Transparency International Australia (TI Australia) and the Human Rights Law Centre welcome the Albanese Government’s announcement of public consultation on stage two reforms to the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013, including the proposal to establish a new Whistleblower Ombudsman within the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

A strong, accessible and trusted whistleblowing framework is essential to strengthening integrity, accountability and trust across government. The establishment of a Whistleblower Ombudsman has the potential to be to very significant addition to Australia’s federal integrity framework.

The government should ensure the new function of the Whistleblower Ombudsman covers the key principles outlined in our A Fair Go for Speaking Up: Design Principles for Australia’s Whistleblower Protection Authority. This includes:

• enforcing improved legal protections for people who raise concerns about wrongdoing under federal laws;
• providing support, information and assistance to prospective, current and former whistleblowers;
• investigating and address complaints of unfair treatment;
• extending reforms beyond the public sector, including through the current review of the Corporations Act, to ensure whistleblowers in the private sector receive equal protections.

Professor A J Brown, Chair of Transparency International, said:
“The creation of a Whistleblower Ombudsman is an important step, but it must be well resourced, and prioritise support, protection and prevention. Consideration should also be given able to administer a rewards scheme to properly compensate people with the costs associated with speaking up.”

“With the forthcoming review of the Corporations Act, extending protections across private sectors will be key to building a truly comprehensive whistleblowing framework in Australia.”

Kieran Pender, Acting Legal Director at the Human Rights Law Centre said:
“We welcome the Albanese Government’s progress on public sector whistleblowing reform Whistleblowers make Australia a better place, but they need strong laws and proper support to ensure they can speak out safely to expose wrongdoing.

“The proposed establishment of a new Whistleblower Ombudsman is a promising step that could make a real difference. We’ll be watching closely for the detail and continue to advocate for a dedicated Whistleblower Protection Authority to oversee public and private sector whistleblowing.

“These reforms are a pivotal opportunity for the Albanese Government to address the challenges too many whistleblowers face, fix our laws, and ensure comprehensive legal protections for whistleblowers.”

Read: A Fair Go for Speaking Up: Design principles for Australia’s Federal Whistleblower Protection Authority developed by Transparency International Australia, Human Rights Law Centre and Griffith University’s Centre for Governance & Public Policy.