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Whistleblower protection

The Whistleblower Protection Act 2001 (WPA) applies to all Victorian government departments and statutory bodies including Victoria Legal Aid (VLA). The main objective of the WPA is to encourage and facilitate the making of disclosures by staff or members of the public about improper, corrupt conduct or detrimental action by public officers or public bodies. The WPA also protects whistleblowers from reprisals or retaliation.

The Act requires all public bodies to adopt procedures for the reporting, assessment and investigation of whistleblower disclosures. VLA’s procedures can be located on VLA’s intranet and website (see Whistleblower procedures). The procedures adopted by VLA closely follow the Victorian Ombudsman model and have been approved by VLA’s Board.

VLA’s procedures must be available on request for inspection by members of the public free of charge. A Whistleblower checklist that has been copied from the Department of Justice Internet site is available (see Whistleblower checklist) for VLA staff and members of the public.

It can be used as an aid in the process of determining, things to consider before making a disclosure under the Whistleblowers Protection Act 2001. Brochures will soon be also available to the general public upon request and posters for notice boards will be available.

The definition of improper conduct is set out in section 4 of VLA’s model procedures. I would also specifically refer you to the table in section 9.2 of the procedures that provides details for the range of various complaints from staff and members of the public that can be received by VLA. As explained within section 9.2, only some of these matters will qualify for protection and investigation under the WPA.

The Act requires that all information relating to a disclosure be treated in strict confidence. The Act creates an offence for the unlawful disclosure of this information. The maximum penalty for breaching this offence is 6 months imprisonment or 60 penalty units ($6,000) or both. Protecting the identity of a whistleblower is an important measure in ensuring that he or she is protected from reprisals.

It is essential, therefore that all staff handling letters or e-mails that contain disclosures keep this information confidential and ensure that the disclosure is securely delivered to the Protected Disclosure Coordinator. Guidelines for the receiving of letters and e-mails should also be read by all VLA officers (see Whistleblower information)

The introduction of the WPA renders VLA’s Fraud Control Plan obsolete as the WPA applies to investigations, reporting, protection of whistleblowers, anonymous reporting and reporting to police. If you have any comments or questions please address them to your divisional manager or to VLA’s Protected Disclosure Coordinator.

The Board greatly appreciate your cooperation in implementing the new procedures that apply to the Whistleblower Protection Act 2001.