Public Interest Disclosure Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to outline how Yarra Valley Water meets the requirements of the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012 (Vic) (Act), including by outlining how a person may make a public interest disclosure (PID) about Yarra Valley Water, and how Yarra Valley Water will protect disclosers from detrimental action.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all employees and other workplace participants, including (but not limited to) trainees, university and work experience students, directors, consultants and contractors.

3. Policy Statement Including Objectives

Yarra Valley Water is committed to the aims and objectives of the Act. It does not tolerate improper conduct by its employees, officers or members, nor the taking of reprisals against those who come forward to disclose such conduct.

Yarra Valley Water recognises the value of transparency and accountability in its administrative and management practices and supports the making of disclosures that reveal improper conduct such as corrupt conduct, conduct involving a substantial mismanagement of public resources, or conduct involving a substantial risk to public health and safety or the environment.

4. Responsibilities

4.1. Public Interest Disclosure Co-ordinator

The PID Co-ordinator at YVW is the Chief Financial Officer. They will:

Maintain documentation relating to public interest disclosures, such as this policy and flowchart, and any supporting procedures.
Train employees including Directors, Managing Director and the Executive Team in their obligations under this policy.
Provide advice to employees and management on public interest disclosures and the management of improper conduct generally.
If they receive a report of improper conduct at YVW, advise the discloser that they may make their report to Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) and receive the protections of the Act.
If an anonymous disclosure of improper conduct is received assess the disclosure and determine whether to refer the matter to IBAC and/or have the matter investigated internally under the Fraud and Corruption Policy.
All Public Interest Disclosures should be referred to the IBAC for assessment.
Establish and manage a confidential filing system.
Collate and publish statistics on disclosures made.
Take all necessary steps to ensure the identity of the discloser and the identity of the person who is the subject of the disclosure are kept confidential.
Where the PID Co-ordinator is aware of the identity of the discloser, actively manage their welfare, including by appointing a welfare manager if appropriate.
Liaise with the IBAC as required.

4.2. The Board

Yarra Valley Water’s Board is committed to the pro-active prevention of fraud and corrupt activities in a systematic way based on the Risk Management Framework to enhance the operation and reputation of the organisation.

The Board reviews and approves the Public Interest Disclosures Policy on an annual basis.

The Finance Audit and Risk Management Committee oversees the review of the Public Interest Disclosures Policy. The Finance Audit and Risk Management Committee is informed of all significant actual or suspected arson, fraud, irregularity and theft via the Quarterly Risk Report.

4.3. Managing Director

The overall responsibility for developing, implementing and maintaining Fraud and Corruption frameworks ultimately rests with the Managing Director.

Specifically, the Managing Director is responsible for the investigation, overseeing and reporting of any fraud and corruption reported to occur in the Finance and Corporate Services Group.

All other fraud and corruption incidents will be investigated by Finance and Corporate Services Group.

The Managing Director is also responsible for reporting any matter which the Managing Director has reasonable grounds to suspect involves corrupt conduct to IBAC as required by section 57 of the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2011 (Vic).

4.4. Employees

All employees and other workplace participants including Directors, Managing Director and the Executive Team, contractors and consultants of Yarra Valley Water must:

a)    follow all applicable policies, including this Policy, the Conflict-of-Interest Policy and the Code of Conduct and Fraud and Corruption Policy, so as to avoid any improper conduct.
b)    report actual or suspected incidents of fraud or corruption in accordance with the Fraud and Corruption Policy;
c)    if they are aware that any person, including an employee, contractor or customer, has made a public interest disclosure, protect the confidentiality of the discloser and not reveal their identity, and never undertake or participate in any detrimental action; and
d)    if a person reports possible improper conduct or detrimental action to them, seek the advice of the Public Interest Disclosures Coordinator.

Employees are encouraged to report known or suspected incidences of improper conduct or detrimental action. Employees can report known or suspected incidences of improper conduct or detrimental action either to:

report any fraud or corruption incidents to their immediate manager who will then report such incident to their General Manager. If the immediate manager is believed to be involved in the fraud employees can report incident to either their General Manager or the CFO. If the incident involves the CFO or F&CS staff, the incident can be reported to the MD.
Alternatively, the protected disclosure hotline, Stopline, is a confidential, independent service provider available to all employees, contractors and consultants.
Employees are also able to report suspected fraud directly to either IBAC and/or Victorian Ombudsman. If reported to the Victorian Ombudsman, the Victorian Ombudsman may if considered to be potential ‘public interest disclosures’ report the incident to the IBAC.

5. Guiding Principles

5.1. Overview

A public interest disclosure is a report of improper conduct or detrimental action that attracts protections for disclosers under the Act. Any person may make a public interest disclosure about Yarra Valley Water, its employees, its contractors, or its directors. However, Yarra Valley Water cannot receive or investigate public interest disclosures.

A person who wishes to make a public interest disclosure about Yarra Valley Water should contact the IBAC. Yarra Valley Water does not tolerate detrimental action or retribution against an individual who makes a report of corruption or improper conduct in good faith.

5.2. Reporting improper conduct

Yarra Valley Water is not able to receive disclosures under the Act; however, it still needs to establish procedures setting out how it will protect people against detrimental action that might be taken against them in reprisal for making a public interest disclosure.

If you have any concerns regarding improper conduct, detrimental action or breaches of the Act you must report the allegation directly to the IBAC. IBAC can be contacted in several ways: IBAC online complaint form,

By phone: 1300 735 135

By mail:
Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission
GPO Box 24234
Melbourne VIC 3001

Complaints can also be made to the Victorian Ombudsman or the Victorian Inspectorate.

Yarra Valley Water provides access to Stopline, a confidential, independent hotline where people can report concerns regarding allegations of corrupt, improper and criminal behaviour. If Yarra Valley Water staff, contractors or employees have concerns regarding allegations of corrupt, improper or criminal behaviour, Yarra Valley Water encourages such concerns to be reported to Stopline who will take full details of your concerns via telephone, mail, email, fax or their website. If a report or allegation is made to Stopline and it considers the Act applies, Stopline will direct the discloser to the IBAC.

Stopline can be contacted in several ways:

By Phone: 1300 30 45 50

By mail:
Yarra Valley Water
C/o Stopline
PO Box 403
Diamond Creek VIC 3089

By website: https://yvw.stoplinereport.com

5.3. Confidentiality

The confidentiality of a person who makes a public interest disclosure is required to be maintained under the Act. Yarra Valley Water will only disclose information on the content of a public interest disclosure, or information which may identify a person who has made a public interest disclosure, as required by section 54 of the Act or as directed by the body investigating the disclosure.

Yarra Valley Water will ensure all files relating to a public interest disclosure, whether paper or electronic, are kept in a secure room or site and can only be accessed by the PID Co-ordinator and the relevant investigator. All printed material will be kept in files that are clearly marked as a Public Interest Disclosures Act matter. All electronic files will be securely stored. All materials relevant to an investigation, such as tapes from interviews, will also be stored securely with the discloser files.

6. Annual review

The PID Co-ordinator will ensure that Yarra Valley Water’s Annual Report includes information about how to access this Public Interest Disclosure Policy.

7. Definitions/Terminology

The following terms are important in order to understand this policy. These terms are defined more specifically in the Act. However, an overview of these terms is set out below.

Public Interest Disclosure

A disclosure by a natural person of information that:

shows or tends to show a person, public officer or body has engaged in, is engaging or proposes to engage in improper conduct or a public officer or public body has taken, is taking or proposes to take detrimental action; or
the person reasonably believes shows or tends to show improper conduct or detrimental action.

Disclosures can be about:

public bodies such as Yarra Valley Water;
public officers such as Yarra Valley Water employees, officers, directors and contractors; or
private individuals where their conduct is adversely affecting a public body or public officer’s honest performance or is intended to adversely affect their effective performance.

Improper conduct

Improper conduct includes:

corrupt conduct;
criminal offence;
serious professional misconduct:
this is not defined under the Act but may include conduct that constitutes a serious breach of an established professional code of conduct and/or other serious departures from the person’s professional responsibilities;
dishonest performance of public functions;
intentional or reckless breach of public trust;
intentional or reckless misuse of information;
substantial mismanagement of public resources;
substantial risk to health or safety of a person;
substantial risk to the environment;
conduct of any person that adversely affects the honest performance by a public officer of their functions; and
conduct of any person that is intended to adversely affect the effective performance by a public officer of their functions that results in the person obtaining certain benefits that they would not otherwise have obtained.

Examples of improper conduct include:

Tendering Process – a YVW employee within the Procurement Area manipulates the tender process to ensure that an applicant who is a family member, wins the process through an unfair advantage.

Developer Collusion – a YVW employee in collusion with a developer amends the developer’s application to ensure YVW’s Development Team approve the development not knowing the paperwork had been manipulated.

Safety & Wellbeing – a YVW employee engages with a safety equipment provider to supply faulty safety equipment, pocketing the savings, this results in a major incident involving multiple fatalities.

Funds misappropriation – mismanagement of funds which might constitute a theft or some other form of fraud and/ or may cause YVW financial hardship/ loss of income/ revenue.

Recruitment – a Human Resources Manager favours unmeritorious applications for jobs by friends and relatives.

Privacy Breach – a Yarra Valley Water Officer sells confidential information to a marketing agency.

Environmental Licence Breach – a YVW Operations Manager delays advising EPA of Environmental Licence Breach (recycled water) to allow a financially distressed farmer to sell diseased stock (beef measles).

Compliance Breach – a YVW Compliance Officer tolerates poor practices and structural defects in the work of a local Construction Contractor leading to breaches in occupational health and safety or environmental protection legislation.

The above examples are illustrative only and are not an exhaustive list of the types of improper conduct that may occur.

Corrupt conduct

Corrupt conduct means:

conduct of any person (whether or not a public official) that adversely affects the honest performance of a public officer’s or public body’s functions.
the performance of a public officer’s or public body functions dishonestly or with inappropriate partiality.
conduct of a public officer or a public body that amounts to knowingly or recklessly breaching public trust.
conduct by a public officer or a public body that amounts to the misuse of information or material acquired in the course of the performance of their official functions; or
a conspiracy or attempt by a public officer or public body to engage in the above corrupt activity.

Detrimental action

Detrimental action includes:

action causing injury, loss or damage;
intimidation or harassment; and
discrimination, disadvantage or adverse treatment in relation to a person’s employment, career, profession, trade or business, including the taking of disciplinary action.

Further, if a Yarra Valley Water employee takes detrimental action against another person in reprisal for the making of a Public Interest Disclosure, both Yarra Valley Water and the contravening employee may be jointly and severally liable for the taking of the detrimental action. As such, Yarra Valley Water is committed to ensuring that no detrimental action is taken against a person who makes a Public Interest Disclosure.

Public Interest Complaint

A Public Interest Disclosure (as described above) that has been determined by the IBAC or the Victorian Inspectorate to be a Public Interest Complaint. That is, that the public interest disclosure is information that shows or tends to show that the relevant public officer or public body has engaged, is engaging or proposes to engage in improper conduct or detrimental action.

8. Review and Revision

The Board, the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee and the Executive will monitor the effectiveness of this Policy. The Policy will be reviewed every three years or sooner if required to adapt to regulatory changes or changing business circumstances. Changes to the Policy must be approved by the Board.

9. Approval and Change History

Ver.	Description of changes	Approved By:	Approved Date
1.0	New policy	YVW Board	04/03/2025
2.0	Reformatted to new policy, adjusted division to Legal Services	YVW Board	22/06/2026