Protection against reprisals
206 Protection against reprisals
This section applies to an allegation of misconduct or serious maladministration made by a police officer or an administrative employee about 1 or more other police officers or administrative employees where the allegation (a protected allegation) is made—
in the performance of the duty imposed on the police officer or administrative employee by or under this or another Act, or
in accordance with the procedures for making allegations set out in this or another Act.
This section applies even if the person who is the subject of the protected allegation is no longer a police officer or an administrative employee.
A police officer or administrative employee must not take detrimental action against another police officer or administrative employee, or a former police officer or administrative employee, if—
the first police officer or administrative employee suspects, believes or is aware, when taking the detrimental action, that any police officer or administrative employee has made, may have made, may make or proposes to make a protected allegation, and
the suspicion, belief or awareness is a contributing factor to the taking of the detrimental action.
Maximum penalty—200 penalty units or imprisonment for 5 years, or both.
The fact the suspicion or belief was mistaken is not a defence to a prosecution for an offence against this section.
In a prosecution for an offence against this section, the accused bears the onus of proving, in relation to detrimental action established by the prosecution to have been taken by the accused—
the accused did not have the suspicion, belief or awareness mentioned in subsection (3)(a), or
if the accused had the suspicion, belief or awareness—the suspicion, belief or awareness was not a contributing factor to the taking of the detrimental action.
It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against this section that the detrimental action constituted appropriate corrective action.
It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against this section that the protected allegation was made frivolously, vexatiously or in bad faith.
Proceedings for an offence against this section may be instituted at any time within 3 years after the offence is alleged to have been committed.
In this section—
corrective action has the same meaning as in the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2022.
detrimental action has the same meaning as in the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2022.
serious maladministration has the same meaning as in the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission Act 2016.
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