Public Interest Disclosures
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 2018 creates a scheme that facilitates the disclosure of ‘public interest information’ to certain persons or authorities.
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 2018 came into operation on 1 July 2019 and replaces the Whistleblowers Protection Act 1993.
The Act provides protections for people who make ‘appropriate disclosures’ and sets out processes for relevant authorities who receive disclosures.
There are two types of public interest information:
- environmental and health information – which relates to a substantial risk to the environment or to public health and safety
- public administration information – which relates to potential corruption, misconduct or maladministration in public administration.
Any person can make a disclosure of environmental and health information, but only public officers can make a disclosure of public administration information.
To make an ‘appropriate disclosure’, you must disclose the information to a ‘relevant authority’, which may include the Ombudsman, the Office for Public Integrity, or designated persons at the Council.
For more information about relevant authorities and the protections available to informants, download the Council’s Public Interest Disclosure Policy & Guidelines
Making a disclosure
A Public Interest Disclosure can be securely received by the Responsible Officer of the Council in person, by telephone, in writing or via email. The relevant contact details are:
- Telephone: 08 8366 4549 / 08 8366 4507
- Email: pid@npsp.sa.gov.au
- Address: PO Box 204, Kent Town SA 5071
Where a disclosure is made in writing all correspondence should be clearly marked confidential and addressed to the Responsible Officer of the Council.
More information
- Public Interest Disclosure Act 2018
- ICAC Public Interest Disclosure Guidelines
- Independent Commissioner Against Corruption
- Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment
