Discloser Information and Support

This video has been produced in Auslan without sound for the Australian deaf community.
Public interest disclosures (PIDs) are an important way of helping to ensure public sector integrity and accountability. If you make a PID, you have a responsibility to provide honest, accurate and relevant information.
Learn more: www.ombudsman....
Discloser information and support
Public interest disclosures (PIDs) are an important way of helping to ensure public sector integrity and accountability. If you make a PID, you have a responsibility to provide honest, accurate and relevant information.
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010 recognises the important role of a discloser and provides protections.
After you make a PID, you have a responsibility to maintain appropriate confidentiality about having made a PID, the information you disclosed in the PID and the identity of anyone referred to in the PID. By not disclosing information about the PID to work colleagues and friends, you are helping to ensure the integrity of any investigative process and minimise the risks of reprisal against you or others.
What information can I expect?
After receiving a PID, the public sector entity has a responsibility to provide you with reasonable information about the disclosure. The entity should write to you to confirm the receipt of the PID and inform you of the action taken or proposed to be taken. If the entity believes no action is required, you are entitled to be informed of the reasons for that decision. If the matter is ongoing, you can ask the main person dealing with the PID to update you on its progress.
If the entity takes action in relation to the disclosure, you should be given a description of the results of that action. The entity may decide not to release information if it is likely to adversely affect anyone’s safety, the investigation of the offence, or necessary confidentiality about an informant’s existence or identity.
What kind of support can be provided?
As part of the PID assessment process, the entity must determine the level of protection and support appropriate for a discloser by conducting a risk assessment of reprisal (against the discloser and others associated with the disclosure).
Although the majority of people who disclose wrongdoing say that they do not experience any negative impacts, sometimes disclosers report feelings of frustration or increased stress.