More protection coming for whistleblowers

The Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Bill replaces the Protected Disclosures Act 2000 and is intended to strengthen protection for whistleblowers. The Bill:

• clarifies the definition of ‘serious wrongdoing’ and extends its application to cover private sector use of public funds and authority
• enables people to report serious wrongdoing directly to an appropriate authority at any time
• strengthens protections for disclosers by specifying what a receiver of a disclosure should do
• clarifies the internal procedure requirements for public sector organisations
• clarifies the potential forms of adverse conduct disclosers may face.

The government has signalled that this is the first of two phases in strengthening the regime. The Bill is at its 2nd reading. The Select Committee recommended that the Bill be passed with minor amendments, and it is expected to be in force from 1 July 2021.

For more, see our submission on the review of the Act.