ABSTRACT
In recent years, every Australian public law jurisdiction has passed legislation in the public interest to protect whistleblowers. Whistleblower protection has also been passed in corporate law, workplace relations law, consumer law and financial regulation. This chapter identifies important issues for consideration in whistleblower regulation, issues which are clearly well-intentioned and increasingly comprehensive, but which often remain undeveloped, uncoordinated and at times confusing. The authors work in some of the research findings from a recent Australian research report (2008) and some of the recommendations in a report to parliament in identifying a strong case for greater consistency in the key legal thresholds and operational requirements imposed by Australian whistleblower protection regimes, including useful potential for common tests and processes covering both the public and private sectors. Australian whistleblower legislation has no standard to determine the whistleblower's state of mind and whether an honest and reasonable belief will suffice for whistleblower protection.
