AUSTRALIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Dennis Miralis, Kartia Zappavigna, Dr Emma Collins and Henry Yu, Nyman Gibson Miralis
This is despite recent reforms to the regime including the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistle - blower Protections) Act 2019 (Cth) and the Public Interest Disclosure Amendment (Review) Act 2023. The former created a consolidated whistle-blower protection regime within the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and a parallel whistle-blower protection regime in the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth). The key provisions include: • whistle-blowers are not required to identify them - selves when making a disclosure; • persons who make a qualifying disclosure are protected from any civil, criminal, or administrative liability, and no contractual or other remedies may be exercised against the disclosing person based on the disclosure; • persons who make a qualifying disclosure may seek a court order for reinstatement if they have been dismissed from their employment because they or another person made a protected disclo - sure; and • if the disclosure qualifies for protection, the infor - mation is not admissible in evidence against the person in criminal proceedings or in proceedings for the imposition of a penalty, other than proceed - ings in respect of the falsity of the information. The Act also created a civil penalty provision to address the victimisation of whistle-blowers and facilitate the criminal prosecution of victimisers. The Public Interest Disclosure Amendment (Review) Act 2022 provided increased protections for public sector whistle-blowers and witnesses, including by expand - ing reprisal protections to capture indirect threats. Nevertheless, many in Australia still say further action is needed, particularly considering high-profile whis - tle-blower prosecutions that have taken place over the last two years. • In 2025, Richard Boyle was sentenced to a year- long good behaviour bond for taking and sharing with the media copies of documents and records of conversations from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), exposing its aggressive and unethi - cal debt collection practices. While some of the
material informed in part a Royal Commission into certain ATO practices, Boyle was ultimately denied immunity from prosecution under the Public Inter - est Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth). • In 2024, David McBride, a former military lawyer, was jailed for five-and-a-half years for stealing and sharing classified military material with jour - nalists. The information he shared shed light on allegations of war crimes by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan and resulted in both a defence inquiry and the establishment of a new government body responsible for the investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan. While in both cases the information leaked led to high- profile enquiries into state misconduct, the individuals who leaked the material were forced to face years of criminal investigations, proceedings and ultimately convictions. Further reforms to the Australian regime could greatly improve its clarity, increase protection to individuals, and grant greater transparency to Australia’s govern - ment institutions. Such reforms could include the har - monisation of whistle-blower protection laws between the private and public entities through the establish - ment of a single act and a whistle-blower protection agency. Recently, a Whistleblower Protection Authority Bill 2025 was introduced by an Independent Senator, which sought to establish a new statutory authority, advisory council, and whistleblower protection com - missioner. The bill was unsuccessful, with the govern - ment advising that the more appropriate path would be to continue with stage two reforms being consid - ered. While reform is still on cards, whether or not this piecemeal approach will be effective in addressing the evident issues within the current regime is an open question. Recent cases Despite the continuing concerns regarding the effec - tiveness of Australia’s tools for addressing corrup - tion, recent prosecutions demonstrate that Australia remains committed to investigating and prosecuting corruption and bribery. The cases from 2024–2025 highlight the multi-agency approach to addressing
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