Public sector whistleblowing: Ombudsman Victoria s experience

1. Public sector whistleblowing: Ombudsman Victoria’s experience 10 June 2010 Glenn Sullivan, Director Ombudsman Victoria Introduction Good morning, my name is Glenn Sullivan, Director of Investigations at Ombudsman Victoria. I have been at Ombudsman Victoria for approximately 3 ½ years and in this time I had the opportunity to investigate and assess a number of whistleblower matters. This morning I will be reflecting on Ombudsman Victoria’s experience in dealing with public sector whistleblowing including: The importance of whistleblowing for public good Ensuring whistleblower protection How to approach whistleblower investigations In Victoria, the Whistleblowers Protection Act 2001 entrusts the Victorian Ombudsman with the responsibility for assessing, managing and investigating allegations of improper conduct, including corrupt conduct, by public officers and public sector agencies. In today’s presentation I will be drawing on the Ombudsman’s experience in managing disclosures and investigations under the Whistleblowers Protection Act over the past eight years. It is in this context that the Ombudsman has identified concerns with some public sector agencies failing to meet their statutory responsibilities under the Whistleblowers Protection Act. I intend to discuss these issues by looking at several case studies and highlighting areas of improvement for public sector agencies in dealing with whistleblowers. In doing so, it would be remiss of me not mention the excellent research work conducted into public sector whistleblowing by the Griffith University under the project of leadership of Dr AJ Brown. The ‘Whistle While They Work’ project, which included partner integrity agencies from around Australia, including Ombudsman Victoria, provides one of the most comprehensive studies of public whistleblowing ever undertaken in Australia and world wide. The project collected data from 304 federal, state and local government agencies, surveying some 7,600 public officers across 118 agencies. This research underpins Ombudsman Victoria’s approach to whistleblowing. Introduction Good morning, my name is Glenn Sullivan, Director of Investigations at Ombudsman Victoria. I have been at Ombudsman Victoria for approximately 3 ½ years and in this time I had the opportunity to investigate and assess a number of whistleblower matters. This morning I will be reflecting on Ombudsman Victoria’s experience in dealing with public sector whistleblowing including: The importance of whistleblowing for public good Ensuring whistleblower protection How to approach whistleblower investigations In Victoria, the Whistleblowers Protection Act 2001 entrusts the Victorian Ombudsman with the responsibility for assessing, managing and investigating allegations of improper conduct, including corrupt conduct, by public officers and public sector agencies. In today’s presentation I will be drawing on the Ombudsman’s experience in managing disclosures and investigations under the Whistleblowers Protection Act over the past eight years. It is in this context that the Ombudsman has identified concerns with some public sector agencies failing to meet their statutory responsibilities under the Whistleblowers Protection Act. I intend to discuss these issues by looking at several case studies and highlighting areas of improvement for public sector agencies in dealing with whistleblowers. In doing so, it would be remiss of me not mention the excellent research work conducted into public sector whistleblowing by the Griffith University under the project of leadership of Dr AJ Brown. The ‘Whistle While They Work’ project, which included partner integrity agencies from around Australia, including Ombudsman Victoria, provides one of the most comprehensive studies of public whistleblowing ever undertaken in Australia and world wide. The project collected data from 304 federal, state and local government agencies, surveying some 7,600 public officers across 118 agencies. This research underpins Ombudsman Victoria’s approach to whistleblowing.

2. Background The importance of whistleblowing The Whistleblowers Protection Act 2001 The Ombudsman’s experience in public sector whistleblowing – case studies