Legal help for whistleblowers

A whistleblower is typically an employee, contractor or other worker who has access to information regarding wrongdoing, that is not otherwise known to the public, who discloses that information. This disclosure is sometimes made to an internal whistleblowing mechanism, or to an external oversight body, or to the public. Typically, whistleblowing involves disclosing incidents where law or processes have been breached, which may include human rights abuses, fraud, corruption, maladministration, harassment, threats to health and safety or environmental wrongdoing.

The above is not a legal definition. In Australia, the law is complex and varies depending on whether the organisation who has committed the suspected wrongdoing is a federal or state/territory government agency or a company. The threshold for whistleblowing and protections afforded to certain disclosures varies and expert legal advice is often necessary to determine correct procedures and the availability of protections.

We are a community legal centre with limited resources. We cannot assist everyone. We have developed prioritisation guidelines to guide our service delivery – we will prioritise whistleblowers who are suffering as a result of their whistleblowing (such as because they have experienced retaliation), whistleblowing that helps address the suffering of others (such as human rights abuse and misconduct relevant to the Human Rights Law Centre’s other impact areas), whistleblowing which may have systemic or strategic relevance (such as by being a test case for stronger protections) and federal public sector whistleblowers. Where we cannot assist, we will seek to offer referral pathways.

We provide advice in relation to whistleblower protection – not employment issues at large. We cannot provide legal advice on workplace grievances like bullying or interpersonal disputes.

Our Project focuses on whistleblowers and whistleblowing in Australia. In rare circumstances we will consider helping whistleblowers outside of Australia but only where there is a significant connection to Australia – for example where a government body or an Australian-registered company is committing misconduct abroad.

• We can provide advice and assistance when navigating the disclosure pathway to minimise risk

• We can provide advice and representation where you have already blown the whistle and faced reprisal, including litigation to vindicate your legal rights and protections

• We also work on law reform and conduct strategic litigation to create stronger laws and protections for whistleblowers.

The Human Rights Law Centre is unable to receive disclosures containing intelligence information or information with a national security or other protective security classification. You must not send us any such information – doing so may be a criminal offence. If you are unsure whether information you wish to disclosure to us falls within these categories, please contact us first – without disclosing the information – for a preliminary discussion. If, contrary to this notice, you provide us with such information, we will delete it immediately and provide no further assistance to you. More information about what constitutes intelligence information or information with a national security or other protective security classification can be found here.

While many whistleblower protection laws expressly protect disclosures to lawyers for the purpose of seeking legal advice, we consider it prudent for clients to adopt rigorous information security practices. Following the initial intake process, we typically communicate with clients using the free, encrypted messaging and phone app Signal. You can find instructions for installing Signal on your phone, tablet or computer here. For ongoing email correspondence, clients may wish to create a dedicated ProtonMail account – a free, encrypted email service. You can find instructions for installing Protonmail here. If for some reason you are not able to use the intake form above, the Whistleblower Project can also be contacted via email: hrlc.wbp@proton.me

We recommend that you do not contact us from your office or work phone or email, and avoid speaking to us at your workplace or using your workplace’s wifi. For maximum information security, you may wish to contact us using a VPN.

This webpage provides a general summary of aspects of whistleblowing law, for informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice and should not be relied upon as such.