Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022

01 July 2022

The Protected Disclosures Act 2000 was replaced by the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 on 1 July 2022.

The Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 continues the 2000 Act’s purpose, which is to facilitate the disclosure and investigation of serious wrongdoing in the workplace, and to provide protection for employees and other workers who report concerns. However, the 2022 Act makes changes to address identified issues and improvements.

The key changes in the 2022 Act are:

  • extending the definition of serious wrongdoing to cover private sector use of public funds and authority and to cover behaviour that is a serious risk to the health and safety of any individual
  • allowing people to report serious wrongdoing directly to an appropriate authority at any time, while clarifying the ability of the appropriate authority to decline or refer the disclosure
  • strengthening protections for disclosers by specifying what a receiver of a disclosure should do
  • clarifying internal procedure requirements for public sector organisations and requiring them to state how they will provide support to disclosers
  • clarifying the potential forms of adverse conduct disclosers may face.

Organisations, both public and private sector, have responsibilities under the Act as receivers of protected disclosures, including sometimes as appropriate authorities. Public sector organisations must have appropriate internal procedures for protected disclosures and must publicise these procedures widely. 

For More Information

Background on development of the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022