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Complaints against Victoria Police

Complaints may relate to police misconduct, corruption, discrimination, or to administrative matters such as freedom of information. Complaints can be oral or in writing and must be supported with carefully recorded evidence. Complaints are investigated by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) or by the police. Whether or not to make a complaint, and when, should be carefully considered. Legal advice should be sought before making a complaint, especially if charges are pending or when pressing charges or suing police for damages.

Complaints against Victoria Police
Contributors

Jeremy King

Principal Lawyer, Robinson Gill Lawyers

Nick Boag

Solicitor, Robinson Gill Lawyers

Professional Standards Command

The Professional Standards Command (PSC) is a unit of Victoria Police that is responsible for handling complaints about the conduct of Victorian police officers. When the PSC receives a complaint, the complaint is triaged (i.e. classified and sorted) by the Police Conduct Unit (PCU), which is a unit of the PSC.

Then, the PSC can:

  • investigate the complaint; or
  • refer the complaint to another operational police member for investigation; or
  • refer the complaint to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.

PSC investigators do not investigate all the complaints received about Victorian police officers. The majority of complaints are referred to other police regions, departments and commands for investigation. For example, in 2016–2017, the PSC only investigated around 12 per cent of complaints.

For the PSC’s contact details, see ‘Contacts’.

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