We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and pay our respects to all Elders past and present, and to the children of today who are the Elders of the future.
Artist: Jasmine Sarin, a proud Kamilaroi and Jerrinja woman.
There is support available for NSW public officials who speak up and report serious wrongdoing in the NSW public sector.
If someone you supervise, or who reports to you directly or indirectly, reports serious wrongdoing to you, your role is to forward that report to a disclosure officer in your agency. Your agency is required to have a Public Interest Disclosure (PID) Policy which sets out the relevant procedures.
You must keep the report and the identity of your staff member confidential except when reporting it to the disclosure officer.
During the process, you might become aware that the staff member who made the report needs support.
Your staff member should primarily receive support from a dedicated contact officer nominated by the agency dealing with their report. They can provide your staff member with information about the agency’s processes, updates on how the agency is dealing with the report and address any concerns.
There is also independent support for your staff member available from the NSW Ombudsman. It can be accessed before or after the public official speaks up.
The NSW Ombudsman’s Whistleblower Support function is intended to complement, but not replace, the support which agencies should provide to PID makers.
You can suggest that your staff member contact the NSW Ombudsman’s Whistleblower Support Team if you feel that they:
Any public official may also find and contact the Whistleblower Support Team.
As that support is confidential, your agency would not be informed when your staff member contacts the Whistleblower Support Team.
Guidance for agencies and public officials who deal with PIDs is available here.
Advice, training and other resources can be accessed by emailing pid@ombo.nsw.gov.au or phoning 1800 710 277.
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and pay our respects to all Elders past and present, and to the children of today who are the Elders of the future.
Artist: Jasmine Sarin, a proud Kamilaroi and Jerrinja woman.