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Public interest disclosure and corrupt conduct

The department has a commitment to ensuring the highest level of ethics in our organisation and support public interest disclosures.

Public interest disclosures are the disclosure of information specified in the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010 (sections 12 and 13) and made to an appropriate public sector entity with responsibility or power to take appropriate action about the information disclosed or to provide an appropriate remedy.

Examples of disclosures

Any person (including members of the public) can make a disclosure about:

  • a substantial and specific danger to the health or safety of a person with a disability
  • a substantial and specific danger to the environment
  • the commission of an environmental offence (see Schedule 2 of the PID Act 2010)
  • the conduct of another person that could, if proven, be a reprisal.

Public sector employees can make a disclosure about:

  • suspected corrupt conduct, as defined in the Crime and Corruption Act 2001
  • maladministration that adversely affects a person's interests in a substantial and specific way
  • a substantial misuse of public resources
  • a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.

How to make a disclosure

You can make a public interest disclosure to:

  • your manager or supervisor (if you are a public service staff member)
  • Director, Ethics:

Disclosures can also be made externally to:

  • the Crime and Corruption Commission if it concerns corrupt conduct
  • a member of the Legislative Assembly.

Our commitment

We encourage any person who considers that they have witnessed wrongdoing to come forward and make a disclosure. We aspire to an organisational climate where members of the public and staff feel confident and comfortable about making a disclosure of wrongdoing.

We believe that we have an obligation to deal with wrongdoing within our department. Every employee has an ethical responsibility to disclose wrongdoing and any disclosure is in accordance with our ethical culture and in particular, acting with integrity. Section 9 of the Public Sector Ethics Act 1994 places an obligation on all departmental employees to disclose fraud, corruption and maladministration. Further to this, the obligation to report wrongdoing is reflected in Principle 1 of the Queensland Public Service Code of Conduct. Staff who come forward with disclosures of wrongdoing are acting as exemplary organisational citizens by assisting us in promoting openness, accountability and good management.

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Last updated: 15 Feb 2024