Whistleblower Richard Boyle’s sentencing is another dark day for democracy, and shows that the Albanese Government must urgently act on whistleblowing reform.

Boyle was today sentenced to 12 months good behaviour, with no recorded conviction. While this outcome means that Boyle, and his family, can now put an end to this ordeal – the prosecution remains a grave injustice.

Boyle exposed the use of aggressive and unethical debt recovery powers at the Australian Taxation Office in 2017. Boyle spoke up internally, to an oversight body, and ultimately to the media. Despite Boyle’s whistleblowing being partially vindicated by several independent inquiries, he subsequently faced years of criminal prosecution and the threat of jail.

Boyle reached a plea deal earlier this year and pleaded guilty to avoid prison time. It came after Boyle had lost a whistleblowing defence, with the Court of Appeal adopting a narrow approach to the immunity available under whistleblowing laws.

The Human Rights Law Centre, which operates Australia’s first dedicated legal service for whistleblowers, participated in the Court of Appeal as a friend of the court.

Kieran Pender, Associate Legal Director at the Human Rights Law Centre, said: 

“Today concludes a sorry saga that has been devastating for Richard Boyle and undermined Australian democracy. While the no-conviction sentence is a small ray of light, this never should have happened. Richard Boyle made the brave decision to speak up when he witnessed wrongdoing, for years he has faced prosecution and punishment.

“The Albanese Government must not stand idly by as whistleblowers are punished, they must act with urgent law reform and the establishment of a Whistleblower Protection Authority, to ensure prosecutions like this never happen again.”

Peter Greste, Executive Director of the Alliance for Journalists Freedom, said:  

“Richard’s case shows both the vital role that brave whistleblowers play in our democracy, and the need to protect them when they use the media as a whistle-of-last-resort. His prosecution and sentencing have had a serious chilling effect on public interest journalism and the sources they rely on. It might be too late to help Richard, but the government can still fix the broken system with a Whistleblower Protection Authority.”

Rex Patrick, Former Senator and Founder of the Whistleblower Justice Fund, said: 

“Richard Boyle is a hero. He called out egregious, harmful practices by the Tax Office and in doing so ended them. As he prepared his public interest disclosure he took a photograph, hit a record button and sent an encrypted email to his lawyer, assuming he would be protected as a whistleblower – but it turns out he was wrong. There was no malice involved, and, on balance, only good has come from it, except to Richard and his family.

“Richard Boyle has walked from the Court after eight years of hell with no convictions. It is a small win in an otherwise unjust prosecution.”