The National Anti-Corruption Commission Act (Cth) provides powerful protections for anyone who provides information about corruption issues to the Commission. These protections apply to whistleblowers, witnesses and others who make a disclosure to the Commission. Disclosures include making a referral, providing information and giving evidence to the Commission. The protections include:

  • immunity from liability – you cannot be subject to any criminal, civil or administrative action (including disciplinary action) for making a disclosure to the Commission, and no contractual right or remedy can be exercised against you. There are 2 exceptions to this: see Exceptions to protections.
  • protection from reprisals – it is a criminal offence for anyone to take any reprisal action against you for making a disclosure to the Commission. 

These protections apply even if your disclosure breaches another law. 

Immunity from liability

You cannot be prosecuted, sued, disciplined or penalised for making a referral. For example:

  • you cannot be sued for defamation arising from your disclosure
  • your employment or contract cannot be terminated, nor can you be disciplined, for making the disclosure.

Protection from reprisals

A ‘reprisal’ is any action that causes you detriment because someone believes or suspects that you have disclosed, may disclose or could disclose information about a corruption issue to the Commission. 

Examples of detriment include:    

  • dismissal from your employment
  • injury in your employment
  • detrimental changes to your employment position
  • discrimination between you and other employees.

However, reasonable administrative action by an organisation to protect you from detriment is not a reprisal. For example, transferring you to another work area to reduce the risk of detriment may be an appropriate step to take.

Taking or threatening a reprisal against you for making a referral, providing information or giving evidence to the Commission is a criminal offence, punishable by up to 2 years imprisonment.

Exceptions to protections

Protections from liability do not cover: 

  • an individual’s liability for their own conduct. The immunity is for making the disclosure, not for the underlying conduct that is disclosed. So a public servant cannot get immunity by referring their own conduct to the Commission.
  • knowingly making a false or misleading statement to the Commission.

Support for referrers, witnesses and whistleblowers

Policies and procedures

Commission witness welfare policies and procedures apply to all referrers, witnesses and whistleblowers. Key elements include:

  • Commission staff who have direct contact with referrers, witnesses or persons of interest must complete mental health awareness training
  • All witnesses – including whistleblowers – have access to the Commission’s specialist Witness Liaison Team, which provides information and support to help them in their dealings with the Commission.

Confidentiality and anonymity

You can choose to make a referral anonymously via the Commission’s secure online referral form. However, this restricts our ability to contact you, for example if we want further information.

If you choose to provide contact details, the Commission will still protect your identity, as far as legally and reasonably practicable. Commission staff are subject to strict confidentiality obligations. 

If the Commission is considering making a referral public, or disclosing it to another agency, it will first consider the potential impact on the referrer – especially if they have expressed concerns about repercussions or reprisals.

In hearings, the Commission avoids disclosing information that may identify a whistleblower. In a report, where appropriate, the Commission can conceal the identity of the referrer. 

The Commission’s Witness Liaison Team can also refer whistleblowers to the Human Rights Law Centre Whistleblower Project. See Case study, below.

Case study: Working with whistleblowers

The Commission sometimes receives referrals from whistleblowers represented by the Human Rights Law Centre. In one matter, a whistleblower wanting to provide evidence to the Commission had concerns about retaliatory action and destruction of evidence by their agency. The whistleblower, the Centre and the Commission worked cooperatively, resulting in the Commission:

  • expediting assessment of the referral
  • exercising its coercive powers to lawfully obtain the evidence without compromising the whistleblower’s confidentiality.

Public sector whistleblowing stage 2 reforms

On 12 January 2024 the National Anti-Corruption Commission made a submission to the Attorney General’s Department in response to the Consultation Paper on Public Sector Whistleblowing Reforms: Stage 2 – Reducing Complexity and Improving the Effectiveness and Accessibility of Protections for Whistleblowers.

Submission documents

Public Sector Whistleblowing Reforms Phase 2 submission | PDF 264 KB

Public Sector Whistleblowing Reforms Phase 2 submission | Word 207 KB