In the matter of ABC and the Chief Commissioner of Police – Dec 2015
About the intervention
ABC (a pseudonym) was dismissed from Victoria Police because of sexual misconduct involving a member of the public. He asked the Police Registration and Services Board (the Board) to review that decision.
The Board ultimately dismissed ABC’s application. This matter concerned whether the Board should publish the reasons for its decision, which could identify people affected by ABC’s misconduct. The Board is required to publish its reasons unless it would not be in the public interest to do so.
The Board invited the Commission to make submissions.
Commission’s submissions
The Commission’s submissions drew attention to its Independent Review into Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment including Predatory Behaviour in Victoria Police to show that identifying victims has a real risk of causing further harm and of discouraging others from making complaints about misconduct in the future.
The Commission also identified Charter rights that the Board should consider and balance when making a decision about publishing identifying details, including the right to privacy, the right to security, the right to a fair hearing and the right to freedom of expression.
The Board agreed that it must interpret its powers consistently with relevant human rights.
The decision
The Board decided not to publish the reasons for its decision. The Board decided that publishing this information would not be in the public interest because it involved a highly sensitive matter and may have a significant detrimental impact on the privacy, health and security of a witness if it was made public.
The Board considered Charter rights as a relevant public interest consideration and found that the right to security in section 21(1) of the Charter includes a person’s physical and mental health and its positive protection from interference by other persons where that security is threatened.
The Review Decision can be found here.
The Commission’s Independent Review into Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment including predatory behaviour in Victoria Police can be found here.