The Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (PID) commenced on 15 January 2014. The Act provides an avenue for public officials to make a disclosure that they reasonably believe meets the definition of disclosable conduct. The Act also aims to promote the integrity and accountability of the Commonwealth public sector by:

• encouraging the disclosure of information by public officials about suspected wrongdoing in the public sector;
• ensuring that public officials who make disclosures are supported and protected from adverse consequences; and
• ensuring that disclosures are properly investigated.

What is disclosable conduct?

This means conduct by an agency, public official or a contracted Commonwealth service provider that:

• contravenes a law
• is corrupt
• perverts the course of justice
• results in wastage of public funds or property
• is an abuse of public trust
• unreasonably endangers health and safety or endangers the environment
• is misconduct relating to scientific research, analysis or advice
• is maladministration, including conduct that is unjust, oppressive or negligent

Who can make a disclosure?

A current or former ‘public official’ can disclose information that they believe on reasonable grounds tends to show disclosable conduct. This broad term includes Australian Government public servants and parliamentary service employees, members of the Defence force, staff and directors of Commonwealth companies, statutory office holders and staff of Commonwealth contracted service providers.

Protections for the person who makes the disclosure

The identity of a person who makes a disclosure will be kept confidential as far as practicable. It is an offence to provide identifying information about a person who makes a disclosure without their consent unless authorised by the PID Act.

Authorised Officers

Under the PID Act, each agency must appoint authorised officers to handle public interest disclosures. Disclosures can also be made to a supervisor/manager, who must pass it to an authorised officer. For the purposes of this Act the following staff have been appointed as authorised officers:

Authorised Officers - Department of Health

Name	Title	E-mail	Phone No.
Nathan Hyson	Director	Nathan.Hyson@health.gov.au	(02) 6289 9452
Michael Ryan	Director	Michael.Ryan@health.gov.au	(02) 6289 9037
Mel Dwyer	Assistant Director	Mel.Dwyer@health.gov.au	(07) 3360 2947
Sandy Youren	Medical Officer	Sandy.Youren@health.gov.au	(03) 9637 4133
Hongxia Jin	Director	Hongxia.Jin@health.gov.au	(02) 6221 6782
Avi Rebera	Assistant Secretary	Avi.Rebera@health.gov.au	(02) 6232 8108
Eric McIntosh	Director	Eric.McIntosh@health.gov.au	(02) 6232 8737
Luke Wurst	Assistant Director	Luke.Wurst@health.gov.au	(02) 6289 8493
Roshini Jayewardene	Director	roshini.jayewardene@health.gov.au	(02) 8577 8860
David Elliot	Legal	David.Elliot@health.gov.au	(02) 6289 5127
Masha Somi	Assistant Secretary	Masha.Somi@health.gov.au	(02) 6289 7705
Craig Boyd	Chief Financial Officer	Craig.Boyd@health.gov.au	(02) 6289 7944
Michael Dornbusch	Assistant Secretary	Michael.Dornbusch@health.gov.au	(02) 6271 4255
Kerri-Anne Reeves	Assistant Director	Kerri-Anne.Reeves@health.gov.au	(07) 3360 2802
Claire O’Moore	Departmental Officer	Claire.O’Moore@health.gov.au	(02) 9263 3776
Dianne Robinson	Departmental Officer	Dianne.Robinson@health.gov.au	(08) 8237 8318
Rebecca McIlroy	Assistant Director	Rebecca.McIlroy@health.gov.au	(08) 9346 5335
Michelle Paschkow	Assistant Director	Michelle.Paschkow@health.gov.au	(03) 9665 8955
Amanda Innes-Brown	Assistant Director	Amanda.Innes-Brown@health.gov.au	(03) 6221 1408
Katie Esser	Departmental Officer	Kate.ESSER@health.gov.au	(03) 6221 1547

Who can a disclosure be made to?

You can make a disclosure to your current supervisor or manager, an authorised officer, or alternatively to PublicInterestDisclosure@health.gov.au.

Further information

Further information regarding the Public Interest Disclosure Act can be found on the Ombudsman’s website. Top of Page