Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I will just add to my previous comment. I have talked about making anonymous complaints. Confidential complaints can also be made to the department. The person’s identity is dealt with on a confidential basis. The police jealously guard the identity of a complainant, for obvious reasons. It matters not whether it is theft, armed robbery, murder, rape or whatever. The police, across the board, will protect the identity of the complainant, for obvious reasons. To that extent, no matter who you are, if you go to the police they will not divulge your identity. If they did, it would be regarded as highly improper. They do not do so for very good police investigative reasons—so that there can be no comeback against the complainant. I remind the committee of that fact when we talk about the police.

Let us look at the department, because that is the other of half of it. If you make the complaint to the department, the department says that if you are in the other category of resident, family of resident or advocate you can do it anonymously or you can do it confidentially and that confidence will be respected. That then gives that group the protection to make the complaint.

Question negatived.