---
title: "Prepare the allocation and investigation worksheet for a public-sector disclosure"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/whistleblowing-and-public-interest-disclosures/prepare-the-allocation-and-investigation-worksheet-for-a-public-sector-d"
type: "task"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A67-SB20261022-9"
practice_area: "Whistleblowing & Public Interest Disclosures"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Prepare the allocation and investigation worksheet for a public-sector disclosure

> From the de-identified Commonwealth public-sector file, once the lawyer has marked it as a disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth), prepare an allocation and investigation worksheet.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/whistleblowing-and-public-interest-disclosures/prepare-the-allocation-and-investigation-worksheet-for-a-public-sector-d  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Whistleblowing & Public Interest Disclosures](https://ailawframework.com/practice/whistleblowing-and-public-interest-disclosures.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the de-identified Commonwealth public-sector file, once the lawyer has marked it as a disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth), prepare an allocation and investigation worksheet. Record the discloser category from the Commonwealth Ombudsman page: a current or former public official, including the classes listed on that page and a person deemed by an authorised officer to be a public official. Record disclosable conduct from the table in s 29(1) items 1 to 10 and from s 29(2). Record that personal work-related conduct, defined in s 29A, is not disclosable conduct unless s 29(2A) applies, and that s 29(2B) keeps a disclosure available where it also includes personal work-related conduct. Record s 31: conduct is not disclosable conduct if it relates only to a policy or proposed policy of the Commonwealth Government, or to action taken or proposed by a Minister, the Speaker of the House of Representatives or the President of the Senate. For a contracted service provider, record the limit in s 30 and that a grant covered by a PGPA Act s 105C instrument is not a Commonwealth contract. Internal disclosure is item 1 of the table in s 26(1): to an authorised internal recipient or a supervisor; the information tends to show, or the discloser believes on reasonable grounds that it tends to show, disclosable conduct; and the disclosure is not made in the course of performing the discloser's ordinary functions. A disclosure may be oral or written, anonymous, and need not be asserted to be a disclosure under the Act: s 28. Section 28(4) says that section does not apply to a NACC disclosure. Allocation rows: s 43(3) and (4), the corruption-issue limit in s 43(4A), the personal work-related conduct note in s 43(4B), the allocation principles in s 43(5), consent or consultation before allocation to another agency under s 43(9), and best endeavours to decide within 14 days under s 43(11), counted from the day that subsection specifies. Notice rows: s 44 if allocating, including that the discloser's name and contact details go in the notice only if known and the discloser consents; s 44A if not allocating, including the referral step where another law or power is more appropriate; s 44B where a stop action direction prevents allocation. Investigation rows: the principal officer must investigate an allocated disclosure under s 47, subject to a stop action direction; the discretion not to investigate is s 48(1) paragraphs (a) and (c) to (i), and there is no paragraph (b) in the text; s 48(1A) says the principal officer cannot be satisfied of paragraph (ga) only because the conduct raises a corruption issue; s 49 is the separate investigative power; s 50, s 50AA and s 50A are the notices and the referral. The report contents are s 51. The investigation must be completed within 90 days after the day in s 52(1). The Ombudsman, or the IGIS in the cases in s 52(4), may extend the period by more than 90 days. A stop action direction has the meaning in the Act: a direction under s 43(1) of the National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022, including as applied by s 211 of that Act. The Ombudsman page says that if an authorised officer becomes aware of corrupt conduct that is serious or systemic, they must report it to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. Put that sentence on the worksheet as the Ombudsman's statement. The lawyer supplies a de-identified copy. The tool does not receive the discloser's name or details likely to identify the discloser. |
| What the lawyer must review | The lawyer marks the file as a Commonwealth public interest disclosure before any 14-day or 90-day period is counted, decides allocation and whether to investigate, and signs the notices. The 14-day period is a best-endeavours period under s 43(11), not a hard deadline. The 90-day period runs from the day s 52(1) specifies for that file, and an extension is a decision of the Ombudsman or the IGIS. The lawyer confirms the current NACC Act provision for the serious-or-systemic reporting sentence on the Ombudsman page. Complaints about allocation can be made to the Ombudsman. The page gives PID@ombudsman.gov.au, with a subject line indicating the agency, 1300 362 072, and post to GPO Box 442, Canberra ACT 2601, marked Confidential Agency PID. The lawyer does not count these Commonwealth periods on a corporations file or on a State or Territory file. The NSW and Queensland differences are in the versions. |
| Written for / versions | 1 jurisdiction versions below |

## Checking plan

**Worksheet checked before a period is counted**

The tool prepares the statutory worksheet from a de-identified file the lawyer has marked as a Commonwealth disclosure. The lawyer decides allocation and investigation.

- What the AI does: From the de-identified Commonwealth public-sector file, once the lawyer has marked it as a disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth), prepare an allocation and investigation worksheet. Record the discloser category from the Commonwealth Ombudsman page: a current or former public official, including the classes listed on that page and a person deemed by an authorised officer to be a public official. Record disclosable conduct from the table in s 29(1) items 1 to 10 and from s 29(2). Record that personal work-related conduct, defined in s 29A, is not disclosable conduct unless s 29(2A) applies, and that s 29(2B) keeps a disclosure available where it also includes personal work-related conduct. Record s 31: conduct is not disclosable conduct if it relates only to a policy or proposed policy of the Commonwealth Government, or to action taken or proposed by a Minister, the Speaker of the House of Representatives or the President of the Senate. For a contracted service provider, record the limit in s 30 and that a grant covered by a PGPA Act s 105C instrument is not a Commonwealth contract. Internal disclosure is item 1 of the table in s 26(1): to an authorised internal recipient or a supervisor; the information tends to show, or the discloser believes on reasonable grounds that it tends to show, disclosable conduct; and the disclosure is not made in the course of performing the discloser's ordinary functions. A disclosure may be oral or written, anonymous, and need not be asserted to be a disclosure under the Act: s 28. Section 28(4) says that section does not apply to a NACC disclosure. Allocation rows: s 43(3) and (4), the corruption-issue limit in s 43(4A), the personal work-related conduct note in s 43(4B), the allocation principles in s 43(5), consent or consultation before allocation to another agency under s 43(9), and best endeavours to decide within 14 days under s 43(11), counted from the day that subsection specifies. Notice rows: s 44 if allocating, including that the discloser's name and contact details go in the notice only if known and the discloser consents; s 44A if not allocating, including the referral step where another law or power is more appropriate; s 44B where a stop action direction prevents allocation. Investigation rows: the principal officer must investigate an allocated disclosure under s 47, subject to a stop action direction; the discretion not to investigate is s 48(1) paragraphs (a) and (c) to (i), and there is no paragraph (b) in the text; s 48(1A) says the principal officer cannot be satisfied of paragraph (ga) only because the conduct raises a corruption issue; s 49 is the separate investigative power; s 50, s 50AA and s 50A are the notices and the referral. The report contents are s 51. The investigation must be completed within 90 days after the day in s 52(1). The Ombudsman, or the IGIS in the cases in s 52(4), may extend the period by more than 90 days. A stop action direction has the meaning in the Act: a direction under s 43(1) of the National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022, including as applied by s 211 of that Act. The Ombudsman page says that if an authorised officer becomes aware of corrupt conduct that is serious or systemic, they must report it to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. Put that sentence on the worksheet as the Ombudsman's statement. The lawyer supplies a de-identified copy. The tool does not receive the discloser's name or details likely to identify the discloser.
- What the lawyer does: The lawyer marks the file as a Commonwealth public interest disclosure before any 14-day or 90-day period is counted, decides allocation and whether to investigate, and signs the notices. The 14-day period is a best-endeavours period under s 43(11), not a hard deadline. The 90-day period runs from the day s 52(1) specifies for that file, and an extension is a decision of the Ombudsman or the IGIS. The lawyer confirms the current NACC Act provision for the serious-or-systemic reporting sentence on the Ombudsman page. Complaints about allocation can be made to the Ombudsman. The page gives PID@ombudsman.gov.au, with a subject line indicating the agency, 1300 362 072, and post to GPO Box 442, Canberra ACT 2601, marked Confidential Agency PID. The lawyer does not count these Commonwealth periods on a corporations file or on a State or Territory file. The NSW and Queensland differences are in the versions.
- Who reviews: Responsible lawyer with competence in the matter
- Basis: Practical workflow informed by the linked primary sources; the traffic light and working checks are editorial guidance, not a court classification.
- Why: The level reflects what the work is, the consequence of an error, and how much of the output the lawyer must independently re-derive.

## Checks the lawyer makes

1. Count the 14 days and the 90 days only after the lawyer marks the file as a Commonwealth public interest disclosure, and from the day the relevant subsection specifies.
2. Use s 43(4) for a decision not to allocate, and record that a corruption issue alone does not satisfy s 43(4)(b) or s 48(1)(ga).
3. Include the consent condition in s 44 before a discloser's name is placed on an allocation notice.
4. Treat the Ombudsman page's serious-or-systemic NACC reporting sentence as a prompt for the lawyer to confirm the NACC Act provision.

## Notes

- These are suggested working checks. Confirm the required checking with the responsible lawyer before work starts; the checking approach does not establish permission to use AI.

## Sources

- [Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth), compilation C2026C00225](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2013A00133/latest) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [Commonwealth Ombudsman: Public interest disclosure (whistleblowing)](https://www.ombudsman.gov.au/industry-and-agency-oversight/public-interest-disclosure-whistleblowing) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Allocation notice and notice to the discloser under the Public Interest Disclosure Act](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/whistleblowing-and-public-interest-disclosures/pid-allocation-and-discloser-notices.md) | Notice | Red | Headings for the written notices in Public Interest Disclosure Act ss 44, 44A and 50. The Act does not call these notices an acknowledgement. The lawyer writes every sentence that is sent. |
| [Investigation report for a disclosure allocated under the Public Interest Disclosure Act](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/whistleblowing-and-public-interest-disclosures/pid-investigation-report.md) | Other | Red | Headings for the report a principal officer prepares under s 51, including the six matters the report must set out, the 90-day completion rule, and the deletions before a copy is given. |
| [Commonwealth Ombudsman public interest disclosure notification forms](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/whistleblowing-and-public-interest-disclosures/ombudsman-pid-notification-forms.md) | Form | Yellow | A guide to the six notification forms on the Commonwealth Ombudsman PID tools page, and which decision each form title matches. Download the current file. Do not reuse a saved copy. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

## Jurisdiction versions

| Jurisdiction | Level |
| --- | --- |
| [United States](https://ailawframework.com/practice/whistleblowing-and-public-interest-disclosures/prepare-the-allocation-and-investigation-worksheet-for-a-public-sector-d/united-states.md) | Yellow |

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*