The Australian parliament must reform public and private sector whistleblowing law and establish a whistleblower protection authority, according to this report by Griffith University, the Human Rights Law Centre and Transparency International Australia.

The report’s recommendations include:

• Establishment of a whistleblower protection authority to oversee and enforce Australia’s whistleblower protections;
• Upgraded whistleblower protections for Australian public servants in line with domestic and international best practice, including a positive duty to protect whistleblowers and steps to make it easier for whistleblowers to enforce their rights;
• Consolidation and harmonisation of whistleblowing laws across the private sector in one new single law covering all non-public sector whistleblowers; and
• Stronger, simpler protections for whistleblowers who make disclosures to the media and members of parliament.