Another whistleblower facing possible jail term for exposing the truth

When whistleblowers speak out, they make Australia a better place. 

Regrettably, in August, the High Court of Australia declined to hear an appeal by tax office whistleblower Richard Boyle. 

Boyle will now face trial - and potential jail time - after blowing the whistle on unethical debt recovery practices at the Australian Taxation Office. 

Boyle’s whistleblowing sparked several independent inquiries which vindicated allegations of wrongdoing within the tax office. But Boyle faces prosecution – not for his public whistleblowing, but for his actions gathering evidence prior to raising concerns internally. 

Boyle’s High Court bid came after the South Australian Court of Appeal ruled in June that he was not protected under federal whistleblowing laws. The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge’s ruling, which found that only the actual act of whistleblowing was immune from prosecution, not preparatory actions – no matter how closely related to the whistleblowing itself. 

Those decisions, which the High Court has now declined to review, significantly limit the protections available to Australian whistleblowers. The Human Rights Law Centre had advocated for a wider approach which would better protect whistleblowers, joining the earlier appeal as a friend of the court. 

We are calling on the Albanese Government to urgently reform our whistleblower protection laws and ensure whistleblowers like Richard Boyle are not imprisoned. 

This was a heartbreaking day for Boyle. His case underscores the major holes in Australia’s whistleblowing regime. The Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus KC must act.  

The Albanese Government was elected on a commitment to restore integrity and transparency in Australian public life. The government promised to reform federal public sector whistleblowing law. But with the next election in sight – these reforms remain undelivered, the government has still not committed to establishing a whistleblower protection authority, and yet another whistleblower is facing potential jail time.

Whistleblowers make Australia a better place - they should be protected, not prosecuted. 

The Human Rights Law Centre will continue to speak up for whistleblowers and provide expert legal advice and representation through our Whistleblower Project. We will continue to help our clients expose wrongdoing and ensure accountability.