Any person may report serious misconduct
25 Any person may report serious misconduct
A public officer or any other person may report to the Commission any matter which that person suspects on reasonable grounds concerns or may concern serious misconduct that —
has or may have occurred; or
is or may be occurring; or
is or may be about to occur; or
is likely to occur.
A report may be made to the Commission orally or in writing.
This section has effect despite —
the provisions of any other Act, whether enacted before or after this Act; and
any obligation the person has to maintain confidentiality about a matter to which the allegation relates.
A person who exercises the power conferred by subsection (1) does not commit an offence by reason of that exercise.
A person who makes a report under this section and who does so —
knowing that the content of the report is false or misleading in a material respect;
maliciously, or recklessly,
is guilty of a crime.
Penalty: Imprisonment for 3 years and a fine of $60 000.
Summary conviction penalty: $10 000.
A charge cannot be brought against a person under subsection (5) other than by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
A publication by —
a complainant; or
a person who has relied upon information derived from a complainant; or
a person who has no reliable source of knowledge (which shall be presumed in the absence of proof to the contrary),
that an allegation has been made about a person to the Commission carries with it, an inference that there were reasonable grounds for making the complaint.
[Section 25 inserted: No. 78 of 2003 s. 17; amended: No. 35 of 2014 s. 31.]
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