What is a public interest disclosure?
A Public Interest Disclosure (PID) is a special type of complaint relating to disclosable conduct which attracts protection for the discloser.
A PID report can be made by anyone regarding suspected wrongdoing that relates to a public sector entity, contractor or public official.
Disclosable conduct includes:
- Maladministration (which in essence is substantial mismanagement), or
- Conduct that poses a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or the environment.
It generally excludes industrial concerns or individual workplace grievances.
How to report potential disclosable conduct
Anyone can make a report under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2012 (PID Act) about ACT public sector wrongdoing.
The report must be made to a person responsible for receiving reports. These people are referred to as ‘disclosure officers’.
A report may relate to events that are happening (or are reasonably suspected of happening) now, occurred in the past, or may happen in the future.
Disclosure officers
The PID Act specifies people that can receive disclosures of disclosable conduct. These people are called disclosure officers, and they are:
- the Public Sector Standards Commissioner;
- the Head of Service;
- the Auditor-General;
- the Ombudsman;
- the Integrity Commissioner;
- the head of an ACT Public Service entity;
- the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly; and
- a person nominated to be a disclosure officer.
In addition to disclosure officers, disclosers can make reports to a Minister or, if the discloser works in a public sector entity, their supervisor or manager.
Entity | Name | Job title | Phone | |
Education Directorate | Katy Haire | Director-General | (02) 6205 9158 | |
Education Directorate | Jane Simmons | Deputy Director-General | (02) 6207 1655 | |
Education Directorate | David Matthews | Executive Group Manager, People, Governance and Communications | (02) 6207 0384 | |
Education Directorate | Deb Efthymiades | Deputy Director-General, System Policy and Reform | (02) 6205 9171 | |
Education Directorate | Angela Spence | Executive Group Manager, Service Design and Delivery | (02) 6207 7918 | |
Education Directorate | Mark Huxley | Executive Group Manager, School Improvement | (02) 6205 3988 | |
Education Directorate | Kristen Laurent | Executive Branch Manager, Governance and SERBIR | (02) 6205 6749 | |
Education Directorate | Daniel Ackland | Executive Branch Manager, People and Performance | (02) 6205 1820 | |
Education Directorate | Vanessa Attridge | Executive Group Manager, Finance and Infrastructure | Vanessa.Attridge@act.gov.au | (02) 6205 3502 |
Integrity Commission
The ACT Integrity Commission makes procedures for dealing with PID Act disclosures, decides whether a disclosure qualifies as a PID and where a disclosure does qualify as a PID, decides which public sector entity (including the Integrity Commission) is best placed to investigate it.
The Integrity Commission’s publications page also includes a full list of Disclosure Officers: Publications 
Protection for disclosers
The PID Act provides protection for disclosers by:
- protecting them from suffering legally or professionally;
- criminally penalising any person, including officials, who take detrimental action against a discloser for making it; or
- permitting a recovery of damages by civil litigation.
Further information
More information, including the Public Interest (Integrity Commission – Managing Disclosures and Conducting Investigations) Guidelines 2021, is available on the Integrity Commission website .
General advice on the PID Scheme can also be provided by the Senior Executive Responsible for Business Integrity Risk (SERBIR).
The role is fulfilled by the Executive Branch Manager Governance – EDUSERBIR@act.gov.au