Whistle while you work - new whistleblowing guides for public servants

Two new whistleblowing guides for officers of the Queensland public sector have been released by the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC), the Queensland Ombudsman (QO) and the Public Service Commission (PSC).

The guides are based on the findings of the three-year 'Whistling While They Work' national research project, led by Griffith University, and supported by accountability agencies throughout Australia including, in Queensland, the CMC, QO and PSC.

The first guide informs officers who are thinking about reporting wrongdoing in the workplace of the issues they should consider to reduce the risk of suffering any adverse treatment as a result of reporting.

The second guide is for supervisors and explains their responsibility where an officer reports wrongdoing, including the actions a supervisor needs to take to ensure the officer is not the subject of a reprisal.

The guides are:

• Making a public interest disclosure: A guide for individuals working in the public sector
• Handling a public interest disclosure: A guide for public sector managers and supervisors.

Queensland Ombudsman David Bevan said that an effective system for encouraging and dealing with reports of wrongdoing in the workplace is vital to ensuring the integrity of the Queensland public sector.

'Making a disclosure of wrongdoing can be a stressful process for the discloser, the officer who is the subject of the disclosure and work colleagues. These new guides explain the things officers should consider if they are thinking about making a disclosure and what managers can do to avoid conflict developing in the workplace as a result of the disclosure,' Mr Bevan said.

PSC Chief Executive Bruce Wilson said the guides encourage chief executives and managers to foster organisational cultures that support whistleblowing.

'Public sector officers are excellently placed to identify wrongdoing, such as official misconduct, waste of public funds, public dangers or maladministration. Research shows that reporting by employees is the single most important trigger for uncovering wrongdoing,' Mr Wilson said.

'A comprehensive whistleblowing scheme not only gives public officers clear avenues for reporting their legitimate concerns but also gives them protection in doing so and ensures their concerns are appropriately investigated.'

CMC Chairperson Robert Needham said the first two guides are now available on the websites of the CMC, PSC and QO.

'A third guide for agencies will be released later in the year,' Mr Needham said.

'It will deal with their responsibility for encouraging disclosures of wrongdoing and developing appropriate systems for assessing and investigating them and supporting the disclosers.'

Download the first two guides from:

• Crime and Misconduct Commission (external link)
• Queensland Ombudsman (external link)
• Public Service Commission (external link)

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Last reviewed: 17 July, 2009

Last updated: 22 July, 2009

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