Transparency International Australia (TIA) is pleased to respond to the consultation paper on Public Sector Whistleblowing Reforms (Stage 2): Reducing Complexity and Improving Effectiveness and Accessibility.

Our submission responds primarily to Issue 4 (Oversight and integrity agencies). At Attachment 1, we are especially pleased to provide Draft Design Principles for a Whistleblower Protection Authority, developed jointly with our partners, with input from distinguished experts in all aspects of whistleblowing, including the undersigned members of Transparency International Australia’s national whistleblowing advisory group.

We applaud the Government’s commitment to improving protections for whistleblowers, and urge you to use this opportunity to also set in place a comprehensive approach to equivalent effective and accessible protection, upgraded enforcement and institutional support, across all sectors. Indeed, we submit that achieving these goals even for the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 necessitates such an approach. As always, we stand ready to assist in these vital tasks.