Ombudsman Act 1974

In this Part, protected action means—

complying with or performing a protected obligation, or

making a complaint or disclosure of information to the Ombudsman about—

a matter that concerns or may concern serious maladministration, or

another matter the Ombudsman may deal with under this Act, or

appearing as a witness before the Ombudsman otherwise than by complying with or performing a protected obligation, or

voluntarily disclosing information to the Ombudsman in relation to a matter to which Part 3B or 3C applies, or

voluntarily disclosing information to the Ombudsman in relation to a CS CRAMA matter, or

assisting the Ombudsman in some other way.

However, the following are not protected action—

making a public interest disclosure,

wilfully making a false statement to, or misleading or attempting to mislead, the Ombudsman or a person acting on behalf of the Ombudsman.

In this Part, limited protected action means protected action consisting only of 1 or more of the following—

protected action mentioned in subsection (1)(b)(i), if the maker of the complaint or disclosure—

is a public official within the meaning of the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2022, and

does not honestly, and on reasonable grounds, believe the complaint or disclosure shows or tends to show serious maladministration,

protected action mentioned in subsection (1)(b)(ii),

protected action mentioned in subsection (1)(d),

protected action mentioned in subsection (1)(e),

protected action mentioned in subsection (1)(f).