Submission: Independent Review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership 2020–2025 (NLAP)
Transparency International Australia (TI Australia) is pleased to provide the following submission to the Independent Review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership 2020–2025 (NLAP).
This submission adopts a particular focus on the need to facilitate improvements to whistleblower protections through adequate funding for legal support to accompany ongoing law reform in this area. Our recommendations appear in full on page 6 of this submission.
In summary, we submit that serious consideration be given to NLAP funding of initiatives and projects undertaken by community legal centres (CLCs) concerning whistleblowers, with a unified and coordinated approach across the CLC sector, to provide such services in response to identified need and to afford, in a scaled and consistent manner, greater protections to employees who blow the whistle on corruption or misconduct, in circumstances that invariably involve power imbalances, which is particularly pronounced in circumstances where certain employees are already vulnerable or disadvantaged.
We also recommend that consideration be given to Commonwealth funding for legal support (up to an appropriate cap) for the cost of whistleblowers seeking advice and representation, plus a smaller cap for other costs such as career transition and welfare costs, similar to a scheme previously proposed by the Victorian state government.