(Sydney, July 30, 2025) – The Australian government should create a dedicated Whistleblower Protection Authority to support and protect public-interest whistleblowers, Human Rights Watch said in a recent submission to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee of the Australian Senate.

Since February 2025, the committee has been considering the proposed Whistleblower Protection Authority Bill 2025. It would create such an authority, which would provide information, advice, assistance, guidance, and support to whistleblowers and potential whistleblowers. The authority would also investigate the mistreatment of whistleblowers and make recommendations for the enforcement of civil penalties. The committee’s final report is expected on August 29, 2025.

“Public interest whistleblowers risk their jobs, reputations, and sometimes even their personal safety to expose corruption and human rights abuses,” said Annabel Hennessy, Australia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Creating a Whistleblower Protection Authority would be an important step toward providing whistleblowers in Australia with the legal protections they need.”

Current laws have failed to protect whistleblowers, Human Rights Watch said. Despite research finding that eight out of ten whistleblowers face some form of reprisal at work, there has been just one case in the past three decades in which an Australian whistleblower has received court-ordered compensation for the harm they experienced. The bill,...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMijgFBVV95cUxPbFU0d0dyRTdPZHBSel9WSUJ2...