Commonwealth Public officials and former public officials: s 26.
The information tends to show, or the discloser believes on reasonable grounds that the information tends to show, one or more instances of disclosable conduct: s 26
ACT Any person: s 14. A disclosure of information by a person about disclosable conduct that the person honestly believes on reasonable grounds tends to show disclosable conduct; or tend to show
disclosable conduct regardless of whether the person honestly believes on reasonable grounds the information tends to show disclosable conduct; and includes any assistance given by the discloser during an investigation of the information: s 7.
Victoria
A natural person: s 9. (1) Subject to subsection (3), a natural person may disclose in accordance with this Part—
(a) information that shows or tends to show—
(i) a person, public officer or public body has engaged, is engaging or
proposes to engage in improper conduct; or
(ii) a public officer or public body has taken, is taking or proposes to take
detrimental action against a person in contravention of section 45; or (b) information that the person believes on
reasonable grounds shows, or tends to show—
(i) a person, public officer or public body has engaged, is engaging or proposes to engage in improper conduct; or
(ii) a public officer or public body has taken, is taking or proposes to take detrimental action against a person in contravention of section 45: s 9.
Queensland Any person (re limited subject matter) or a public officer: Ss 12 & 13.
A person has information about the conduct of another person or another matter if—
(a) the person honestly believes on
reasonable grounds that the information tends to show the conduct or other matter; or
(b) the information tends to show the conduct or other matter, regardless of whether the person honestly believes the information tends to show the conduct or other matter: ss 12 & 13. NSW Public official or former
public official: s 8.
Honest belief on reasonable ground that the information shows or tends to show the conduct: Part 2.
Evidentiary presumption re honesty of belief: s 9A.
Western Australia Any person: s 5(1). A person makes an appropriate disclosure of
public interest information if, and only if, the person who makes the disclosure —
(a) believes on reasonable grounds that the information is true; or
(b) has no reasonable grounds on which to form a belief about the truth of the information but believes on reasonable grounds that the information may be true: s 5(2).
Northern Territory
An individual: s 10(1). (None)
Tasmania A public officer, and a contract who contracts with a public body: s 6.
Discretion on recipient to treat discloser as a public officer: s7A.
Belief: s 6.
South Australia A person: s 5. A person makes an appropriate disclosure of public interest information for the purposes of this Act if, and only if—
(a) the person—
(i) believes on reasonable grounds that the information is true; or
(ii) is not in a position to form a belief on reasonable grounds about the truth of the information but believes on reasonable grounds that the information may be true and is of sufficient significance to justify its disclosure so that its truth may be investigated: s 5(2).
TABLE 3
Disclosure to whom?
Anonymous disclosure?
Commonwealth To a supervisor of the public official or to authorised officer of the agency to which the disclosure relates, or of the agency to which the discloser belongs, or in certain circumstances, of the Ombudsman or the IGIS: s 34.
Permitted: 28(2).
ACT To a disclosure officer, a Minister, and if the discloser is a public official, their direct or indirect manager, a governing board member, or a public official of the entity with the function of receiving or acting upon such information: s15.
Permitted: 16(1).
Victoria Provisions detailing which disclosures must or may be made to whom to attract protection. Recipients which may or must receive
disclosures in specified circumstances include the IBAC, the Victorian Inspectorate and the Ombudsman: s 13
Permitted: s 12(2)(b).
Queensland To a Member of the Legislative Assembly unless the disclosure relates to a judicial officer: s14. To a public sector entity if there is a particular connection as defined, between the entity and the disclosure: s 15.
A disclosure is made to the public sector entity if made to CEO, the responsible Minister, a
manager of the discloser, & c.: s 17. To the Chief Justice if concerning a judicial officer: s 16.
Permitted: s 17.
NSW To an investigating authority, to a relevant principal officer, to another public officer in accordance with policy, and to certain parliamentary authorities: s 8.
Disclosures in relation to certain persons or topics must be made as specified to attract protection (Part 2), with some residual protection for misdirected disclosures: s 15.
No specific provision.
Western Australia
To specified “proper authorities”, the selection of which depends on the subject matter of the disclosure: s 5(3).
Permitted: s 5(6A).
Northern Territory
To the Speaker (if concerning an MLA); or to the Public Interest Disclosure Commissioner, or to the responsible chief executive.
Permitted: s 11(3).
Tasmania To specified persons or bodies, depending on the subject matter of the disclosure: s 7.
Permitted: s 8. South Australia To a person to whom it is, in the circumstances
of the case, reasonable and appropriate to make the disclosure: s 5(2) (b). Disclosures to certain persons or bodies re certain subjects are
deemed to have satisfied that criteria: s 5(3) & (4).
TABLE 4
External disclosure?
In what circumstances?
Commonwealth Permitted to anyone except a foreign public official: s 26.
Failure to investigate, as defined, and subject to some further tests: s 26, item 2.
Belief on reasonable grounds the information concerns a substantial or imminent danger to the health or safety of one or more persons or to the environment, exceptional circumstances why a previous internal disclosure has not been made, and subject to some further tests: s 26 item 3.
To an Australian legal practitioner, for the purposes of obtaining advice: s 26 item 4. ACT To a member of the
Legislative Assembly or a journalist: 27(3).
Failure to investigate or inform, as defined: s 27(1).
To avoid a significant risk or detrimental action if it would be unreasonable in all of the
circumstances to make an internal disclosure: s 27(2).
Victoria Not protected. Queensland To a Member of the
Legislative Assembly, as above.
To a journalist: s20.
See above.
For a failure to investigate, take action or inform,
as defined: s 20. NSW To a Member of Parliament
or a journalist: s 19.
For a failure to investigate, take action, or inform, as defined: s 19(3).
Additional requirement: the public official must have reasonable grounds for believing that the disclosure is substantially true AND the
disclosure must be substantially true: s19(4) – (5).
Western Australia
To a journalist: s 7A. For a failure to investigate or inform, as defined: s &A(2).
Note – this section was inserted in 2012. Northern
Territory
Not protected.
Tasmania Not protected.
South Australia May be protected, if s5(2)(b) is satisfied: see above.
TABLE 5