5. Procedures for supervisors

5.1 Role of supervisors

  1. Under the PID Act, supervisors are public officials who supervise or manage individuals who make PIDs.
  2. Supervisors may have PIDs made to them from time to time. This part of the Procedures applies to supervisors who are not Authorised Officers. If you are a supervisor and an Authorised Officer and believe a PID may have been made to you, refer to the Procedures for Authorised Officers section.

5.2 Responsibilities of supervisors

  1. If a supervisor reasonably believes that:
    1. a current or former public official under their supervision;
    2. has provided information to them;
    3. which the supervisor reasonably believes could concern one or more instances of disclosable conduct;  
      the supervisor must:
    4. inform the discloser that the disclosure could be treated as an internal disclosure for the purposes of the PID Act;
    5. explain to the discloser the procedures under the PID Act for such a disclosure to be:
      1. given to an Authorised Officer;
      2. allocated to the discloser's agency or another agency; and
      3. investigated by the Principal Officer of the Department.
    6. advise the individual about the circumstances (if any) in which a public interest disclosure must be referred to an agency, or other person or body, under another law of the Commonwealth; and
    7. explain to the discloser the civil and criminal protections this Act provides to protect disclosers, and those providing assistance in relation to such disclosures, from reprisals; and
    8. give the information to an Authorised Officer of PM&C as soon as reasonably practicable.
  2. Supervisors should adhere to the confidentiality requirements set out in the PID Act and these Procedures when handling PIDs.
  3. Supervisors should endeavour to:
    1. familiarise themselves with the framework of the PID Act and its application, as well as these Procedures; and
    2. be approachable to staff who may wish to make a disclosure to them.