Public Interest Disclosure Amendment (Review) Bill 2022

The majority voted against an amendment introduced by NSW Senator David Shoebridge (Greens), which would have amended government amendment (2) with the words below.

Senator Shoebridge explained that:

This amendment seeks to implement recommendation 5 of the Moss review. It does a pretty simple thing. It inserts the word 'solely' into the government amendments to reflect the submissions we received in the inquiry that clarified the language to ensure that only matters that were solely in relation to personal work related conduct should be excluded from the operation of the PID [Public Interest Disclosure] scheme.

Amendment text

AMENDMENT TO GOVERNMENT AMENDMENTS [SHEET ZB203]

(1) Amendment (2), note to subsection 43(4A), after "because that conduct is", insert "solely".

Government amendment (2) text

(2) Schedule 1, item 11, page 8 (after line 4), after subsection 43(4), insert:

(4A) To avoid doubt, if a disclosure includes information that tends to show (or that may tend to show) disclosable conduct, there might be a reasonable basis on which the disclosure could be considered to be an internal disclosure even if:

(a) the disclosure includes other information; and

(b) the other information tends to show (or may tend to show) personal work-related conduct.

Note: A disclosure may include information relating to a number of instances of conduct, some of which may be considered disclosable conduct, and some of which may not (for example, because that conduct is personal work-related conduct). Paragraph (4)(a) does not apply if one or more of those instances provide a reasonable basis on which the disclosure could be an internal disclosure under section 26.