front desk at head office or sent via mail. A PID can also be made over the phone or by email. The contact details are:

Disclosures that allege improper conduct or detrimental action by a Councillor or the Chief Executive Officer should be made to:

or

3. Receiving and assessing disclosures

Where the PID Co-ordinator has received a disclosure, he or she will assess it to form a view whether the disclosure has been made in accordance with Part 2 of the Act and is, therefore, a PID.

The PID Co-ordinator can only respond to matters that involve the City.  If the disclosure concerns an employee, officer or member of another public body, the person who has made the disclosure will be advised of the correct person or body to whom the disclosure should be directed.

To be a PID, a disclosure must satisfy the following criteria:

• Did a natural person (that is, an individual person rather than a corporation) make the disclosure?
• Does the disclosure relate to conduct of the City or City officer acting in their official capacity?
• Is the disclosure about improper conduct or detrimental action?
• Does the person making a disclosure have reasonable grounds for believing the alleged conduct has occurred?

If the disclosure is not considered to be a PID, the PID Co-ordinator will notify the person who made the disclosure within 28 days that the disclosure:

• Has been determined not to be a PID, and
• Has not been referred to the IBAC.
• The discloser’s identity does not have to be kept confidential, but other protections under the Act apply, for example, they cannot be subject to detrimental action.

The PID Co-ordinator may consider that the disclosure should be referred to the City’s Policy & Workplace Relations Team (or its equivalent) if it involves allegations of staff misconduct.  The PID Co-ordinator may also consider whether the disclosure should be dealt with according to the City’s normal complaints handling procedures.

If the disclosure is determined to be a PID, the PID Co-ordinator will:

• Refer the disclosure to the IBAC within 28 days of receiving it.
• Notify the person who made the disclosure that it has been referred to the IBAC.

4. Confidentiality

The City will take all reasonable steps to protect the identity of the person making a PID.

The Act prohibits any person who receives information via a PID from disclosing the content, or information about the content, of that disclosure, or the identity of the person making it, except in certain limited circumstances. Disclosure of information in breach of section 52 or 53 constitutes an offence that is punishable by a maximum fine of 120 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months or both for a natural person and 600 penalty units for a body corporate.

The circumstances in which a person may disclose information obtained about a PID include circumstances where:

• The discloser or PID Co-ordinator has obtained consent from IBAC, in writing, to the disclosure of their identity.
• The IBAC has determined that an assessable disclosure is not a PID (then some confidentiality provisions cease to apply).
• It is necessary for the purpose of the exercise of the City’s functions under the Act.
• It is necessary for the purpose of obtaining legal advice.
• It is necessary to use an interpreter for persons who require such assistance.
• The information is disclosed to a parent or guardian of a person who is under 18 years of age.
• The information is disclosed to an independent person for the purpose of enabling a person who is suffering a disability to understand an obligation under the Act.

While the City is required to include certain information about PIDs in its Annual Report, the Act prohibits the inclusion of particulars in any report or recommendation that are likely to lead to the identification of the discloser or the person who is the subject of the disclosure.

The City will ensure all files, whether paper or electronic, are kept in a secure place and can only be accessed by the PID Co-ordinator, Internal Review Officer (if acting as the PID Co-ordinator) or the Welfare Manager (in relation to welfare matters). The Welfare Manager will be given access only to those files which relate to the discloser in respect of whom, and the disclosure in respect of which, they have been appointed.

5. Investigations

Where the PID Co-ordinator determines that a disclosure is not a PID under Part 2 of the Act, but still involves alleged staff misconduct, the PID Co-ordinator may refer the matter to the Policy & Workplace Relations Team (or its equivalent) to carry out a disciplinary investigation in accordance with the City’s policies and requirements.

If the disclosure is to be handled as a normal complaint, then the PID Co-ordinator will apply the City’s Internal Review of Complaints Procedure, as appropriate.

If the PID Co-ordinator refers a disclosure to the IBAC, and the IBAC determines that the disclosure is a PID, IBAC may undertake or refer the matter to an appropriate agency for investigation.  In this case, the PID Co-ordinator will assist the IBAC to the extent and in the manner required by IBAC.

The IBAC may also decide to refer the matter to the City to investigate, with the consent of the person making the PID.  In that case, generally the PID Co-ordinator is responsible for the carriage of the investigation, and will apply, as appropriate, the IBAC’s Reference Guide: Managing and internal investigation into misconduct or any other applicable guidance provided by the IBAC. A copy of the Reference guide can be located on the IBAC website.

6. Managing the welfare of the person making the disclosure and person who is the subject of the disclosure.

All employees will be advised that it is an offence for a person to take detrimental action against someone in reprisal for making a PID.

The taking of detrimental action can also be grounds for conducting an investigation into serious misconduct by the Policy and Workplace Relations team (or its equivalent) and can result in disciplinary action including termination of employment.

The PID Co-ordinator and Welfare Officer will have regard to guidelines established by the IBAC in managing the welfare and interests of the person making the disclosure and the person against whom the disclosure has been made.

7. Collating and publishing statistics

Section 70 of the Act requires the City to include in its Annual Report the number of PIDs notified to the IBAC during the preceding financial year.

The PID Co-ordinator will establish a secure register to record the information required to be published in the City’s annual report, and to generally keep account of the status of disclosures.

The register will be confidential and will not record any information that may identify the person making the disclosure.

Review

This procedure must be reviewed at least annually, or any other time as required by changes in legislation or amended guidance from IBAC.