Vexatious Complaint: Definition and Meaning in Australian Workplaces

A vexatious complaint is one made with malicious intent, without reasonable grounds, or for an improper purpose such as harassment, revenge, or obstruction. Under Australian law, a complaint is vexatious only where the complainant lacks an honest belief in the substance of the allegation and the complaint is motivated by bad faith. A complaint that turns out to be unsubstantiated is not automatically vexatious.

The legal test for "vexatious" varies across Australian statutory schemes but shares a consistent thread of requiring both absence of reasonable belief and bad faith. Under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth) s11, the discloser's immunity from civil, criminal, and administrative liability does not apply where the disclosure is knowingly false or misleading; bad-faith disclosures fall outside the Act's protection. The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s587 permits the Fair Work Commission to dismiss an application if it is "vexatious" (made to harass or annoy, cause delay, or for some other wrongful purpose) or "frivolous" (lacking substance).

State public interest disclosure statutes apply a similar standard. NSW's Public Interest Disclosures Act 2022 s18 excludes disclosures that are "knowingly false, misleading, or not made in good faith". Victoria's Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012 s72 allows the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission to dismiss vexatious or frivolous disclosures. Queensland's Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010 s30 protects disclosures "made in good faith" and exposes bad-faith disclosures to defamation or criminal liability.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman's "Better Practice Guide to Managing Unreasonable Complainant Conduct" (2nd edition) provides the leading practical framework for assessing vexatiousness. It emphasises that the burden is on the organisation to establish bad faith, not on the complainant to prove good faith. Honest but mistaken complaints, complaints that prove unfounded after investigation, and complaints from persistent complainants who believe their grievance has merit are not vexatious.

In New Zealand, the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 protects disclosures where the discloser has a reasonable belief that the information tends to show serious wrongdoing and makes the disclosure in accordance with the Act. Protection is withheld where the disclosure is made in bad faith, primarily to further a personal grievance, or knowing the information to be false.