The Mackay Hospital and Health Service is committed to ensuring the highest level of ethics in our organisation. As such, we support public interest disclosures.
Public interest disclosures mean the disclosure of information specified in the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010 (sections 12 and 13) and made to an appropriate public sector entity that has the responsibility or power to take appropriate action about the information disclosed or to provide an appropriate remedy.
Policy
MHHS Management of Public Interest Disclosure
Examples of public interest disclosures
Any person (including members of the public) can make a disclosure about:
- a substantial and specific danger to the health or safety of a person with a disability
- a substantial and specific danger to the environment
- the commission of an environmental offence (see Schedule 2 of the PID Act 2010)
- the conduct of another person that could, if proven, be a reprisal
Employees of Mackay Hospital and Health Service (or other public sector agencies) can make a disclosure about:
- suspected corrupt conduct, as defined in the Crime and Misconduct Act 2001
- maladministration that adversely affects a person’s interests in a substantial and specific way
- a substantial misuse of public resources
- a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety
How to make a disclosure
A person can make a public interest disclosure to:
- Your manager or supervisor (if you are a staff member)
- Mackay HHS Executive Director People Services
Phone: (07) 4885 6754
Email: MHHS-EOM-EDPeople@health.qld.gov.au
Mail:
Mackay Hospital and Health Service
Executive Director People Services
PO Box 5580, Mackay MC QLD 4741
Disclosures can additionally be made externally to:
- the Crime and Corruption Commission if it concerns official misconduct or corrupt conduct
- the Queensland Ombudsman if it concerns maladministration
- a member of the Legislative Assembly
- the Office of the Health Ombudsman if it concerns clinical matters
Mackay Hospital and Health’s commitment
The Mackay Hospital and Health Service encourages any person who considers that they have witnessed wrongdoing to come forward and make a disclosure. We aspire to an organisational climate where members of the public and staff feel confident and comfortable about making a disclosure of wrongdoing.
We believe that we have an obligation to deal with wrongdoing in Mackay Hospital and Health Service. Every employee has an ethical responsibility to disclose wrongdoing and any disclosure is in accordance with Metro South Health’s ethical culture and in particular, acting with integrity. Section 9 of the Public Sector Ethics Act 1994 places an obligation on all Mackay Hospital and Health Service employees to disclose fraud, corruption and maladministration.
Further to this, the obligation to report wrongdoing is reflected in Principle 1 of the Queensland Public Service Code of Conduct Mackay Hospital and Health Service believes staff who come forward with disclosures of wrongdoing are acting as exemplary organisational citizens by assisting us in promoting openness, accountability and good management.