Public interest disclosure

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (PID Act) commenced on 15 January 2014. The PID Act promotes the integrity and accountability of the Commonwealth public sector by creating a framework for facilitating the reporting of suspected wrongdoing and ensuring timely and effective investigation of reports.

The public interest disclosure scheme supplements existing avenues for complaints and investigations, and provides support and protection to persons who make disclosures under the Act.

More information about the public interest disclosure scheme is available from the Commonwealth Ombudsman website.

Making a public interest disclosure

A number of departmental officers, including Australian Government Solicitor officers, are appointed as Authorised Officers under the PID Act.

To email your public interest disclosure or request assistance in making a disclosure, contact the department's PID Contact Officer by emailing PID@ag.gov.au.

Alternatively, you can send your public interest disclosure to:

Public Interest Disclosure Contact Officer
c/- Attorney-General's Department
3-5 National Circuit
BARTON ACT 2600

Your identity and contact details, as well as the content of your public interest disclosure, will be protected in accordance with the PID Act.

If you wish to remain anonymous and do not wish to have your identity or contact details provided to the Secretary or the Investigation Delegate, this should be clearly stated in your correspondence. If you wish to remain anonymous, if it is necessary to appoint an Investigation Delegate to make further enquiries about your disclosure, your name and contact details will not be disclosed. It should be noted that, in many cases, contacting a discloser to obtain further details or clarification can assist the Authorised Officer or Investigation Delegate.

The department's Privacy Policy outlines its personal information handling practices, including details on how to access or correct the personal information that we hold about you. It also contains information about how you can contact the department, and how you can make a complaint about a breach of our obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.​​

Downloads

Review of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013