Public Interest Disclosures

The Public Interest Disclosures Act 2022 (PID Act) sets in place a system to encourage public officials to report serious wrongdoing.  It provides an internal reporting system to report certain types of wrongdoing, classified as ‘public interest disclosures', without fear of reprisal.

For more detailed information please see Council’s Public Interest Disclosure Policy - PDF - 287 KB.

For the purposes of a Public Interest Disclosure (PID), a public official means all employees of Council, subcontractors, certain volunteers, committee members and any other person who performs official functions for Council, whose conduct could be investigated.

We support public officials who wish to report corrupt conduct, maladministration or serious and substantial waste.

There are six categories of serious wrongdoing that are managed under the PID Act and can be reported as a Public Interest Disclosure.  We encourage you to report serious wrongdoing if you believe, on reasonable grounds, you have information that shows or indicates:

Make a Public Interest Disclosure

Submit your Public Interest Disclosure

Forms will be sent to a confidential mailbox.

OR

If you would prefer to provide written disclosure, complete the Public Interest Disclosure reporting form - PDF - 209 KB and send it to:

Disclosure Coordinator,

Sutherland Shire Council

Locked Bag 17, Sutherland, 1499.

The envelope should be marked ‘Confidential’.

It is important to note that an anonymous disclosure may not prevent you from being identified. If we do not know who made the report, it will be difficult to prevent reprisal action should others identify you.

If you do not wish to submit your Public Interest Disclosure via Council, we respect your decision. Alternatively, you can report alleged wrongdoing to one of the following external investigating authorities:

NSW Ombudsman - for maladministration

Independent Commission Against Corruption - for corrupt conduct

Information and Privacy Commissioner (NSW) - for information or privacy breaches

Office of Local Government - for pecuniary interest contravention

NSW Audit Office - for serious and substantial waste

For more information, please contact Council’s Public Interest Disclosures Coordinator at pid@ssc.nsw.gov.au.