Parliamentary Committee Recommends Whistleblower Legislation

Key Point

• The recent report into whistleblower protection found that the current protections are inadequate and that legislative reform is required to better facilitate disclosure

On 25 February, Senator John Faulkner, Cabinet Secretary and Special Minister of State, announced the tabling of a report from the House of Representatives Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee into whistleblower protection.

Like previous reviews into whistleblowing, the Committee's inquiry found that the current protection for whistleblowers is inadequate, and that legislative reform should be undertaken to develop a framework to facilitate disclosure. In welcoming the report, Senator Faulkner said that the enhancement of mechanisms to allow whistleblowing was consistent with the Government's "commitment to improve the openness, transparency and accountability of government and the public service".