Under the Crime and Misconduct Act 2001, ‘misconduct’ means official misconduct or police misconduct.

The following explains these terms. Examples are included as a guide to the kind of behaviour that could be the subject of a misconduct complaint.

Official misconduct involves wrongdoing by a public sector official (including police) in carrying out their official duties or exercising their powers.

It must involve one of the following — dishonesty or lack of impartiality; a breach of the trust put in a person by virtue of their position; or a misuse of officially obtained information. It must also be a criminal offence or serious enough to justify dismissal of the person from their position.

Examples
Examples are:

• accepting money or other benefits in exchange for helping someone to:
• avoid prosecution
• win a contract
• gain government approval
• stealing an employer’s property or cash
• gaining a personal benefit by not revealing a conflict of interest
• unlawfully assaulting a person.

Official misconduct includes conduct by anyone who seeks to corrupt a public officer.

Note: We cannot investigate an elected official unless the matter could possibly involve a criminal offence. This is because an elected official can only be 'dismissed' through the ballot box, unless convicted of a crime.

Checklist for official misconduct

1. Is it behaviour by a public official (this includes police)?
2. Is it related to the person’s official duties or powers?
3. Is it at least one of the following:
   i.   dishonest or lacking impartiality
   ii.  a breach of the trust
   iii. a misuse of officially obtained information?
4. Is it either a criminal offence or serious enough to warrant dismissal?

If the answer to all questions is ‘yes’, the behaviour is likely to be official misconduct.

Police misconduct encompasses a broader range of misconduct, reflecting the high standards we expect of police officers. Unlike official misconduct, police misconduct can apply to off-duty behaviour as well as conduct on the job.

It refers to any conduct (apart from conduct that can be defined as official misconduct) that is disgraceful, improper or unbecoming a police officer, or shows unfitness to be or continue as a police officer, or does not meet the standard the community reasonably expects of a police officer.

Examples
An example of on-the-job police misconduct would be failing to provide medical treatment to a detainee in a watchhouse. Assaulting another patron in a night club would be an example of off-duty police misconduct.