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 Reserve Bank is committed to the highest standards of ethical and accountable conduct. The PID Act supplements the Reserve Bank's existing processes for dealing with suspected illegal or unethical behaviours involving the Bank or its employees. It imposes 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 (if you are a current Reserve Bank staff member) or one of the following people (each an ‘Authorised Officer’):

  • Head of Human Resources;
  • Assistant Governor (Financial System);
  • Deputy Governor;
  • 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.

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.