New HRLC report adds to growing calls for a whistleblower rewards scheme

The Albanese government is being urged to introduce a federal whistleblower rewards scheme, with a new report arguing Australia risks falling behind other major economies without stronger incentives and protections for those who expose wrongdoing.

The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) has released its Rewarding Australian Whistleblowers: Design Options for Whistleblower Incentive Programs report as Treasury reviews the private sector whistleblower protection regime, which was reformed in 2019.

Kieran Pender, Associate Legal Director at the Human Rights Law Centre’s Whistleblower Project, said even with the right framework in place, whistleblowing is still a personally risky act.

“Whistleblowers make Australia a better place, but the cost of speaking out in Australia is just too high,” said Mr. Pender.

“The experience from other countries shows that whistleblower rewards schemes encourage whistleblowers to come forward and help regulators recoup billions of dollars in ill-gotten gains.”

As of December 2024, whistleblower reward schemes have helped the United States recover over US$88 billion (AU$134 billion) from wrongdoers and pay over US$11 billion to whistleblowers.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the largest-ever whistleblower reward was US$279 million (AU$400 million) in 2023, stemming from a bribery case against telecommunications company Ericsson.

The legal settlement was worth US$1.1 billion.

“The time to debate the merits of a whistleblower rewards scheme has passed,” said Professor Allan Fels, former chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

“Plain and clear – rewards schemes are good policy that have been repeatedly proven to work around the world. Our policymakers must now look towards designing a whistleblower rewards scheme that works for Australia.”

The report argues Australian regulators, such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), are being pushed beyond their remit and lack the resources and capacity to carry out the complex investigations needed to detect and prosecute white-collar crime at scale.

“A whistleblower reward scheme for Australia has long been debated, but has always been nipped at the bud, citing concerns that rewarding whistleblowing is fundamentally ‘un-Australian’, and that it may encourage bad faith claims and unreliable information,” wrote Prof Fels in an opinion piece for The Point.

The United Kingdom has most recently adopted a “US-style” incentive program, with those who blow the whistle on serious tax avoidance or evasion to receive up to 30 per cent of the tax collected.

The HRLC report said internal whistleblowers can provide an “investigative shortcut”, saving time and offering a far more cost-effective alternative to “traditional command-and-control enforcement methods”.

Data from existing schemes also showed they result in increased disclosures and prosecutions.

While Australia has laws to protect people who speak up about wrongdoing, the report notes they have been “depressingly under-utilised”, revealing that in three decades, only a single whistleblower has received court-ordered compensation for harm caused by speaking out.

“White-collar crime degrades Australia’s social fabric, subverts its democracy, and undermines its economy,” said Jack Thrower, senior economist at the Australia Institute.

“Unfortunately, many white-collar crimes remain hidden while continuing to harm society, making them difficult to detect and deter through ordinary methods.”

“By instituting a whistleblower rewards scheme, Australia can more effectively uncover, combat, and deter these crimes, promote ethical business behaviour and broadly benefit societal wellbeing.”

The HRLC said a federal whistleblower incentive program has been recommended by multiple parliamentary inquiries.

During the 2019 federal election campaign, a whistleblower rewards scheme formed part of the Labor Party’s platform, but it did not reappear in its successful 2022 campaign.

“Whistleblower rewards do not work in isolation – they are one part of a comprehensive model of whistleblower protections, support and enforcement,” said Mr. Pender.

Prof Fels believes Australia stands at a “great advantage”.

“Australia can learn from the mistakes that other jurisdictions have made and adopt the principles and models that work for our legal system and existing regulatory landscapes,” he wrote in the report.

“Now is an opportune time to examine how we can design a uniquely Australian whistleblower reward scheme that is fit for purpose.”