The Council is committed to the aims and objectives of the Public Interest Act 1994 (the Act). To be protected by the Act, a disclosure must be made in accordance with the channels of reporting under and in accordance with the provisions of the PID Act. To ensure that staff are aware of the PID and to report any corrupt behavior or maladministration and serious and material waste of public money, breach of information and breach of pecuniary interest.
To ensure that staff are aware of the PID Act and that any report of corrupt conduct or mismanagement and serious and substantial loss of public money, breach of information and breach of pecuniary interest should be reported to every PID official, the Commission of Independent Anti-Corruption for reports of corrupt conduct or the NSW Ombudsman for reports of maladministration. If a manager becomes aware of a person making a disclosure, he or she has a responsibility to maintain the confidentiality of the person and the content of the disclosure. Reports relating to any of the five categories of serious wrongdoing – corrupt behaviour, maladministration, serious and substantial waste of public money, breach of information and breach of pecuniary interest – will be treated under the PID Act as protected disclosures and in accordance with politics. .
For a report to be considered a PID, it must meet all the requirements of the PID Act. If a report is made verbally, the officer receiving the report shall make a comprehensive record of the disclosure and request the person making the disclosure to sign the record. The Council is required to keep the identity of the journalists and the facts of the reported misconduct confidential.
When reporting misconduct, discussions of the report should only take place with those dealing with the report.
Who can receive a report (within The Hills Shire Council)
The council will discuss with the reporter whether the report can be kept confidential. If confidentiality cannot be maintained, the Council will work with the Reporter to develop a plan to support and protect the Reporter from the risks of retaliation. The rapporteur will also be informed whether the report will be considered in accordance with the Council's Code of Conduct, as this may mean that some information will need to be presented at a Council meeting.
If the report is discussed more widely, it could affect the outcome of any investigation. If the report concerns the General Manager, the Mayor is also responsible for referring actual or suspected corrupt behavior to ICAC and the Office of Local Government (LOG). The Disclosures Coordinator evaluates the reports and is the main point of contact in the public authority for the reporter.
The Information Coordinator coordinates the Council's response to all reports and ensures that the Council complies with the PID Act. Disclosure Officers work with the Disclosure Coordinator and are responsible for receiving, conducting a preliminary assessment, forwarding to the Disclosure Coordinator and/or handling reports made in accordance with this policy. Disclosure Officers work with the Disclosure Coordinator and are responsible for receiving, conducting a preliminary assessment, forwarding to the Disclosure Coordinator and/or handling reports made in accordance with this policy.
Referral to an external investigative authority can be made at any time before or after the first report is made to one of the Council's Information Officers. If a report concerns the day-to-day manager or the mayor, it is recommended that the report be forwarded to an external investigative authority. f) Investigative authorities. It should be noted that it is highly likely that any external investigating authority will discuss the matter with The Hills Shire Council.
The Council will make every effort to assist and co-operate with the investigating authority to ensure that the matter is dealt with properly and that there is a satisfactory outcome. When reporting misconduct to a designated position or organization not listed in this policy, the reporter is not protected under the PID Act. For more information about reporting wrongdoing outside of The Hills Shire Council, contact the Disclosure Coordinator or the NSW Ombudsman's Public Interest Disclosures Unit.
Feedback to staff who report wrongdoing
Most importantly, to be protected under the PID Act when reporting wrongdoing to an MP or a journalist, reasonable grounds must be present to believe that the disclosure is materially true and that it is in fact materially true.
Protection against reprisals
Responding to reprisals
The General Manager must refer to the Commissioner of Police or the ICRC any evidence of an offense under this section. The Commissioner or the ICRC, after completing an investigation into an alleged offense under this article and forming the opinion that a criminal offense has been committed, must refer the alleged offense to the Director of Public Prosecutions, providing the Director of Public Prosecutions a summary. of the evidence related to the criminal offense. Anyone reporting retaliation will be kept informed of the progress of any investigation and then the final outcome.
If the allegation of retaliatory action concerns the Chief Manager, the Mayor may issue similar directions. The Disclosure Coordinator will make it clear to other staff that this action was taken in consultation with the staff member and with management support and is not a penalty. If retaliatory action is not dealt with effectively, the matter should be referred to the Ombudsman or the ICAC – depending on the type of breach reported.
Protection against legal action
Support for those reporting wrongdoing
Sanctions for making false or misleading disclosures
Support for the subject of a report
Record Keeping
Review
The key concepts in the reporting system are corrupt behaviour, maladministration, serious and substantial waste of public funds, breach of government information (failure to fulfill functions under the Public Information (Public Access) Act 2009) and breach of local authority financial interests. Corrupt conduct Corrupt conduct is defined in sections 8 and 9 of the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988. Conduct by a person who is not a public official when it affects the impartial or honest exercise of official functions by a public official also falls within the definition .
Serious and substantial waste of public money is any uneconomic, inefficient or ineffective use of resources, authorized or unauthorized, that results in the loss of public funds or resources. Material – where the waste relates to the costs of the organization or a particular item of expenditure, or is to the extent that it affects the capacity of an organization to carry out its main functions. A breach of government information is a failure to properly fulfill functions under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act).
A local authority pecuniary interest breach is a failure to comply with certain obligations under the Local Government Act 1993 in relation to the management of pecuniary interest. A pecuniary interest is an interest that a person has in a matter because of the reasonable likelihood of substantial financial gain or loss to the person.
