With the release of its new annual report, Australia’s Ombudsman continues to be among the world’s most transparent whistleblower offices. Still, certain gaps reveal room for improvement, particularly with regard to information on the outcome of retaliation cases.

Formally known as the Commonwealth Ombudsman, the office says it received 685 reports from employees and citizens during the year ending June 30, according to its report released last month. Of these, 257 were considered as whistleblower reports under Australia’s Public Interest Disclosure Act.

Passed in 2013, the law covers violations by public officials and seeks to protect officials who report misconduct from retaliation. It also intends to ensure all reports are properly investigated and followed up. Unlike most such laws around the world, Australia’s law does not apply to private companies and their employees.

The 257 whistleblower reports include 739 allegations. Similar to previous years, most of the reports deal with law violations, maladministration, health and safety risks, and official misconduct. Only 6 percent of the reports were about corruption, though this jumped from 2 percent in 2020-21, the Ombudsman’s report said.

After the Ombudsman referred the reports to other public authorities, 176 investigations were completed during the year. Of these, 39 reports were substantiated and 130 investigations resulted in recommendations. The most common responses were monitoring compliance systems,...

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