Further strengthening of protections for Australia’s public sector whistleblowers could be a step closer, with the Federal Government considering whether to establish an independent authority to oversee reforms.
In June, the Federal Parliament passed priority amendments to the Public Interest Disclosure Act.
These ensured immediate improvements to the public sector whistleblower scheme were in place in time for the start of the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
So far, 21 of the 33 recommendations from the 2016 Review of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 by Philip Moss (the Moss Review) have been implemented.
Now the Government has released a consultation paper on a second stage of reforms to further improve the public sector whistleblowing framework.
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Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the reforms would address the underlying complexity of the scheme as well as what steps could be taken to provide effective and accessible protections to public sector whistleblowers.
“We are consulting on whether there is a need to establish a whistleblower protection authority or commissioner, the remaining recommendations from the Moss Review, as well as recommendations from other relevant reports and reviews,” Mr Dreyfus said.
“The Government will closely examine the responses to these consultations to determine what reforms are required to ensure Australia has an effective and accessible framework.”
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