Commonwealth Liability for making a false or misleading statements is unaffected, including for disciplinary action, and for certain Criminal Code
offences: s11.
Purely policy decisions about Commonwealth expenditure priorities are excluded from the definition of disclosable conduct: s 31. Judicial conduct of Commonwealth judicial officers and Court and tribunal staff is also excluded: s 32.
ACT None. Loss of protection if Court is satisfied that the discloser gave information that the discloser knew was false or misleading , or the disclosure was vexatious: s 37.
Victoria s. 72
(1) A person must not provide information under this Act that the person knows is false or misleading in a material particular, intending that the
information be acted on as a protected disclosure.
Penalty: 120 penalty units or 12 months
imprisonment or both. (2) A person must not provide further information, relating to a protected disclosure made by the person, that the person knows is false or misleading
in a material particular. Penalty: 120 penalty units or 12 months
imprisonment or both. Queensland A person must not—
(a) make a statement to a proper authority intending that it be acted on as a public interest disclosure; and
(b) in the statement, or in the course of inquiries into the statement, intentionally give information that is false or misleading in a material particular.
Maximum penalty—167 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment.
S 66.
45 Reasonable management action not prevented
(1) Nothing in this part is intended to prevent a manager from
taking reasonable management action in relation to an employee who has made a public interest disclosure.
(2) However, a manager may take reasonable management action in relation to an employee who has made a public interest disclosure only if the manager’s reasons for taking the action do not include the fact that the person has made the public interest disclosure.
(3) In this section—
manager, of an employee, means a person to whom the employee reports or a person who directly or indirectly supervises the employee in the performance of the employee’s functions as an employee. Reasonable management action, taken by a manager in relation to an employee, includes any of the following taken by the manager—
(a) a reasonable appraisal of the employee’s work performance;
(b) a reasonable requirement that the employee undertake counselling; (c) a reasonable suspension of the
employee from the employment workplace;
(d) a reasonable disciplinary action;
(e) a reasonable action to transfer or deploy the employee;
(f) a reasonable action to end the employee’s employment by way of redundancy or retrenchment; (g) a reasonable action in relation to an
action mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (f); (h) a reasonable action in relation to the
employee’s failure to obtain a promotion, reclassification, transfer or benefit, or to retain a benefit, in relation to the
employee’s employment. NSW False or misleading
disclosures
A public official must not, in making a disclosure to an investigating authority, public authority or public official, wilfully make any false statement to, or misleador attempt to mislead, the investigating authority, public authority or public official.
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months, or both: s 28.
Disclosures made by a public official that principally involves questioning the
merits of government policy are not protected by this Act: s 17.
Disclosures made solely or substantially with the motive of avoiding dismissal or other disciplinary action, not being disciplinary action taken in reprisal for the making of a public interest disclosure, are not public interest disclosures: s 18.
Western Australia
A person who makes a statement to a proper authority purporting to be a
17. Protection of s. 13 forfeited in some cases etc.
(1) A person who has made an appropriate
disclosure of public interest information — (a) knowing it to be false in a material particular or being reckless about whether it is false in a material particular; or (b) knowing it to be misleading in a material particular or being reckless about whether it is
misleading in a material particular, commits an offence. Penalty: $12 000 or
imprisonment for one year: s 24(1).
A person who makes a statement in contravention of this section is not protected by this Act in respect of that statement, whether or not it is truly a disclosure of public interest information: s24(2).
disclosure of public interest information under this Act and who —
(a) fails, without reasonable excuse, to assist a person investigating a matter to which the disclosure relates by supplying the person with any information
requested, whether orally or in writing, by the person in such manner, and within such period, as is specified by the person making the request; or
(b) discloses information contained in a disclosure of public interest information otherwise than under this Act, forfeits the protection given by section 13. (2A) Subsection (1)(a) does not apply in respect of a person who made an anonymous disclosure.
(2) Where a court is considering whether a person has pursuant to subsection (1) forfeited the protection of section 13 and forms the view that the failure or disclosure —
(a) has not materially prejudiced the public interest served by the appropriate disclosure; and
(b) is of a minor nature, it may make an order relieving the person in whole or part from the forfeiture and may also make such consequential orders necessary to give effect to the order for relief.
Northern Territory
A person must not knowingly give misleading information to another
No protection from civil or other action in the case of
(a) a public interest disclosure that is an
person acting in an official capacity.
Maximum penalty: 400 penalty units or
imprisonment for 2 years: s 51(1).
A person must not
knowingly give a document containing misleading information to another person acting in an official capacity. The prohibition does not apply if the provider of the document draws the misleading information to the receiver’s attention, and corrects it. Maximum penalty: 400 penalty units or
imprisonment for 2 years: s
51(2). abuse of process; or
(b) a public interest disclosure if the discloser knows the information disclosed is misleading: 14(4)
Tasmania A person must not knowingly provide false information under this Act, intending that it be acted on as a disclosed matter, to –
(a) the President of the Legislative Council; or
(b) the Speaker of the House of Assembly;
Loss of protection if convicted of an offence against s 87: s 13(2).
or
(c) the Ombudsman; or (d) the State Service
Commissioner; or (e) the Commissioner of
Police; or
(f) a public body; or (g) the chairman of the
Public Accounts Committee; or (h) the Joint Committee. Penalty: Fine not exceeding 240 penalty units or
imprisonment for a term of 2 years, or both: s 87(1). A person must not knowingly provide false information to a person conducting an investigation under this Act.
Penalty: Fine not exceeding 240 penalty units or
imprisonment for a term of 2 years, or both: s 87(2).
South Australia 10—Offence to make false disclosure
(1) A person who
makes a disclosure of false public interest information knowing it to be false or being reckless about whether it is false is guilty of an offence. Penalty: Division 5 fine or division 5 imprisonment. (2) A person who makes a disclosure of public interest information in contravention of this section is not protected by this Act. 187
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