Transparency International and the Human Rights Law Centre have welcomed the planned introduction of a Private Member’s Bill to establish a Whistleblower Protection Authority.
The Bill, to be announced on November 26, 2024, by Andrew Wilkie MP, Dr Helen Haines MP, Senator David Pocock, and Senator Jacqui Lambie, would establish a dedicated, independent agency to safeguard those who speak up from inside government or business about corruption and wrongdoing.
Transparency International Australia says this is a pivotal opportunity for all parties to commit to comprehensive improvement of federal legal protections for whistleblowers, including legislating to fill the single biggest gap – the lack of dedicated enforcement and the insufficient, patchy implementation of existing laws.
The organisation says whistleblowers play a critical role in exposing misconduct across all sectors. But whistleblowers need and deserve greater support to protect their jobs, reputation and personal wellbeing.
“We welcome the ongoing attention being placed on this vital issue across the political spectrum, for example, as recently endorsed by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations report on the consulting sector, arising from the PwC scandal,” said Transparency International Australia Chair Professor A.J. Brown.
“Current piecemeal approaches aren’t working, especially due to lack of practical support, insufficient oversight and little enforcement of the protections,” he said. “We look forward to the next steps in existing government reviews of both public sector and private sector whistleblowing laws, and to this Private Members Bill providing a tangible demonstration of what is possible, and needed, as part of these much-needed reforms.”
“As someone who has experienced the challenges firsthand, I know how critical it is to have robust protections and practical support for those who speak up,” said former anti-corruption whistleblower Sharon Kelsey. “This Bill can provide a model for the practicable, enforceable safeguards that will ensure whistleblowers are supported and not left carrying impossible burdens for doing the right thing.”
“At the Whistleblower Project, Australia’s first legal service for whistleblowers, we see firsthand the difficulties faced by whistleblowers in speaking up about government and corporate wrongdoing,” said Human Rights Law Centre Associate Legal Director Kieran Pender. “Australia’s democracy suffers as a result.
The organisations say the Whistleblower Protection Authority is a landmark step towards better supporting, protecting and empowering whistleblowers. The Bill will seek to implement draft design principles for a Whistleblower Protection Authority developed by Transparency International Australia, Human Rights Law Centre and Griffith University’s Centre for Governance and Public Policy, already submitted to the government as part of its reforms.
