In 1994, the NSW Government introduced the Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994 ("PID Act") to offer protection to whistleblowers who disclose evidence of corrupt conduct or maladministration by a public authority or its officers. The PID Act not only declares it illegal to take detrimental action against a whistleblower for making the disclosure, but it also provides compensation for any loss suffered by the whistleblower if they do experience retaliation. This article explains the compensation available to whistleblowers in New South Wales.

What is a Public Interest Disclosure?

A Public Interest Disclosure is the disclosure of information relating to a public authority including:

• Corrupt conduct: Any conduct that seeks to adversely affect the honest or impartial exercise of official functions by any public official or public authority or any conduct which involves a breach of public trust.
• Maladministration: action or inaction of a serious nature that is- contrary to law, or unreasonable, unjust, oppressive or improperly discriminatory, or based wholly or partly on improper motives.
• Serious and substantial waste of government money.
• Government information contravention: conduct that amounts to a failure to exercise functions under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009.
• Local government pecuniary interest contravention: the breach of an obligation imposed by the Local Government Act 1993 in connection with a financial interest.

Under the PID Act, a...

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