New commencement date for public interest disclosures

Commencement date brought forward

On 17 December 2019, the Victorian Government Gazette S537 notified that Part 2 and Schedule 1 of the Integrity and Accountability Legislation Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures, Oversight and Independence) Act 2019 would commence from 31 December 2019.  That means that the amendments notified to clients about the Protected Disclosure Act 2012 as commencing from 1 January 2020 (the default commencement date) will now commence one day earlier than previously advised. 

Also on 17 December 2019 new regulations were made revoking previous regulations about how disclosures previously had to be made to various bodies before they would be "protected".  The new regulations removes those requirements making it significantly easier for complaints or allegations to fall within the new "public interest" disclosure regime.  This will mean that significant changes may need to be made to your pre-existing processes and procedures. 

FOI Solutions is assisting a number of clients in reviewing their obligations and updating their documents to comply with the amendments to the public interest disclosure regime commencing from 31 December 2019.  If we can assist, please contact us for further information.