{"id":"sr:public-interest-disclosures-regulations-2019","name":"Public Interest Disclosures Regulations 2019","slug":"public-interest-disclosures-regulations-2019","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":183681,"registerId":"vic-sr:public-interest-disclosures-regulations-2019-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Public Interest Disclosures Regulations 2019","content":"Version No. 001\n\n**Public Interest Disclosures Regulations 2019**\n\n**S.R. No. 159/2019**\n\nVersion as at  \n31 December 2019\n\n**TABLE OF PROVISIONS**\n\n*Regulation Page*\n\n1 Objective 1\n\n2 Authorising provision 1\n\n3 Commencement 1\n\n4 Revocation 1\n\n5 Definition 1\n\n6 Matters to be included in written statement of advice—public interest complaint 1\n\n═════════════\n\nEndnotes 3\n\n1 General information 3\n\n2 Table of Amendments 5\n\n3 Amendments Not in Operation 6\n\n4 Explanatory details 7\n\n**Version No.** **001**\n\n**Public Interest Disclosures Regulations 2019**\n\n**S.R. No. 159/2019**\n\nVersion as at  \n31 December 2019\n\n\t1 Objective\n\nThe objective of these Regulations is to prescribe the matters that must be included in a written statement under section 28 of the **Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012**.\n\n\t2 Authorising provision\n\nThese Regulations are made under section 79 of the **Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012**.\n\n\t3 Commencement\n\nThese Regulations come into operation on  \n31 December 2019.\n\n\t4 Revocation\n\nThe Protected Disclosure Regulations 2013[[1]](#endnote-1) are **revoked**.\n\n\t5 Definition\n\nIn these Regulations—\n\n***the Act*** means the **Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012**.\n\n\t6 Matters to be included in written statement of advice—public interest complaint\n\nFor the purposes of section 28(3) of the Act, the following matters are prescribed—\n\n(a) a copy of section 72 and Parts 6 and 7 of the Act;\n\n(b) an explanation of the effect of that section and those Parts.\n\n═════════════\n\nEndnotes\n\n1 General information\n\nSee [www.legislation.vic.gov.au](http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au) for Victorian Bills, Acts and current Versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.\n\nThe Public Interest Disclosures Regulations 2019, S.R. No. 159/2019 were made on 17 December 2019 by the Governor in Council under section 79 of the **Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012**, No. 85/2012 and came into operation on 31 December 2019: regulation 3.\n\nThe Public Interest Disclosures Regulations 2019 will sunset 10 years after the day of making on 17 December 2029 (see section 5 of the **Subordinate Legislation Act 1994**).\n\nINTERPRETATION OF LEGISLATION ACT 1984 (ILA)\n\nStyle changes\n\nSection 54A of the ILA authorises the making of the style changes set out in Schedule 1 to that Act.\n\nReferences to ILA s. 39B\n\nSidenotes which cite ILA s. 39B refer to section 39B of the ILA which provides that where an undivided regulation, rule or clause of a Schedule is amended by the insertion of one or more subregulations, subrules or subclauses the original regulation, rule or clause becomes subregulation, subrule or subclause (1) and is amended by the insertion of the expression \"(1)\" at the beginning of the original regulation, rule or clause.\n\nInterpretation\n\nAs from 1 January 2001, amendments to section 36 of the ILA have the following effects:\n\n• Headings\n\nAll headings included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after  \n1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any heading inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.  \nThis includes headings to Parts, Divisions or Subdivisions in a Schedule; Orders; Parts into which an Order is divided; clauses; regulations; rules; items; tables; columns; examples; diagrams; notes or forms.  \nSee section 36(1A)(2A)(2B).\n\n• Examples, diagrams or notes\n\nAll examples, diagrams or notes included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any examples, diagrams or notes inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, form part of that Statutory Rule. See section 36(3A).\n\n• Punctuation\n\nAll punctuation included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after  \n1 January 2001 forms part of that Statutory Rule. Any punctuation inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.  \nSee section 36(3B).\n\n• Provision numbers\n\nAll provision numbers included in a Statutory Rule form part of that Statutory Rule, whether inserted in the Statutory Rule before, on or after  \n1 January 2001. Provision numbers include regulation numbers, rule numbers, subregulation numbers, subrule numbers, paragraphs and subparagraphs. See section 36(3C).\n\n• Location of \"legislative items\"\n\nA \"legislative item\" is a penalty, an example or a note. As from 13 October 2004, a legislative item relating to a provision of a Statutory Rule is taken to be at the foot of that provision even if it is preceded or followed by another legislative item that relates to that provision. For example, if a penalty at the foot of a provision is followed by a note, both of these legislative items will be regarded as being at the foot of that provision. See section 36B.\n\n• Other material\n\nAny explanatory memorandum, table of provisions, endnotes, index and other material printed after the Endnotes does not form part of a Statutory Rule. See section 36(3)(3D)(3E).\n\n2 Table of Amendments\n\nThere are no amendments made to the Public Interest Disclosures Regulations 2019 by statutory rules, subordinate instruments and Acts.\n\n3 Amendments Not in Operation\n\nThere are no amendments which were Not in Operation at the date of this publication.\n\n4 Explanatory details\n\n1. Reg. 4: S.R. No. 7/2013 as amended by S.R. No. 7/2013. [↑](#endnote-ref-1)","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"These Regulations do not alter who may make disclosures or the substantive powers in the Act; they simply prescribe the matters to be included in the written statement required by section 28(3) (reg 6) and revoke the earlier 2013 Regulations (reg 4). They therefore narrow in focus to procedural content requirements rather than expanding the Act's substantive scope."},"complexity_factors":["Very narrow subject matter: prescribes content of one type of document (regulation 6).","Small number of provisions (6 regulations) and straightforward structure.","Dependence on cross-references to the Act (section 72 and Parts 6 & 7) which requires users to consult primary legislation.","Low interpretive complexity but requires an authoritative explanation of statutory 'effect' (legal drafting precision).","Administrative compliance: agencies must prepare and provide the mandated copies and explanation.","Includes revocation of earlier regulations and standard commencement/sunset details (regulations 3 and 4)."],"plain_english_summary":"These Regulations prescribe the exact content that must be provided in a written statement under section 28 of the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012. Regulation 6 requires the statement to include a copy of section 72 and Parts 6 and 7 of the Act and an explanation of their effect. They apply to agencies and officials preparing public interest complaint advice (who bear the administrative cost of preparing and supplying the material) and revoke the 2013 Regulations. Mechanically, they create a narrow, mandatory content requirement for those written statements (reg 6)."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Insufficient text is provided to assess whether the scope of these regulations changed from their original intent. The document contains only version history metadata, with no substantive provisions available for comparison across versions."},"complexity_factors":["Insufficient legislative text provided — only version history metadata is visible, preventing meaningful substantive analysis","Regulations of this type typically involve cross-referencing with the parent Act, adding moderate complexity","Whistleblower/public interest disclosure frameworks can involve nuanced eligibility and procedural rules","ACT-specific jurisdiction adds a layer requiring familiarity with territory-level public administration","Score is conservatively low due to lack of substantive content to assess"],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations set out the practical rules that make the ACT Public Interest Disclosures Act work: prescribed forms, timeframes, procedures and administrative detail that govern how public-interest (whistleblower) disclosures are handled. \n\nThey affect ACT public servants, agencies that receive or investigate disclosures, and officials managing complaints. They matter because they define how to report wrongdoing and what protections and processes apply, though the supplied text lacks full provision-level detail."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations remain tightly focused on their original purpose: prescribing the contents of written advice statements for public interest disclosures. They have not expanded beyond this narrow administrative function."},"complexity_factors":["Only 6 regulations total, with minimal substantive content","Single defined term ('the Act') in regulation 5","No nested exceptions or conditional logic","Only one operative provision (regulation 6) containing two simple requirements","Extensive endnotes and procedural material (sunset dates, interpretation rules) dwarf the actual regulatory content","Heavy reliance on external legislation (Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012) for context"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short set of rules (called 'regulations') that support Victoria's whistleblower protection law, the **Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012**.\n\n**What it does:**\nWhen someone makes a public interest complaint (in plain terms: blows the whistle on wrongdoing in the public sector), the organisation receiving the complaint must give the whistleblower a written statement of advice. These regulations specify exactly what must be included in that statement:\n- A copy of **section 72** and **Parts 6 and 7** of the Act (these sections deal with protections for whistleblowers and offences for taking revenge against them)\n- An explanation of what those sections mean in practice\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Public sector bodies in Victoria that receive whistleblower complaints\n- Whistleblowers (disclosers) who need to understand their rights and protections\n\n**Why it matters:**\nIt ensures whistleblowers receive clear, legally required information about their protections against retaliation when they report corruption or misconduct. This helps encourage people to come forward by guaranteeing they know their rights upfront.\n\n**Other housekeeping:**\n- These regulations replaced the old 'Protected Disclosure Regulations 2013' (revoked in regulation 4)\n- They started on 31 December 2019\n- They automatically expire ('sunset') on 17 December 2029 unless remade"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/public-interest-disclosures-regulations-2019","history":"/api/acts/public-interest-disclosures-regulations-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/public-interest-disclosures-regulations-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/public-interest-disclosures-regulations-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/public-interest-disclosures-regulations-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/public-interest-disclosures-regulations-2019/documents"}}