Combating Bribery and Corruption

Protected Disclosures Act 2000

The purpose of the Protected Disclosures Act is to help the disclosure and investigation of matters of serious wrongdoing by a public or private organisation.

The Act sets out the process and rules under which an employee can lawfully disclose any serious wrong doing by the organisation he or she works for. Serious wrongdoing includes:

• Unlawful, corrupt, or irregular use of public funds
• Conduct that poses a serious risk to public health or safety
• An act, omission, or conduct, that constitutes a serious risk to the maintenance of law
• An act, omission, or conduct, that constitutes an offence, or
• Conduct by public officials which is grossly improper.

The Act protects employees who make protected disclosures from dismissal and/or harassment as well as civil and criminal proceedings.

The Office of the Ombudsmen have various functions under the Protected Disclosures Act 2000, the most important being a requirement to provide advice to an employee who has made, or is considering making, a complaint about the way an organisation is acting (a protected disclosure). 

Although the Protected Disclosures Act provides the Ombudsmen with a statutory authority to provide advice, it in no ways limits their power under the Ombudsmen Act to investigate matters of their own accord.