Reform needed to strengthen Queensland's whistleblowing laws
Queensland’s public sector whistleblowing laws are in need of an urgent overhaul, a coalition of organisations have told an independent review into the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010 (Qld) being undertaken by former Supreme Court judge Alan Wilson KC.
In the submission, the Centre for Governance and Public Policy at Griffith University, Human Rights Law Centre and Transparency International Australia have called for significant reform to ensure Queensland’s public sector whistleblowers are protected and empowered in speaking up.
The Wilson review was commissioned by Attorney-General Hon Shannon Fentiman following the Coaldrake Review into culture and accountability in Queensland government and the Commission of Inquiry into the Crime and Corruption Commission.
Queensland’s public sector whistleblowing laws were once world-leading; they now lag behind other Australian jurisdictions. To better protect Queensland whistleblowers, the joint submission identifies four central reform priorities:
The establishment of an independent body to oversee and enforce the PID Act, and provide support to whistleblowers;
Accessible and practically-enforceable remedies, given shortcomings in the current law;
A positive duty on Queensland government agencies to protect whistleblowers; and
Careful reform to exclude personal work-related grievances from the law’s scope.
The Wilson Review is expected to report in late April.
A J Brown, Professor at Griffith University and Board member at Transparency International Australia, said:
“Queensland once led Australia in protecting whistleblowers, becoming only the second jurisdiction in the world with dedicated whistleblower protection laws following the first Fitzgerald Inquiry. But Queensland’s PID Act has not kept pace with subsequent legislative innovation domestically and internationally, and is now out of date.
“Recent inquiries and reviews have underscored the importance of whistleblowers to upholding an accountable, transparent and pro-integrity culture within the Queensland public service. The reforms we propose would ensure Queensland is once again the leading Australian jurisdiction in empowering whistleblowers to speak up about government wrongdoing.
Kieran Pender, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said:
“When whistleblowers speak up about government wrongdoing and human rights violations they make Queensland a better place. But too often, their whistleblowing goes unheeded or they face retaliation at work for doing the right thing. We are encouraged by this important review and the Queensland government’s commitment to reforming the PID Act.
“Our democracy is stronger when whistleblowers are protected and empowered to speak up. One of the major shortcomings in whistleblowing schemes across Australia is the absence of an independent body to oversee and enforce protections, and provide practical support to whistleblowers. This review provides an excellent opportunity for Queensland to establish such a body, and ensure the PID Act works on paper and in practice.”
The joint submission to the Wilson review of the PID Act can be read and downloaded here.
Photo Credit: Kgbo, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Media Contact:
Thomas Feng
Human Rights Law Centre
Media and Communications Manager thomas.feng@hrlc.org.au
0431 285 275