11Circumstances for dismissal or redirection of referral

11 Circumstances for dismissal or redirection of referral

(1) The Commission must dismiss, or redirect under section 14, a referral that relates to any of the following—

(a) matters unrelated to the functions of the Commission;

(b) conduct allegedly engaged in before the commencement of section 8;

(c) policy matters;

(d) views or opinions of a current or former Member, Minister or Parliamentary Secretary;

(e) internal funding or decision making of a political party;

(f) private or personal matters;

(g) conduct that is subject to parliamentary privilege.

(2) The Commission must dismiss, or redirect under section 14, a referral that it considers is not supported by sufficient evidence, based on information in the referral and information provided on request under section 10, to be dealt with under Division 2.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the Commission must make reasonable requests under section 10 before considering that a referral is not supported by sufficient evidence.

(4) The Commission may dismiss, or redirect under section 14, a referral that is made more than 12 months after the referrer became aware of the alleged conduct.

(5) If further information is requested from a referrer and is not provided within 90 days of the request or any longer period specified by the Commission, the Commission may dismiss the referral or redirect it under section 14.

(6) The Commission may dismiss a referral that it considers to be—

(a) lacking in substance or credibility; or

(b) trivial, frivolous or vexatious; or

(c) not made in good faith; or

(d) related to an allegation of conduct engaged in at a time that is too remote to justify an investigation; or

(e) related to a matter that has already been dealt with by—

(i) an integrity body; or

(ii) a law enforcement agency; or

(iii) an entity with the power to require the production of documents or the answering of questions; or

(iv) a prescribed entity; or

(f) otherwise unjustifiable or unnecessary to deal with.

(7) Subsections (1) to (6) do not apply in respect of a referral that is a public interest disclosure that the Commission must notify to the IBAC.

See section 21 of the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012.

(8) The Commission may consult any person or body it considers appropriate for the purpose of determining whether to dismiss a referral under this section.

(9) The Commission must give written notice of a dismissal under this section, including the reason for the dismissal, to the referrer.