{"id":"F2025L00426","name":"Public Interest Disclosure Rules 2025","slug":"public-interest-disclosure-rules-2025","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":442790,"registerId":"F2025L00426-fast-fetch-1775957731592","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Public Interest Disclosure Rules 2025","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nPublic Interest Disclosure Rules 2025\n\nI, Mark Dreyfus KC, Attorney‑General, make the following rules.\n\nDated 24 March 2025  \n\nMark Dreyfus KC\n\nAttorney‑General\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Schedules\n\n5 Definitions\n\nPart 2—Officials and agencies\n\n6 Agency to which certain statutory officeholders belong\n\n7 Prescribed authority—Inspector‑General of the Australian Defence Force\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nPublic Interest Disclosure Rules 2019\n\n \n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Public Interest Disclosure Rules 2025.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The day after this instrument is registered. 26 March 2025\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013.\n\n4  Schedules\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\n5  Definitions\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013.\n\nPart 2—Officials and agencies\n\n \n\n6  Agency to which certain statutory officeholders belong\n\n  For the purposes of paragraph (c) of column 2 of item 14 of the table in subsection 69(1) of the Act, the agency to which a statutory officeholder belongs under that paragraph is the Department administered by the Minister responsible for administering the provision of the law by or under which the office is established.\n\n7  Prescribed authority—Inspector‑General of the Australian Defence Force\n\n  For the purposes of subparagraph 72(1)(f)(ii) of the Act, the office of the Inspector‑General of the Australian Defence Force referred to in section 110B of the Defence Act 1903 is prescribed.\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\n \n\nPublic Interest Disclosure Rules 2019\n\n1  The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument.\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Yes. The instrument repeals the Public Interest Disclosure Rules 2019 (Schedule 1) and replaces them with narrowly targeted provisions that (a) prescribe the Inspector‑General of the Australian Defence Force as a prescribed authority and (b) specify which Department a statutory officeholder belongs to for the purposes of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (rules 6–7; Schedule 1). The scope therefore changes administratively by replacing prior arrangements with these clarified allocations."},"complexity_factors":["Short, narrowly focused instrument with few operative provisions (rules 6–7; Schedule 1) — lowers complexity.","Relies on cross‑references to the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 and specific subsections (subsection 69(1) item 14 paragraph (c); subparagraph 72(1)(f)(ii)) which require reading both instruments together (rule 6; rule 7).","Prescribes an external office defined in another statute (Inspector‑General of the Australian Defence Force under s 110B of the Defence Act 1903) — introduces interpretive dependency on that Act (rule 7).","Uses an administrative connector phrase ('the Department administered by the Minister responsible for administering the provision of the law') that can generate practical allocation questions about which Minister/Department applies in edge cases (rule 6).","Repeals the 2019 Rules in full (Schedule 1), so understanding net effect requires comparing two instruments — increases practical assessment work despite the instrument’s brevity.","Commencement mechanics are explicit (commences the day after registration) but include a formal table and notes that may require procedural care for implementation (rule 2).","Very few definitions are included (only 'Act'), so legal effect depends on definitions in the primary Act — adds another reading layer."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument replaces the Public Interest Disclosure Rules 2019 and makes two technical changes under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013: it prescribes the Inspector‑General of the Australian Defence Force as a 'prescribed authority' and clarifies which Department a statutory officeholder belongs to (rules 6–7; Schedule 1). It affects Commonwealth agencies, statutory officeholders and people using the public interest disclosure framework by clarifying which bodies handle disclosures and which Department has administrative responsibility."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument maintains the same narrow, technical scope as its predecessor. It provides specific machinery provisions to support the parent Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013—clarifying agency attribution for statutory officeholders and prescribing authorities for disclosure purposes. There is no expansion beyond the original purpose of operationalising the whistleblower protection framework."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument (approximately 2 pages of substantive content)","Only 2 substantive operative provisions (sections 6 and 7)","Minimal defined terms (only 'Act' is defined)","No nested exceptions or conditional logic","Simple structure: preliminary provisions, two specific technical rules, and a repeal schedule","No cross-references beyond basic references to the parent Act (Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013)"],"plain_english_summary":"These rules replace the 2019 whistleblower regulations with a 2025 framework that clarifies which department statutory officeholders belong to, formally lists the Inspector‑General of the Australian Defence Force as a prescribed authority, and repeals the old rules. It affects Commonwealth public servants, contractors, ADF members, statutory officeholders and anyone making public‑interest disclosures, tightening who can receive protected reports and strengthening Defence oversight."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/public-interest-disclosure-rules-2025","history":"/api/acts/public-interest-disclosure-rules-2025/history","analysis":"/api/acts/public-interest-disclosure-rules-2025/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/public-interest-disclosure-rules-2025/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/public-interest-disclosure-rules-2025/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/public-interest-disclosure-rules-2025/documents"}}