Queensland’s public sector whistleblowing laws are in need of an urgent overhaul, a coalition of organisations have told an independent review into the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010 (Qld) being undertaken by former Supreme Court judge Alan Wilson KC.

In the submission, the Centre for Governance and Public Policy at Griffith University, Human Rights Law Centre and Transparency International Australia have called for significant reform to ensure Queensland’s public sector whistleblowers are protected and empowered in speaking up.

Queensland’s public sector whistleblowing laws were once world-leading; they now lag behind other Australian jurisdictions. To better protect Queensland whistleblowers, the joint submission identifies four central reform priorities: 

1. The establishment of an independent body to oversee and enforce the PID Act, and provide support to whistleblowers; 

2. Accessible and practically-enforceable remedies, given shortcomings in the current law; 

3. A positive duty on Queensland government agencies to protect whistleblowers; and 

4. Careful reform to exclude personal work-related grievances from the law’s scope. 

Read the joint submission here (PDF)