Key whistleblower reforms are expected to hit the upper house with the Greens saying they're "ready, willing and able" to pass the protections ahead of the federal anti-corruption body's opening next month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Transparency and human rights experts are calling for the "overdue reforms" to pass promptly with the National Anti-Corruption Commission set to begin its operations from July 1.
The Albanese government has promised the new laws will patch immediate shortfalls in federal whistleblower protections while a more extensive set of changes will be introduced at a later date.
The increased protections will expand the definition of reprisals for would-be disclosers, enhance watchdog oversight of investigations and mandate additional training for investigators.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has said he's considering all options ahead of the second stage of reforms, including the introduction of a dedicated whistleblower protection authority.
Greens senator David Shoebridge, along with other crossbench MPs and senators, has campaigned for more ambitious protections for potential whistleblowers but told The Canberra Times his party wants to push the initial changes through for now.
"We are ready, willing and able to pass it," Senator Shoebridge said.
"If it isn't enacted, it's because Labor's playing politics with the bill."
Mr Dreyfus criticised the minor party during the May sitting weeks, claiming the Greens had "deliberately delayed" the reforms by "filibustering" against Labor's $10 billion housing fund bill.
"Let's be clear - the only reason whistleblower protections are not already law is because of the Greens," he said in May.
The housing fund bill is expected to remain a hot topic this week in the Senate, having been blocked by the Greens in May.
A coalition of integrity advocates on Tuesday called for political parties to get on with the job and to pass the protections this week.
Transparency International Australia chief executive Clancy Moore and board member Professor A J Brown said the technical improvements were a good first step in the right direction.
"It is time to get these improvements in place without any further delay," Mr Moore said.
READ MORE:
Kieran Pender, a senior lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said whistleblowers make Australia a better place and needed to be adequately protected because of that.
"This bill is a critical first step towards comprehensive reform of Australian whistleblowing laws - which also need to see us establish a whistleblower protection authority, and further massive overhaul of the protection rules not just for the public sector, but all sectors," he said.
"But it's time for these initial reforms to become law, so that wider task can begin."
The anti-corruption body will be led by Afghanistan war crimes investigator Paul Brereton.
Former Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre chief executive Nicole Rose and Disability Discrimination Commissioner Ben Gauntlett will serve as Justice Brereton's deputy commissioners.
The oversight body, which passed into law in November last year, will be able to investigate allegations of wrongdoing and systemic corruption and will have the ability to hold public hearings in "exceptional circumstances".
It will open as two high-profile whistleblowers face criminal trials for leaking information to the media.
One of those is former Tax Office public servant Richard Boyle who exposed the ATO's introduction of harsher debt-collection tactics.
He is facing 24 charges for the release of protected information.
Mr Boyle's attempt to use public interest disclosure laws to avoid jail time were quashed by a South Australian judge in March.
Judge Liesl Kudelka ruled Mr Boyle was not immune from punishment for criminal actions, including recording co-workers without their consent and taking pictures of sensitive government documents and uploading them to an encrypted service, because it was not clearly a part of his public interest disclosure.
Mr Boyle's legal team has launched an appeal against the judgment, which is expected to delay his upcoming criminal trial in October.
The other whistleblower, former army lawyer David McBride, will face the ACT Supreme Court in November over his role in releasing documents about alleged war crimes in Afghanistan to the media.
Mr McBride has also attempted to claim immunity from criminal prosecution under the whistleblower protections but it was unsuccessful following a last-minute public interest immunity claim by the Commonwealth.