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dc.contributor.authorBrown, A J
dc.date.accessioned2019-03-15T00:41:14Z
dc.date.available2019-03-15T00:41:14Z
dc.date.issued2006
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/90830
dc.description.abstractThe willingness of public officials to voice concerns on matters of public interest is increasingly recognised as fundamental to democratic accountability and public integrity. At the same time, ‘whistleblowing’ is one of the most complex, conflict-ridden areas of public policy and legislative practice. This paper reviews the eleven legislative proposals that have dealt with the management of public sector whistleblowing in Australia since 1993, including the nine Acts now in force and two current proposals. The paper presents – and suggests some possible answers to – ten fundamental questions about the current tapestry of Australian whistleblower protection laws. Comparative analysis of the legislation is difficult because, over time, different jurisdictions have experimented with the result that no two frameworks are the same. There has also been little empirical evidence of their performance. These gaps are currently the focus of a national research project, ‘Whistling While They Work: Enhancing the Theory and Practice of Internal Witness Management in the Australian Public Sector’. Comments are welcome on the legislative issues reviewed here, which will be fed back into the research and the deliberations of the participating governments. Table 15 summarises the results of the analysis, ranking existing provisions according to those which are most problematic, or missing, or appear closest to legislative best practice. While this produces overall rankings, the first general conclusion is that no single existing Australian whistleblower protection law or Bill provides a ‘best practice’ model. Every jurisdiction has managed to enact at least some elements of best practice, but all have problems – sometimes unique, sometimes general or common problems.
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherCommonwealth Ombudsman, NSW Ombudsman & Queensland Ombudsman
dc.publisher.placeCanberra & Sydney
dc.publisher.urihttps://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/news-and-publications/publications/reports/state-and-local-government/public-interest-disclosure-legislation-in-australia-towards-the-next-generation
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom1
dc.relation.ispartofpageto69
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode390301
dc.titlePublic Interest disclosure Legislation in Australia: Towards the Next Generation
dc.typeReport
dc.type.descriptionU2 - Reviews/Reports
dc.type.codeD - Reviews/Reports
dc.description.versionVersion of Record (VoR)
gro.rights.copyright© 2006 A J Brown. Published by Commonwealth Ombudsman, NSW Ombudsman & Queensland Ombudsman. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the publisher’s website for further information.
gro.hasfulltextFull Text
gro.griffith.authorBrown, A J J.


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