Former Wyndham mayor Preet Singh has been cleared by a Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety investigation into allegations surrounding his use of the title Justice of the Peace when signing a controversial character reference that triggered months of political turmoil in Melbourne’s west.
“The department’s investigation found no grounds warranting Mr Singh’s removal from the Office of Justice of the Peace and found no breach of the relevant Act or Code of Conduct in relation to the allegations examined.”
The outcome is significant because the investigation had been escalated to an independent former judicial officer under Victoria’s Honorary Justices framework after concerns were raised about Mr Singh identifying himself as a Justice of the Peace on the character reference.
Under the Honorary Justices Act 2014, where the Department Secretary considers there may be reasonable grounds for removing an honorary justice, an investigator can be appointed to examine the conduct. Importantly, that investigator is legally required to be someone who has previously served as a judicial officer in Victoria or another Australian jurisdiction.
The independent investigation has now concluded that the threshold for removing Mr Singh as a JP was not met.
Under Victorian law, possible grounds for removing a Justice of the Peace include serious or repeated breaches of the Code of Conduct, misconduct or misbehaviour sufficient to justify removal, bringing the office into disrepute, or failing to comply with requirements under the Honorary Justices Act.
The department’s complaints framework says that when an appointed former judicial officer concludes facts do not exist that could constitute grounds for removal, the matter does not proceed to a recommendation that the honorary justice be removed.
The findings bring an end to a separate strand of the controversy that engulfed Mr Singh after it emerged earlier this year that he had written a character reference.
Mr Singh’s letter, dated April 11, 2024, was written before he was elected to Wyndham City Council and it was signed by Mr Singh with his Justice of the Peace title.
The revelation of the reference in March sparked an intense political and community backlash.
Mr Singh temporarily stepped aside as mayor on April 1, apologising for the hurt caused and acknowledging that the decision to write the reference had raised legitimate questions about his judgement.
He later returned to the mayoralty, saying the letter had been written when he was a private citizen, before his election to council, and maintaining that he had not done anything illegal.
Wyndham councillors subsequently passed a unanimous vote of no confidence in him and called on him to resign as mayor.
The controversy moved beyond Wyndham City Council.
Separately, complaints were made concerning whether the use of the JP title on the reference was consistent with the responsibilities attached to the honorary office.
That issue fell under a different legal and administrative process from the political debate over whether Mr Singh should remain mayor.
Victoria’s Honorary Justices Code of Conduct requires JPs to act with honesty, integrity, independence and impartiality and prohibits conduct that brings the office into disrepute.
It also states that an honorary justice must not use the JP title to “advertise or advance, or appear to advertise or advance” their business, commercial or personal interests.
The Department of Justice and Community Safety consequently examined whether Mr Singh’s conduct — including his use of the JP title on the character reference — crossed the legal or disciplinary threshold under those rules.
The appointment of a former judicial officer indicated the matter had progressed beyond an ordinary administrative complaint.
In Mr Singh’s case, that threshold was not established.
The finding means that, as far as the Department of Justice and Community Safety investigation into his JP status is concerned, there is no basis to remove him from the office of Justice of the Peace.
It also provides an important distinction from some reporting during the controversy that suggested Mr Singh faced the prospect of losing his JP title.
The investigation was precisely the process designed to determine whether that should occur — and the independent investigator ultimately found that it should not.
The outcome does not rewrite the broader political events surrounding the character reference.
Mr Singh himself ultimately described writing it as a decision he “got wrong”.
After months of pressure, he resigned as Wyndham mayor on July 21 while announcing that he would remain an elected councillor.
“None of us gets every decision right. Leadership is also about accepting responsibility when we don’t,” Mr Singh said when announcing his resignation.
“It was a decision I got wrong. I deeply regret it and have apologised without reservation.”
He also argued that the response had gone far beyond legitimate criticism, saying he and his family had been subjected to months of abuse, intimidation, threats and harassment.
Mr Singh accused some Labor politicians of applying different standards to him and other political figures who had written controversial character references.
His resignation ended the immediate leadership battle at Wyndham, with the council subsequently electing a new mayor.
The Justice Department finding now closes another chapter.
It establishes that whatever political judgement voters, councillors and community members may make about Mr Singh’s decision to write a reference letter, the independent process charged with determining his fitness to continue as a Justice of the Peace did not find grounds for his removal or a breach warranting action against his JP appointment.
That distinction is likely to be important in assessing the months-long controversy.
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