Public interest disclosures news

April 5, 2022

Dear Colleague,

Welcome to Issue 46 of our PID e-newsletter.

In this edition, we’ve included important information about:

PID Bill update
PID Act 1994 requirements
PID Act 1994 training
Dealing with risks of harm

As always, we encourage you to access information on our website. If you have any questions, please get in touch with the PID team through pid@ombo.nsw.gov.au.

Feel free to forward this edition of PID e-news to interested colleagues. We encourage public officials to subscribe to receive the PID e-news here.

Kind regards
PID Team

PID Bill update

The new Public Interest Disclosures Bill (PID Bill) was tabled in Parliament in October 2021. It passed with amendments by the Legislative Council on 24 February 2022 and by the Legislative Assembly on 29 March 2022. The Bill is awaiting assent by the Governor.

The NSW Ombudsman welcomes the Bill and tabled a Special Report in Parliament detailing our assessment of the Bill. Additionally, the PID Steering Committee Annual Report details the members’ unanimous support for the Bill.

The new Public Interest Disclosures (PID) Bill is a complete rewrite of the current Act. The object of the current PID Act is to encourage and facilitate the disclosure, in the public interest, of wrongdoing in the public sector. While the PID Bill has the same broad objective and some of the same concepts (for example the categories of protected wrongdoing), it also includes other significant changes.

The new Bill addresses many of the weaknesses in the existing PID Act:

it is simpler and easier to navigate
it contains fewer trip hazards for would-be whistleblowers, including by expanding the permissible recipients of PIDs to include a person’s manager, and by protecting PIDs even if they are made to the wrong agency
it provides more comprehensive protections, including for witnesses and those involved in investigating PIDs
there is a clearer duty on agencies to take appropriate steps to deal with the disclosures they receive
it introduces enhanced measures to encourage a ‘speak up culture’ within agencies, for example by enhanced requirements around policies and training
it facilities more comprehensive and meaningful reporting of data about PIDs.

What does this mean for agencies right now?

The Bill contains many new obligations for agencies and will be a significant reform. However, many of the reforms reflect our current understandings about good practice. This means that agencies with positive reporting cultures and strong policy and practice frameworks will find adaptation less challenging.

The Bill provides for a delayed commencement meaning that agencies will have time to prepare. This also means that agencies will continue to be subject to the current PID Act until the Bill comes into force.

We appreciate that this period of change will be challenging for agencies, who need to balance meeting their obligations under the current Act with preparing for the changes in the new Bill.

Our office will continue to support you with advice, guidance and training on the current Act. Resources on the current Act are on our website, and you are encouraged to contact us at any time for advice. We have just finalised a review of our training materials and resources and are about to recommence our online PID training. We will shortly be reaching out to people who have contacted us about training with some upcoming training dates.

We are in the process of establishing a new team who will be responsible for the PID Bill preparation. This team will work alongside our current PID Team who will continue to assist you meet your obligations under the current Act.

We will shortly be providing detailed information, training, and support for agencies to assist with the transition to the new PID Bill, including a comprehensive revision of our guidelines.

We encourage you to:

familiarise yourself with the changes in the PID Bill, particularly those aimed at facilitating reporting and increasing awareness
sign up to our newsletter so that we can tell you when new resources are available, and what other support our office can provide
read our FAQs for relevant information on the PID Bill.

PID Act 1994 requirements

While it is important to prepare for the new Bill, it is important for agencies to remember that until it is commenced, agencies must continue to comply with the requirements of the PID Act.

For example, agencies must continue to:

receive, assess, and handle reports of wrongdoing that meet the definition of a ‘public interest disclosure’ under the PID Act
submit returns to the Ombudsman every six months
raise awareness of the internal reporting system in their agency with public officials (this includes staff, contractors, and volunteers)
ensure that nominated disclosure officers are aware of their role in dealing with reports from staff, including those that are assessed as public interest disclosures.

The Ombudsman’s office will continue to support agencies to meet these obligations.

We will:

continue to provide access to guidelines and fact sheets that relate to the current PID Act
upload information that agencies can use to support them with their awareness raising activities under the current legislation
continue to provide advice and assistance to agencies on the current PID Act through pid@ombo.nsw.gov.au.

PID Act 1994 training sessions

We offer 2-hour public interest disclosures training which provides an overview of an organisation’s obligations under the Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994. This training is primarily targeted at people with PID Assessment and handling responsibilities, including nominated disclosure officers, disclosure coordinators and managers.

These training sessions are designed to assist staff with a PID-related role to:

identify, assess and handle PIDs
promote awareness of the importance of public interest disclosures and a positive reporting environment
comply with the requirements of the Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994
manage public interest disclosures effectively.

This training is provided virtually, at no cost, and is available on the following dates:

Thursday 28 April, 10am-12pm—To register click here
Tuesday 24 May, 10am-12pm—To register click here
Thursday 23 June, 10am-12pm—To register click here
Tuesday 26 July, 10am-12pm—To register click here
Thursday 25 August, 10am-12pm—To register click here
Tuesday 20 September, 10am-12pm—To register click here

If you have a need for PID awareness training (designed to provide information about PIDs to general staff), please contact our Community Education and Training team on training@ombo.nsw.gov.au to discuss.

Dealing with risks of harm

The Commonwealth Ombudsman has released a useful resource Guidance for Complaint Handlers on dealing with risks of harm. This document aims to give complaint handlers confidence in handling complainant behaviour that poses a risk of harm to themselves or others.

This guide has 4 sections:

responding to someone at risk of self-harm or suicide
responding to someone who indicates they pose a risk of harm to someone else
tips for supporting employees who’ve dealt with the risks, and
some printable quick reference guides.

We encourage you to read this resource and to share it with other relevant areas of your agency.