The Victorian Parliamentary Workplace Standards and Integrity Commission (the Commission) is an independent and impartial body. We conduct investigations free from bias and treat everyone involved in the investigation fairly and with respect.
Stages of our investigations
Each investigation we conduct is different. However, all our investigations follow the same steps.
Notification of investigation
If we decide to investigate a report of misconduct, we will notify:
- the person who is under investigation (the ‘subject’)
- the person who reported misconduct.
When we notify the subject, we will not tell them identity of the person who reported misconduct without that person’s consent.
Evidence collection
During an investigation, we may:
- collect information voluntarily
- formally request information or documents
- formally request someone to attend an interview.
If you are invited to provide information voluntarily, we can collect the information in a way that suits you. This can be in writing, over the phone, or in person. For more information, see our fact sheet on Providing information voluntarily.
If you are formally requested to provide information or attend an interview, you must comply unless you have a valid reason have a valid reason. We will generally provide you with 7 days’ notice to comply with a request. For more information, see our Rights and responsibilities. Information requests and Rights and responsibilities. Interview requests.
Draft report
Once we finish collecting evidence, we will prepare a draft report about the investigation.
If our report makes adverse (negative) findings about a person, we will provide that person with the report and give them an opportunity to respond. We must consider their response in our final report.
If you are a witness or impacted person, we may reach out to you to check that our draft report does not identify you personally or seek your consent to do so.
Final report
We will prepare a final report. In the final report, we will state whether we have made any findings and whether we have applied or recommended any sanctions.
Our reports will either:
- make no finding
- make a finding of parliamentary misconduct
- make a finding of serious parliamentary misconduct.
When we have finished the report, we will send it to:
- the person who reported the misconduct
- the person who is under investigation (the subject)
- the Privileges Committee of the House of which the subject is a member (or to the Premier if the subject is a minister or parliamentary secretary).
We may also prepare a summary report, if we decide there are details in the final report which are not appropriate to release to the public.
Tabling in Parliament
The relevant Privileges Committee (if the subject of the investigation is a member) or the Premier (if the subject is a minister or parliamentary secretary) is responsible for tabling our final report, or a summary report, in Parliament.
For most reports, this must happen as soon as practicable after we send it. For reports making a finding of serious parliamentary misconduct, this can take weeks or months.
The Commission does not have control over when the report will be tabled in Parliament – it is up to the relevant Privileges Committee or the Premier.
Once an investigation report or summary report is tabled in Parliament, it will be publicly available on the Parliament of Victoria Tabled Documents Database and on our website.
Sanctions
If we make a finding of parliamentary misconduct, we can apply sanctions requiring a member of parliament, minister or parliamentary secretary to:
- issue a public or written apology (including an explanation to an affected person)
- participate in a mandatory training program
- participate in mediation with an affected person
- enter into a behaviour agreement with parliamentary leaders.
We are required to monitor compliance with the sanctions we impose and report any non-compliance to parliament.
If we make a finding of serious parliamentary misconduct, we can recommend sanctions. The Privileges Committee/Premier will consider our recommendation and prepare their own recommendation regarding sanctions. In this case, sanctions can include:
- withdrawing services or access to certain facilities
- discharge from a parliamentary committee
- withdrawal of the person's commission or appointment as a minister or parliamentary secretary
- suspension from Parliament for a defined period
- imposing a penalty under the Members of Parliament (Standards) Act 1978 (Vic)
- declaring that the subject’s seat to be vacant (termination).
How long investigations take
The Commission aims to finalise most investigations within four months. More complex investigations may take six months or longer.
The timeframes above are approximate and some investigations may take longer. We will keep people involved in our investigations informed throughout the process, especially if the investigation is likely to take longer than expected.
How we look after the privacy, safety and wellbeing of people involved in our investigations
Generally, people involved in our investigations are not required by law to keep investigations confidential unless we issue that person with a confidentiality notice.
However, we ask that people involved in our investigations consider keeping the investigation confidential for the integrity of the process and out of respect for other people who may be involved.
The Commission, and its Commissioners, staff, and contractors, are subject to strict confidentiality provisions which restrict us from sharing information except in limited circumstances (such as to take steps to prevent harm to a person's health, safety or welfare).
Confidentiality notices
We can issue a confidentiality notice to prevent people sharing certain information about an investigation.
A confidentiality notice is a formal direction that specifies what information must be kept private during an investigation. We use these notices to safeguard the integrity of the investigation and protect the privacy, safety, welfare and reputation of those involved in the investigation.
We can issue a confidentiality notice if we consider it necessary, specifying the restricted matters that must not be disclosed. If you receive a confidentiality notice, it will specify the information that cannot be disclosed (unless permitted by the Commission).
How we manage the privacy of witnesses and impacted persons
Throughout all our operations we are required by law to consider the safety, wellbeing and privacy of people who report misconduct to us.
When we notify a subject that they are under investigation, we will be careful not identify the person who reported misconduct or any other witness or affected person without their consent.
By law, our investigation reports must not contain any information that is likely to lead to the identification of someone who has reported misconduct or someone affected by the misconduct (unless they have consented).
Finally, in deciding whether to make our final investigation report public, we must consider any requests for the report to remain confidential from the person who reported the misconduct or any person affected by the misconduct.
How we manage the privacy of people under investigation
In general, the full investigation report will name the person who was under investigation. This full report will be provided to the person who reported the misconduct, the subject of the referral, and the relevant Privileges Committee (for a member under investigation) or the Premier (for a minister or parliamentary secretary).
Sometimes we will decide not to publish a full investigation report and will table a summary report instead. We may decide not to name the subject of the investigation in a summary report, especially if we have not made a finding of misconduct.
How we make sure our investigations are fair
The Commission ensures procedural fairness by conducting investigations free from bias, by allowing individuals to respond to proposed findings, and by considering their input before we write our final report.
While we follow procedural fairness, we are not bound by the rules of evidence. This means:
- the person being investigated will have an opportunity to respond to proposed findings
- their response will be considered in our report, and it may be included alongside any findings (responses that are deemed defamatory, baseless or which contain confidential information will not be published).
For more information about how we afford procedural fairness, see fact sheet Information for people under investigation.
If you need support
We acknowledge that investigations can be a stressful process for anyone involved. We will aim to keep you updated throughout the process and give you a realistic idea of timeframes and what the outcomes of an investigation might be.
External organisations that can provide additional support are detailed here Resources and support.
Members of Parliament, Electorate Officers and Parliamentary Officers can access support through the Employee Assistance Program provided by Converge, by calling 1300 687 327.
If you are unhappy with how an investigation has been conducted
In the first instance, we encourage you to contact us with concerns or complaints about how we have handled the investigation. You can contact us by emailing enquiries@pwsic.vic.gov.au.
Our oversight body is Integrity Oversight Victoria (IOV), which is responsible for monitoring the Commission’s use of investigation requests (coercive powers). IOV can also take complaints about the conduct of the Commission or Commission staff: Contact us | integrityoversight.
More information about our investigation process
If you would like more information, you can view the information sheets below.
Note
The information on our website constitutes the Commission’s guidelines in relation to the matters listed in section 82 of the Parliamentary Workplace Standards and Integrity Act 2024 (Vic).
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