Guidelines for public sector employees (including ministerial staff) called as witnesses before the Corruption and Crime Commission

Steps for public sector employees to follow
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A public sector employee, including a Ministerial staff member, who is called as a witness, or served with a notice or summons before the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) should follow the steps below:

Steps

  1. Contact your Chief Executive Officer (CEO), or Minister for Ministerial staff, and provide them with as many details as possible about the events that you believe have led to your being called before the CCC.

Note: In cases where the CCC has directed you not to disclose any information about a summons and related matters, or where you do not wish to raise the matter with your CEO or Minister for any other reason, you are encouraged to contact the State Solicitor’s Office (SSO) direct on (08) 9264 1888 to obtain advice about your legal rights and obligations.  If you do not already have a contact at the SSO, you should ask to speak with the General Manager.

  1. Your CEO or Minister will contact the SSO on your behalf.  The SSO will ensure you are provided with an overview of the CCC proceedings and understand what is expected of you. They will also assist you to determine whether or not you should seek legal representation. Where legal advice is deemed necessary, SSO will assist you to find appropriate sources of legal representation.
  2. You will be responsible for meeting any legal costs incurred, however, the State may reimburse such costs as are reasonable where it was appropriate to incur those costs and where, on completion of the CCC inquiry, you were found to have acted reasonably and in good faith in the execution of your official duties.
  3. In order to obtain reimbursement from the State for the legal costs you have incurred, you must apply in writing to the State Solicitor, detailing:
    • how the situation arose;
    • why you needed to engage a legal representative; and
    • why you believe the State should pay for the legal costs incurred.

Your application should be accompanied by a detailed account of all costs incurred in the work completed by your legal representative.

Background

The Guidelines relevant to Ministers and Officers involved in legal proceedings, tabled in 1990, have been adopted by successive governments to guide the reimbursement of legal costs in certain circumstances. They are generally applied to public sector employees called as witnesses before the Corruption and Crime Commission. 

Further information

For further information, contact the State Solicitor’s Office

David Malcolm Justice Centre
28 Barrack Street
PERTH WA 6000
Phone: (08) 9264 1888
Fax: (08) 9264 1440
Email: sso@sso.wa.gov.au