Public Interest Disclosure

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth) (PID Act) aims to promote integrity and accountability in the Australian public sector by encouraging the disclosure of information about actual or suspected wrongdoing, protecting people who make disclosures and ensuring that disclosures are properly investigated and dealt with. The National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022 (Cth) (NACC Act) aims to prevent corrupt conduct, to facilitate the detection of corrupt conduct and to facilitate the timely investigation of corruption issues that could involve corrupt conduct that is serious or systemic.

The Reserve Bank is committed to the highest standards of ethical and accountable conduct. The PID Act and the NACC Act supplement the Reserve Bank’s existing processes for dealing with suspected illegal or unethical behaviours involving the Bank or its employees. The PID Act and NACC Act impose duties on the Reserve Bank in relation to the way the Reserve Bank handles and investigates disclosures concerning allegations of wrongdoing.

The PID Act also offers legal protections for people who make genuine disclosures. All individuals eligible to make a disclosure under the PID Act have general civil, criminal and administrative immunity if they make a genuine disclosure in accordance with the PID Act.

If you are:

  • a current or former Reserve Bank staff member; or
  • an individual who is or was a contracted service provider to the Reserve Bank, or who is or was employed by a contracted service provider to the Reserve Bank, and in either case involved in providing goods or services to the Reserve Bank,

and you have information about actual, suspected or probable illegal conduct or other wrongdoing at the Reserve Bank or in connection with the relevant contract with the Reserve Bank, you can make a public interest disclosure under the PID Act. Other persons working in, or with a relevant connection to, the Commonwealth public sector can also make public interest disclosures.

In order to be covered by the legal provisions of the PID Act, you must report your concern to your supervisor or one of the following people (each an ‘Authorised Officer’):

  • Chief Risk Officer;
  • Andrea Brischetto (currently Head of Financial Stability);
  • Deputy Governor; or
  • Governor.

The Reserve Bank’s Authorised Officers can be contacted by:

You can remain anonymous if you wish.

If you report a concern via the Reserve Bank’s Integrity Reporting Service (FairCall) the provisions of the PID Act won’t apply. Any member of the public and any public official may also refer corruption issues or information directly to the NACC report.nacc.gov.au.

For more information about the PID Act see Speaking Up About Wrongdoing, a guide to making a disclosure under the PID Act published by the Commonwealth Ombudsman.