Special Investigator Repeal Act 2023

The principal legal concepts that structure the Act are statutory repeal with savings and transfers, preservation of legal consequences, substitution of the Crown as party, custodial transfer of records and archival obligations, and time-limited transitional powers for an oversight body.

Statutory repeal with savings: the Act expressly repeals the earlier Special Investigator Act 2021 (s 4) but implements a set of savings. Those savings preserve particular legal effects of the repealed Act even though the primary statute is no longer on the books. The savings include continuation of immunities and protections for former OSI officers (ss 11-12), continuation of specified criminal offences (ss 13-15), and the preservation of provisions necessary to make those continued offences operational (s 15).

State substitution doctrine by statute: the Act uses statutory substitution to move substantive legal position from the OSI to the Crown. Assets and rights vest in the State automatically (s 7(1)), liabilities (including contingent and inchoate liabilities) become State liabilities (s 7(2)), the State is substituted as party to contracts (s 7(3)) and to proceedings (s 8(1)), and the State becomes addressee for subpoenas addressed to the OSI or OSI officers (s 8(2)). The Act expressly preserves contract termination mechanics by saying substitution does not limit a termination provision (s 7(4)).

Custody, archival preservation and ministerial discretion: the Act prescribes transfer of OSI records to the Department of Justice and Community Safety unless the Attorney-General directs otherwise (s 9(1)). The Keeper of Public Records controls selection for preservation and directs transfer to the Public Record Office; transferred records are to be dealt with on the same basis as they were by the OSI (s 9(2)-(3)). The Attorney-General therefore has administrative discretion over final custody destination, subject to public records selection and archival obligations.

Reporting and financial consolidation: the Secretary to the Department is required to prepare a final operational report and financial statements for the OSI covering 1 July 2023 to the day the Part commences, and to consolidate those statements into the Department’s accounts in accordance with the Financial Management Act 1994 (s 10(1), (3)). The report must include quantified output data , the number of investigations under the specified divisions , and matters required under s 69 of the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012 (s 10(2)).

Continuation of criminal and protective rules: the Act preserves certain offences and protections of the OSI regime. Sections 89 and 90 of the repealed Act (unauthorised disclosure and threats/harm offences) continue to apply (ss 13-14). Section 26 (immunity of OSI officers) and section 76 (prohibition on compelling witnesses) endure so that former OSI officers retain the immunities and protections they had while in office (ss 11-12). The Act also keeps in force certain other sections as necessary to give effect to those continued offences (s 15).

Transitional recalibration of oversight: the Act changes the Victorian Inspectorate Act 2011 by removing OSI-specific references and powers (s 18-42), but authorises the Victorian Inspectorate to continue to receive complaints for a limited period (6 months; s 43), to continue to report on actions for 6 months (s 44), to investigate OSI conduct for up to 18 months (s 45), and to report and make recommendations for up to 2 years (s 46). The Victorian Inspectorate is expressly permitted access to OSI records for the purposes of performing its functions (s 47). The transitional adjustments are time-limited and the entire Part is repealed on the third anniversary of its commencement (s 49). The Act therefore preserves some oversight continuity while removing institutional status.

Freedom of Information realignment: pending FOI requests to the OSI are transferred to the Department of Justice and Community Safety (s 16(1)), and decisions formerly made by the OSI are taken to be decisions of the Department’s Secretary for review purposes (s 16(2)). The Act also preserves a specific FOI exemption in relation to transferred documents (s 48).

Institutional effects on officeholders and third parties: the person who held the Special Investigator office is removed without statutory compensation rights for loss of office (s 6(b)). Contractual counterparties and litigation opponents see their OSI counterpart replaced by the State (s 7-8). Parties dealing with records, FOI applicants, investigators and the Victorian Inspectorate will interact, for specified periods, with different custodians and decision-makers.

Collectively these concepts amount to a statutory mechanism for closing an independent investigatory office while retaining certain legal protections and oversight functions during a defined wind-down. The Act couples automatic, broad transfers to the Crown with specific savings and time-limited continuations to accommodate archival, FOI, oversight and enforcement processes.

The Act affects a defined set of institutional actors, officeholders and third parties through the statutory transfers and savings it implements.

• Former Special Investigator and OSI officers: the person holding the Special Investigator office immediately before commencement ceases to hold that office and is expressly not entitled to remuneration or compensation because of the loss (s 6(a)-(b)). OSI officers (including persons who were OSI officers at any time) retain the immunities originally provided by s 26 of the repealed Act (s 11). They also continue to benefit from the prohibition on being compelled as witnesses under s 76, which is preserved as applying to former OSI officers (s 12).

• The State (Crown) and Department of Justice and Community Safety: the State acquires the OSI’s assets, property and rights and is saddled with its liabilities, including contingent and inchoate liabilities (s 7(1)-(2)). The State is substituted as party to any existing contract or proceeding to which the OSI was party immediately prior to commencement (s 7(3), s 8(1)). The Department of Justice and Community Safety is the default recipient of OSI records and is responsible for incorporating the OSI final report and financial statements into its consolidated accounts (s 9(1), s 10(1), (3)).

• Attorney-General: the Attorney-General holds a specific discretion to direct that OSI records be transferred to another public office instead of the Department of Justice and Community Safety (s 9(1)). The Act also contains provisions that in some transitional contexts treat references to the Office of the Special Investigator as references to the Attorney-General (see s 46(2)(c), (f) which re-fix references for certain Victorian Inspectorate reporting powers).

• Victorian Inspectorate: the Act removes the OSI from definitions and functions within the Victorian Inspectorate Act 2011 (s 18-42), but simultaneously permits the Inspectorate to continue to receive complaints for 6 months (s 43), investigate OSI conduct for up to 18 months (s 45), and to report and make recommendations for up to 2 years (s 46). The Inspectorate is also given statutory access to OSI records for its functions irrespective of custodian (s 47).

• IBAC and Public Record Office: the note to s 9(1) indicates public interest disclosures are transferred to IBAC under s 57(2). The Public Record Office is the custodial recipient of records selected by the Keeper of Public Records for preservation and must receive those records as soon as reasonably practicable after transfer (s 9(2)).

• Third-party contractual counterparties and litigants: contracts and proceedings that formerly involved the OSI now involve the State (s 7(3), s 8(1)). Counterparties should be aware that substitution does not affect contract termination provisions (s 7(4)), which means contractual counterparties may retain termination rights triggered by the substitution or by circumstances that arise due to the abolition.

• FOI applicants and bodies with FOI obligations: outstanding FOI requests to the OSI are transferred to the Department of Justice and Community Safety (s 16(1)), and decisions are treated as decisions of the Secretary for the purpose of external review (s 16(2)). Section 48 preserves a specific FOI exemption in the Victorian Inspectorate Act in respect of documents transferred to the Department under s 9, a matter that affects both applicants and custodians (s 48).

• Persons who assisted the OSI or dealt with OSI information: the offences in sections 89 and 90 of the repealed Act continue to apply, so persons who assist the OSI or who handle OSI information remain subject to the continued unauthorised use/disclosure offence and to the offence prohibiting causing or threatening harm to persons who assist the OSI (ss 13-14). The Act also preserves ancillary provisions necessary to give effect to those offences (s 15).

Overall, the Act shifts legal relationships from an independent statutory office toward the executive branch (the State and Department), while preserving protections and continuing limited oversight and investigatory interactions via the Victorian Inspectorate for specified time windows. Each of the affected parties should attend to custody, FOI, contract and litigation substitution mechanics and to the time-limited windows that govern complaint intake, investigation and reporting.

The Act creates duties primarily for public officers and public bodies and preserves rights or protections for former OSI officers and other persons. The duties are concrete statutory obligations and time frames; rights are mostly protective legal positions retained despite repeal.

Key statutory duties:

• Secretary to the Department of Justice and Community Safety: must ensure preparation, in accordance with Part 7 of the Financial Management Act 1994, of an operations report and financial statements for the OSI for the period beginning 1 July 2023 and ending on the day this Part commences (s 10(1)). The Secretary must consolidate those documents with the Department’s financial statements for the applicable financial year (s 10(3)). The operations report must include the count of investigations under Divisions 1 and 2 of Part 3 of the repealed Act and matters specified in s 69 of the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012 (s 10(2)). These are specific duties carrying a statutory timeline linked to the Department’s financial year processes.

• Custodian obligations: the Department of Justice and Community Safety (or other public office determined by the Attorney-General) must receive OSI records transferred under s 9(1) and hold and deal with them on the same basis as they were held by the OSI (s 9(1), (3)). The public office must, where the Keeper of Public Records has selected records for preservation, transfer those preserved records to the Public Record Office as soon as reasonably practicable (s 9(2)). These obligations set standards for custody and archival transfer.

• Victorian Inspectorate functions with time limits: the Victorian Inspectorate is empowered to continue receiving complaints in accordance with the previous section 43(11) for a 6-month window (s 43(1)-(2)); to continue to report on actions taken for 6 months (s 44); to continue to investigate OSI conduct for up to 18 months, including use of certain powers as if the earlier provisions remained in force, subject to specified adaptations (s 45); and to report and make recommendations for up to two years (s 46). The Inspectorate also has a statutory right to access, receive, assess and deal with OSI records for performance of its functions regardless of custodian (s 47). These duties and rights are time-limited and specified by reference to particular sections of the Victorian Inspectorate Act 2011 as they stood immediately before amendment.

• Attorney-General: has the specific discretion to direct that records be transferred to another public office instead of the Department of Justice and Community Safety (s 9(1)). The Attorney-General is also a reference point in the transitional mechanism where certain references to the OSI are adapted to mean the Attorney-General for the purposes of the Victorian Inspectorate’s reporting and recommendation powers (s 46(2)(c), (f)).

Rights and protections preserved:

• Immunity and witness protection: section 26 of the repealed Act (immunity of OSI officers) and section 76 (prohibition on compelling OSI officers as witnesses) continue to operate and are extended to include persons who were OSI officers at any time (ss 11-12). Those provisions remain statutory rights or protections granted to persons who served in the OSI.

• Continued offences and legal constraints: sections 89 and 90 of the repealed Act (unauthorised use or disclosure of OSI information; offence to cause or threaten harm to a person who assists the OSI) continue to apply (ss 13-14). For persons who handled OSI information or assisted the OSI, the law preserves criminal prohibitions that continue to govern behaviour. Section 15 preserves ancillary provisions (ss 93-96 and any other sections necessary) as needed for the operation of those offences.

• FOI procedural rights: applicants who had outstanding FOI requests to the OSI have those requests transferred to the Department of Justice and Community Safety and are thereby entitled to have the matter dealt with by that agency; decisions of the OSI are treated as decisions of the Secretary for the purposes of review (s 16(1)-(2)).

Other rights and duties with practical effects:

• Contractual parties have rights under termination clauses: while the State is substituted as a contracting party for the OSI (s 7(3)), the Act expressly preserves the operation of termination provisions in existing contracts (s 7(4)); therefore counterparties retain whatever contractually defined termination rights they had, and the State may be exposed to termination consequences that arise under the original contracts.

• Subpoena practice and evidentiary duties: the State is substituted as the addressee for any subpoena issued to the OSI or an OSI officer in a proceeding (s 8(2)). Parties and courts must recognise the State as the proper addressee.

Collectively, duties under the Act allocate operational obligations to the Department and the Victorian Inspectorate for wind-down activities and impose archival and reporting responsibilities, while protecting former OSI officers and retaining criminal provisions that affect persons who handled OSI information or assisted the OSI.

The Act itself does not create a new, standalone penalty regime beyond the continued operation of specific offences from the repealed Special Investigator Act 2021. Enforcement is therefore through the continuation of criminal and protective provisions that were part of the repealed statute and by the investigatory and reporting powers vested in the Victorian Inspectorate under transitional arrangements.

Continuation of specified offences:

• Unauthorised use or disclosure offence: section 13 preserves section 89 of the repealed Special Investigator Act 2021 as in force immediately before repeal, and that offence continues to apply as if it had not been repealed (s 13). The Act does not restate the content or penalty of s 89; the preserved offence therefore operates under the substantive wording and penalty schedule that applied immediately before repeal.

• Offence to cause or threaten harm or detriment: section 14 preserves section 90 of the repealed Act, maintaining criminal exposure for causing or threatening harm to a person who assists the OSI (s 14).

• Ancillary provisions: section 15 keeps in operation sections 93, 94, 95 and 96 of the repealed Act and any other sections necessary to give effect to the continued offences. Those ancillary sections may contain procedural or evidentiary rules, jurisdictional links and other enforcement-related mechanics necessary to operationalise the offences preserved by ss 13-14 (s 15).

Enforcement mechanisms:

• Continued jurisdictional framework: the Act provides that these offences remain on the statute book as they were immediately before repeal, thereby preserving whatever prosecutorial, investigatory and court-based enforcement pathway(s) existed under the Special Investigator Act 2021. The text does not specify which prosecuting authority will bring proceedings; that remains governed by the legal framework attached to the preserved offence provisions as they stood.

• Victorian Inspectorate oversight and reporting powers: the Act authorises the Victorian Inspectorate to continue to investigate the conduct of the OSI and OSI personnel for up to 18 months and to make recommendations and report for up to two years (ss 45-46). Those functions enable the Inspectorate to investigate whether obligations were met and to report findings and recommendations, which are public accountability mechanisms that may inform or trigger enforcement action by other agencies or prosecutions under preserved offences.

• Protecting witnesses and former officers: the Act preserves immunity for OSI officers (s 11) and the prohibition on compelling former OSI officers as witnesses (s 12). These are protective legal mechanisms that affect evidentiary processes and may limit the ways prosecutors, investigators or courts can compel testimony or rely on certain evidence.

Limitations and implementation points:

• The Act does not itself provide new penalty quantum or enforcement procedure text; enforcement depends on preserved provisions of the repealed Act and on existing criminal procedure laws. Section 15’s saving of other sections necessary to give effect to ss 89-90 suggests those provisions contain enforcement and procedure details, but the Act does not reproduce them.

• The State becomes a litigant and recipient of subpoenas in place of the OSI (s 8). This substitution influences enforcement practice because parties and courts must direct process to the State where previously they would have directed it to the OSI.

• The Victorian Inspectorate’s transitional investigatory period is time-limited (s 45). Any enforcement or administrative referral resulting from Inspectorate findings will be constrained by these time windows to the extent the Inspectorate’s capabilities and reporting duties are curtailed after the statutory time limits expire.

Overall, the Act preserves a subset of enforcement-relevant provisions from the repealed regime and hands investigatory and reporting continuity to the Victorian Inspectorate on specified timelines. Criminal enforcement for the preserved offences remains available under the text of the earlier Act as it stood immediately before repeal, but the Act itself does not provide fresh penalty measures or prosecutorial allocations.

This Act is structured to operate alongside and to amend other Victoria statutes, and it explicitly cross-references several statutes and their mechanisms.

Financial Management Act 1994 (FMA): The requirement that the Secretary to the Department of Justice and Community Safety prepare a report of the OSI’s operations and financial statements "in accordance with Part 7" of the FMA (s 10(1)) means the FMA’s account consolidation and reporting processes govern final financial treatment of the OSI. The report and financial statements are to be incorporated in and consolidated with those of the Department for the relevant financial year (s 10(3)). This cross-reference creates a duty to follow the FMA’s requirements for financial reporting and auditability.

Public Records Act 1973: The Act treats the Keeper of Public Records and the Public Record Office as the nodes for preservation. Section 9 requires transfer of records to the Department unless the Attorney-General decides otherwise (s 9(1)), but s 9(2) invokes the Public Records Act: despite s 8A of the Public Records Act 1973, the public office that receives OSI records must transfer records selected by the Keeper for preservation to the Public Record Office as soon as reasonably practicable. Section 9(3) requires transferred records to be held and dealt with on the same basis as they were by the OSI; section 9(4) makes the section subject to arrangements under s 2B(b) of the Public Records Act. These cross-references embed public records rules and archival practice into the wind-down.

Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act): Section 16 integrates FOI processing by transferring outstanding FOI requests to the Department (s 16(1)) and treating decisions of the OSI as decisions of the Department’s Secretary for external review purposes (s 16(2)). Additionally, section 48 preserves paragraph (r) of the definition of "relevant person or body" in s 102(2) of the Victorian Inspectorate Act 2011 in respect of documents transferred to the Department under s 9 of this Act, continuing a particular FOI exemption in relation to those documents. The Act therefore rearranges FOI responsibility and continues particular exemption treatment for transferred records.

Victorian Inspectorate Act 2011: Part 3 makes comprehensive consequential amendments to that Act. It repeals definitions that related to the OSI (s 18), removes OSI-related objects and functions (s 19-26), and adjusts many procedural and investigative provisions to remove the OSI from the statutory architecture (s 27-42). Simultaneously, divisions 2 of Part 3 enact transitional and savings provisions enabling the Victorian Inspectorate to continue receiving complaints for six months (s 43), continue to report on actions for six months (s 44), investigate conduct for up to 18 months (s 45), and continue to make recommendations and report for two years (s 46). Section 47 grants the Inspectorate access to OSI records regardless of custodian. The Part itself is repealed on the third anniversary of its commencement (s 49), but the endnote and Interpretation of Legislation Act reference confirm that repeal of the Part does not affect the continuing operation of the amendments it made.

Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012: Section 10(2)(b) requires the final OSI report to include the matters specified in s 69 of the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012, and the note to section 9(1) records that public interest disclosures are to be transferred to IBAC under s 57(2). This links the handling of certain disclosures to the IBAC regime and requires one element of the final report to map to the PID Act’s reporting matters.

Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984: The endnotes and notes in the Act refer to the ILA to clarify that headings and notes form part of the Act and to explain the effect of certain style changes. The endnotes also refer to the ILA to explain that repeal of Part 3 does not affect the operation of amendments made by it (see note accompanying s 49).

Statutory substitution and litigation process: Sections 7 and 8 substitute the State as party to contracts and proceedings and as addressee for subpoenas. These provisions interact with general contract, civil procedure and criminal procedure law by changing the identity of the party against which rights and obligations may be asserted. Section 7(4) preserves termination provisions in contracts, thereby respecting existing contractual enforcement rules.

Collectively, the Act reassigns responsibilities and rights across the Department, the Attorney-General, the Victorian Inspectorate, IBAC and the Public Record Office, and cross-references their governing statutes to ensure archival, FOI, financial, disclosure and oversight functions are preserved or reallocated. Practitioners must therefore read the Act in conjunction with the specified provisions of the Financial Management Act 1994, the Public Records Act 1973, the Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Victorian Inspectorate Act 2011 (as amended), and the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012 to understand operational and compliance obligations.

The Act itself contains internal repeal and amendment mechanics and the endnotes record key legislative dates and subsequent repeals of portions of the Act.

Key dates and formalities:

• Assent and commencement: the Act was assented to on 8 November 2023 and is recorded as coming into operation on 2 February 2024 (endnotes; Special Gazette citation). Section 2 provides for proclamation commencement or, failing that, automatic commencement by 30 June 2024; the endnotes confirm commencement on 2 February 2024.

• Version statement: the published version is described as "Version incorporating amendments as at 2 February 2026"; the Act’s front pages show Version No. 002 and the Version line.

Revisions and subsequent repeals of this Act:

• Section 17 was repealed by No. 31/2023 s 17(4) (see the marginal note "S. 17 repealed by No. 31/2023 s. 17(4)"). The endnotes’ Table of Amendments records which provisions were commenced on 2 February 2024 and notes that certain parts have been repealed.

• Parts and sections repealed on 2 February 2026: the Table of Amendments note records that s 17(4), s 58, and s 72 commenced on 2 February 2024 and that s 17 was repealed on 2 February 2026; further notes indicate Pt 4 (ss 50-58) was repealed by No. 31/2023 s 58 and Pt 5 (ss 59-72) was repealed by No. 31/2023 s 72 on 2 February 2026. These entries indicate that the published Version No. 002 incorporates those post-enactment changes.

• Part 3 temporary nature: section 49 provides that Part 3 is repealed on the third anniversary of its commencement. The Act emphasises that repeal of Part 3 does not affect the continuing operation of the amendments made by it, citing the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (note to s 49). Thus Part 3’s textual transitional provisions are self-limiting, but their amendments to other Acts (principally the Victorian Inspectorate Act 2011) endure.

• Endnote references to Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council Second Reading speeches: the endnotes record the Minister’s second reading speech dates in the Legislative Assembly (4 October 2023) and Legislative Council (19 October 2023). Those notes are part of the parliamentary history recorded in the published endnotes.

• Incorporation of amendments: the Table of Amendments indicates the publication incorporates amendments made to the Special Investigator Repeal Act 2023 by Acts and subordinate instruments, though the Act’s own endnotes do not list the full set of instruments; the Version statement and table entry show the State’s official revision trail.

Practically, the amendment history shows initial enactment in late 2023 with commencement in early 2024, and subsequent internal repeals of particular sections and Parts over the following years as part of the statutory lifecycle. Readers should consult the current consolidated version (noted as incorporating amendments to 2 February 2026 in the document header) to be certain of operative text and of any further amendments beyond that date.

The Act’s published text and endnotes do not record any litigation arising under this Act. The endnotes contain parliamentary history elements such as second reading speech dates (Legislative Assembly: 4 October 2023; Legislative Council: 19 October 2023) and the dates of assent and commencement (assent 8 November 2023; commencement 2 February 2024), but they do not cite judicial decisions or proceedings interpreting the Special Investigator Repeal Act 2023 or any consequential amendments.

Because the Act preserves and keeps operative certain offences and other provisions from the Special Investigator Act 2021 (for example sections 89, 90 and related provisions preserved by ss 13-15), litigation or prosecutorial activity relevant to those preserved provisions would turn on the wording and enforcement jurisdiction of the repealed Act as it existed immediately before repeal. The Repeal Act itself contains no record of appellate or trial judgments, nor does it list cases. The Victorian Inspectorate’s transitional investigatory powers (s 45) and reporting functions (s 46) create avenues by which investigations may generate referrals that could lead to litigation, but the Act does not report any executed litigation outcomes.

Practitioners seeking case law on matters connected to the repeal, substitution of State parties, or the operation of preserved offences must therefore investigate two paths: (1) any pre-repeal decisions under the Special Investigator Act 2021 that interpret the preserved provisions (the Repeal Act preserves those provisions “as in force immediately before repeal”), and (2) subsequent judicial consideration of matters arising from investigations, prosecutions or claims following the abolition and transfer mechanics established by this Act. The published Act does not provide cases and so no litigation history is contained in its endnotes.

Note: absence of litigation in the Act’s endnotes does not mean no litigation has occurred in the courts; it means the Act’s published materials here do not record such litigation. Users should search court databases and prosecutorial records for any post-enactment proceedings that rely on or interpret the continuing provisions.

The text contains several provisions that can produce practical or legal pitfalls if not addressed deliberately. Below are concrete issues to flag, together with their statutory sources.

1. No compensation for the removed Special Investigator (s 6): section 6(b) expressly states the person holding office immediately before commencement "is not entitled to any remuneration or compensation because of the loss of that office". That is a statutory bar to compensation claims founded solely on the loss of the office. Legal advisers to that person should not assume an entitlement to statutory compensation under this Act; any contractual or other entitlement would need to be established outside this section and is not created by the Act.

2. Broad assumption of liabilities, including contingent ones (s 7(2)): the State becomes liable for all liabilities of the OSI, including contingent, prospective or inchoate liabilities. Contingent liabilities are transferred by force of statute without a separate assessment or appropriation. This can expose the State budget to latent obligations. Conversely, third parties should note that claims that previously lay against the OSI can now be made against the State.

3. Contract termination remains live (s 7(4)): although the State is substituted as contracting party (s 7(3)), the Act expressly says that substitution does not limit or affect operation of a termination provision. That means counterparty termination rights under existing contracts remain available; either party could, depending on contract terms, trigger termination. Contract managers must therefore review OSI contracts immediately to assess termination triggers and notice requirements.

4. Subpoenas and proceedings redirected to the Crown (s 8): any subpoenas that were issued to the OSI or an OSI officer are to be taken as having the State substituted as addressee (s 8(2)). Practitioners must ensure process is re-served and that courts, litigants and process servers direct future process to the correct public authority to avoid delay or invalid service.

5. Custody default but Attorney-General discretion (s 9(1)): the default custodian of OSI records is the Department of Justice and Community Safety, but the Attorney-General may determine another public office by instrument. That creates an uncertainty window until the Attorney-General acts; custodial and operational responsibilities may therefore shift. Entities needing prompt access to records (for investigation or review) should verify the Attorney-General’s instrument and the Department’s arrangements.

6. Records must be treated "on the same basis" (s 9(3)) but subject to Public Records Act arrangements (s 9(4)): transferred records are to be handled as they were by the OSI, but section 9 is subject to arrangements under s 2B(b) of the Public Records Act 1973. If there are prior or parallel arrangements governing record handling, those may produce constraints or exceptions. Archivists and legal teams should ensure contemporaneous compliance with both the Repeal Act and the Public Records Act arrangements.

7. Continued offences preserved but text not reproduced (ss 13-15): the Act preserves offences (ss 89, 90 of the repealed Act) by reference. Practitioners must consult the text of the Special Investigator Act 2021 as in force immediately before repeal to assess the constituent elements, defences and penalties of those offences. The Repeal Act itself does not restate the elements or penalties.

8. Time limits in transitional arrangements: the Victorian Inspectorate may continue to receive complaints for 6 months (s 43), investigate conduct for up to 18 months (s 45), and make recommendations and report for up to 2 years (s 46). After those time windows elapse, the related transitional powers expire. Entities intending to initiate complaints or pursue Inspectorate-mediated processes must act within those precise windows or risk losing that pathway.

9. Access to records for the Victorian Inspectorate regardless of custodian (s 47): section 47 grants the Inspectorate statutory authority to access and deal with records regardless of custodian. Practically, this means the Inspectorate’s access cannot be obstructed on the basis of physical custody, but there may be practical friction if the Department or a different custodian imposes operational conditions. The Act does not specify mechanisms for resolving disputes about access (for example timing or scope), so coordination will be required.

10. FOI transfers and decision identity (s 16): an FOI request made to the OSI and not dealt with before commencement is transferred to the Department and is to be treated as if lodged with the Department for processing (s 16(1)). Decisions previously made by the OSI are taken to be decisions of the Secretary for the purposes of external review (s 16(2)). FOI practitioners should ensure that transfer documentation and decision records state the correct decision-maker identity and that procedural timeframes are recalibrated under the Department’s processes.

11. Repeal of Part 3 after three years does not unwind amendments (s 49 note and ILA reference): Part 3 will be repealed on the third anniversary of its commencement, but the note emphasises that repeal of the Part does not affect the continuing operation of the amendments it made (Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984). That means the substantive amendments to the Victorian Inspectorate Act 2011 endure even after Part 3 is formally repealed; practitioners should not assume the repeal of Part 3 reintroduces OSI-related provisions.

12. Interaction between preserved immunities and evidentiary needs (ss 11-12): section 11 preserves OSI officer immunity and section 12 preserves the prohibition on compelling former OSI officers as witnesses. Parties needing testimony or documents that might be within the protected scope must assess whether such protections apply and whether alternative evidence or waiver provisions exist under the preserved text of the repealed Act.

These items are concrete statutory traps or friction points that arise from the wind-down mechanics, substitution to the Crown, records custody decisions, preserved offences and time-limited oversight windows. Practitioners should map the relevant statutory cross-references and verify current custodian instruments and time expiries when advising clients, managing contracts, pursuing records, or lodging complaints.

This section sets out practical compliance steps tied to the statutory duties and time frames in the Act. The recommendations are framed as obligations grounded in the text and indicate what actions specific actors should take to align with the Act’s mechanics.

For the Department of Justice and Community Safety (default custodian):

• Accept and document transfer of OSI records: ensure receipt procedures and a chain-of-custody are in place for the records received under s 9(1). Record the date of transfer and catalogue records in a manner consistent with the requirement that transferred records be held and dealt with on the same basis as they were by the OSI (s 9(3)). Coordinate promptly with the Keeper of Public Records regarding any records selected for preservation to ensure rapid transfer to the Public Record Office (s 9(2)).

• Prepare the final report and financial statements: comply with s 10(1) by preparing the operations report and financial statements for the OSI covering 1 July 2023 to the day this Part commences, following the processes and accounting standards in Part 7 of the Financial Management Act 1994. Ensure the operations report includes the number of investigations under Divisions 1 and 2 of Part 3 of the Special Investigator Act 2021 and the matters specified in s 69 of the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012 (s 10(2)). Consolidate these documents into the Department’s accounts for the relevant financial year (s 10(3)).

• Maintain confidentiality and compliance with preserved offences: ensure record-handling protocols respect the continued offence provisions preserved by s 13 and s 14. Train staff who handle former OSI information on the continuing unauthorised use or disclosure offence and the offence prohibiting threats or harm to persons who assisted the OSI.

For the Attorney-General:

• Decide on any alternative custodian promptly: if the Attorney-General determines that OSI records should be transferred to a public office other than the Department, issue the required instrument promptly to remove uncertainty and to establish custody (s 9(1)). Document reasons for the choice and ensure the designated public office understands archival and preservation obligations under the Public Records Act 1973 and s 9(2)-(3).

For the Victorian Inspectorate:

• Implement transitional procedures and time tracking: ensure mechanisms are in place to receive complaints under s 43 for the six-month window, to investigate under s 45 for up to 18 months, and to make recommendations and report under s 46 for up to two years. Establish case-management systems that tag matters with statutory deadlines and that preserve evidence continuity given the time-limited jurisdiction.

• Exercise statutory access to OSI records: use s 47 authority to obtain records irrespective of custodian. To avoid operational disputes, coordinate formal written requests to the Department or other custodian, citing s 47, and confirm timelines for access and any protective conditions. Document all exchanges to establish a clear audit trail.

• Ensure FOI exemption awareness: where making reports or handling transferred documents, be aware that paragraph (r) of the "relevant person or body" definition in s 102(2) of the Victorian Inspectorate Act 2011 continues to apply in respect of documents transferred to the Department (s 48). This affects public dissemination and must be reflected in drafting of reports and recommendations.

For litigation parties and contract counterparties:

• Re-issue or redirect process to the State: where proceedings or subpoenas were directed to the OSI, confirm the State has been substituted as party or addressee (s 8). Where necessary, file formal notices with courts and serve process on the Department or other State entity to ensure service validity. Review contract terms for termination rights preserved under s 7(4) and act promptly if you intend to exercise any contractual remedies.

For FOI applicants and agencies with FOI duties:

• Track transfer and decision identity: if you lodged an FOI request with the OSI, confirm the Department has taken carriage under s 16(1) and request confirmation of any outstanding timeframes. For agencies receiving requests or representations about decisions of the OSI, treat such decisions as decisions of the Secretary for the Department for review purposes (s 16(2)).

For former OSI officers and persons who assisted the OSI:

• Know preserved protections: OSI officers and persons who were OSI officers retain immunities under s 26 and continue to be protected from compulsion as witnesses under s 76, as preserved by ss 11-12. When asked to provide information or testimony, seek legal advice to confirm whether these protections apply in the particular circumstances, and whether any waiver or exception is engaged.

• Respect continued offences: persons who hold OSI information or who assisted the OSI should continue to exercise caution concerning unauthorised disclosure and should not threaten or cause detriment to persons who assisted the OSI, because ss 13-14 preserve the relevant offences.

For records managers and archivists:

• Coordinate transfers to the Public Record Office: where the Keeper of Public Records selects items for preservation, ensure their transfer to the Public Record Office "as soon as reasonably practicable" (s 9(2)). Maintain metadata that demonstrates the "same basis" treatment mandated by s 9(3) so that any heritage, preservation, confidentiality or access conditions are traceable.

Cross-cutting compliance steps for all actors:

• Map statutory timelines: apply s 43, s 44, s 45, s 46 and s 49 deadlines to any operational or legal action contemplated. Failure to act within the 6-month, 18-month, 2-year or 3-year windows may foreclose statutory routes for complaint, investigation or reporting.

• Record all decisions and instruments: where the Attorney-General or the Department issues instruments, determinations or custody directions, ensure they are publicly recorded and published as appropriate so that stakeholders know who to approach for records, decisions and responses.

• Legal review of preserved offence texts: consult the text of the Special Investigator Act 2021 as it stood immediately before repeal to determine the precise criminal elements and defences for the preserved offences kept by ss 13-15. Prosecutorial practice and evidentiary thresholds will derive from that preserved wording.

By following these steps and tying operations to the specific sections cited, relevant public bodies, custodians, practitioners and affected persons can align practice to the statutory wind-down mechanics, fulfil reporting duties and respect preserved protections and offences.