Key Points
- Police have been called in to investigate the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority.
- It comes after a Senate committee heard allegations that a senior public servant urinated on colleagues.
- Agriculture minister Murray Watt said he immediately referred the allegations to authorities.
Police have been called in to investigate a government agency after a review of its work culture found further allegations of misconduct.
An independent investigation was launched in November into the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) after a Senate committee heard allegations that a senior public servant urinated on his colleagues.
At the hearing, the authority's chief executive officer Lisa Croft said she had been made aware of an incident that occurred in a private capacity outside of work, describing it as a "private urination matter".
She had told the hearing the senior staff member had since resigned.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt ordered an independent review, the findings of which have been referred to the police and the Australian Public Service commissioner.
"This review followed serious allegations, which were raised at Senate estimates, concerning the behaviour of a staff member of the APVMA," the minister said in a statement on Friday.
"I received the interim report of the review, which contains additional serious allegations of misconduct concerning the APVMA, including potential breaches of the public service code of conduct and other potential breaches of the law."
Senator Watt said he said he received the report on Wednesday and immediately referred the allegations to authorities.
He said he also met the chair of the authority's board to ensure staff were supported and it would be inappropriate to comment further because of the investigation.
The APMVA, which is the Australian government regulator of agricultural and veterinary chemical products, has its headquarters at Armidale in NSW.
Ms Croft had told the Senate hearing in November that while the people directly involved had wanted her to be aware of the matter, there was no official complaint made.
Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson, who first raised the matter in Senate estimates, said he had spoken with Senator Watt and supported the matter being referred to authorities.
He told the hearing in November he was aware of potentially three complaints from female staff members about the alleged incident.
"The Greens will obviously be watching how this progresses very closely," he told AAP on Friday.
The authority has been contacted for comment.
