Workplace Investigation Services Panel

In reply to Mr COWDREY (Colton) (29 June 2023). (Estimates Committee A)

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector): I have been advised:

There have been 28 completed investigations under the Workplace Investigation Services Panel (WISP) established by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment (OCPSE) since it commenced on 28 February 2022.

The WISP was established to support agencies through expertise and additional resources to undertake investigations in a timely manner. Use of the panel is not mandatory, some agencies have their own in-house staff to conduct investigations, however the panel provides further options where the capacity may not exist.

The following is a breakdown of the agencies which have procured investigation services under the WISP:

These numbers do not represent the total workplace investigations in government, as many investigations are conducted by public sector employees within agencies.

The investigations conducted under the WISP are chiefly to assist agencies to gather relevant document and witness evidence. Agencies maintain the responsibility for making any findings, and taking any disciplinary action or similar, using the evidence gathered and after conducting their own processes for this purpose.

I am also advised that OCPSE does not gather information on the outcome of investigations conducted under the WISP.