The Australian Government has introduced its proposed
whistleblower law reforms which aim to:
- strengthen the protections available
for whistleblowers;
- extend the reach for those who may
previously have been excluded from reporting under the existing
legislation; and
- significantly broaden the scope of
protected disclosures.
The proposed changes will have wide ranging consequences not
just for the types of disclosures protected but also for what
organisations must do to investigate disclosures and respond to
whistleblower allegations.
The changes will come into place on 1 January 2019, if passed
during the Spring sitting of parliament with bipartisan
support.
The proposed amendments, contained in the Treasury Laws
Amendments (Whistleblowers) Bill 2017 (the Bill) will apply to
disclosures made on or after 1 July 2018, are set to complement
wide ranging reforms in a number of areas of corporate compliance,
in particular reforms to Australia's
