What is a public interest disclosure?

Good government relies on public officials speaking up when they witness, or otherwise become aware of, wrongdoing in the public sector.

A strong ‘speak up’ culture that encourages public officials to report wrongdoing is important for ensuring the integrity of the public sector.

An integral part of that ‘speak up’ culture is having in place a framework that facilitates public interest reporting of wrongdoing by:

• protecting those who speak up from detriment
• taking active steps to maintain the confidentiality of reports
• imposing duties on agencies who receive reports of wrongdoing to take appropriate action to investigate or otherwise deal with them.

In NSW, that framework is the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2022 (PID Act).

This guideline provides an overview of the PID Act 2022. It also explains the categories of disclosures and how they can be made under the PID Act. There are more detailed guidelines on each of the concepts discussed in this guideline.