Public Sector Whistleblower Reforms
30 October 2025
On 8 October 2025, the Law Council provided a submission to the Attorney-General’s Department in response to its consultation on proposed public sector whistleblower reforms as contained in the Exposure Draft of the Public Interest Disclosure and Other Legislation Amendment (Whistleblower Protections) Bill 2025.
The substance of the Draft Bill primarily relates to two key elements:
- amendments to the Ombudsman Act 1976 (Cth) to establish a Whistleblower Ombudsman within the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman; and
- significant repeal, replacement and restructuring of the contents of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (PID Act).
In its response, the Law Council expressed general support for these reforms which include a number of improvements to the federal public sector whistleblowing framework.
The Law Council welcomed the establishment of the Whistleblower Ombudsman. However, the Law Council suggested that the functions of the Whistleblower Ombudsman should include a substantive support or referral function. The Law Council also raised significant concern with the proposed abrogation of client legal privilege.
The Law Council welcomed the principles-based drafting approach, which addresses a number of areas of uncertainty and complexity under the current PID Act. Important improvements to the PID Act include: measures that would have some effect in the implementation of a ‘no wrong doors’ approach; reversing the burden of proof in civil proceedings; improvement in the supports whistleblowers may access (including improved provisions permitting disclosure to an Australian legal practitioner); and removing legal practitioners’ criminal liability under section 67 PID Act for disclosing certain information.
The Law Council also noted that the effectiveness of proposed reforms will depend on whether the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman is adequately resourced to undertake the Whistleblower Ombudsman functions and whether adequate additional funding is provided for legal (and non-legal) support to be available to whistleblowers.
It is anticipated that the final Bill will be introduced in the Parliament by the end of the year.
Last Updated on 28/10/2025