People who report suspected improper conduct or take other protected action in accordance with the ICAC Act are called protected persons. Protected persons have protection from civil and criminal liability, disciplinary or other administrative action, and retaliation.
When a person makes a report to the ICAC or a prescribed public officer, this person may have made a protected communication according to section 93 of the ICAC Act.
All public officers must comply with the mandatory reporting directions and guidelines for public officers. This includes reporting suspected corrupt conduct or anti-democratic conduct to the ICAC as soon as possible.
A prescribed public officer must also report suspected misconduct or unsatisfactory conduct to the ICAC, unless they know that the conduct has already been reported to the ICAC.
If you are unsure whether the conduct you suspect to be improper is corrupt conduct, misconduct, unsatisfactory conduct or anti-democratic conduct, report it to the Office of the ICAC anyway and it will be assessed.
By making a protected communication, a person has taken a protected action. This means that the person is a protected person, also sometimes referred to as a whistleblower.