Whistleblower protection is an essential part of the wider human rights framework in this country, underpinned by Australia’s international obligations. The ability of whistleblowers to speak up, and the public’s right to know, is protected under the right to freedom of opinion and expression, established under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Australia’s whistleblowers are suffering. Despite the laws, whistleblowers continue to face detriment within their own workplaces for speaking up about wrongdoing. They continue to be sued by their employers for speaking out; some are even being criminally prosecuted.

This report has two parts. Firstly, it presents a compilation of every whistleblower protection case to proceed to judgment across all Australian jurisdictions, from enactment (the oldest dating back to the early 1990s) until April 2023. This research represents the most comprehensive empirical review of Australian whistleblower protection laws in practice yet undertaken.

Secondly, the report reinforces the necessity of transforming these weak laws into accessible, enforceable protections that work in practice. Its recommendations are threefold:

1. law reform that delivers accessible, consistent, and comprehensive whistleblower protections;
2. new, dedicated institutions to protect whistleblowers, in the form of a whistleblower protection authority and a parliamentary whistleblowing office; and
3. the fostering of a wider sustainable ecosystem to support whistleblowers.