The Office for Public Integrity (OPI) manages complaints about public administration that identify corruption, misconduct or maladministration in public administration, and ensures that these complaints are dealt with by the most appropriate person or body [s 3(1)(b)].

The OPI has the following prescribed functions under Part 3 of the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 2012 (SA) (ICAC Act):

The OPI comprises:

Assessment of complaint or report [s 18E] and action that may be taken [s 18F]

On receipt by the OPI of a complaint or report, the matter must be assessed as to whether:

A determination will then be made as to whether action should be taken to refer the matter to a law enforcement agency or an inquiry agency [s 18E(1)].

Following an assessment, the OPI may take action in relation to a matter as follows [s 18F]:

The same matter or different aspects of one matter may be dealt with in both of these ways simultaneously.

The making of an assessment and whether action is taken, and what action is taken, by the OPI in respect of the assessment is at the absolute discretion of the Director of the OPI [s 18F].

The OPI must, before referring a matter to an inquiry agency, take reasonable steps to obtain the views of the agency as to the referral [s 18G].

Public Interest Disclosures

A public officer may make an appropriate disclosure of public administration information to a relevant authority where they reasonably suspect that the information raises a potential issue of corruption, misconduct or maladministration in public administration. In those circumstances, the public officer may be entitled to additional protections under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2018 (SA) and other legislation. For more information, see the Public interest disclosures page.

To find out more information, visit the ICAC website or the OPI website.