---
title: "Whistleblowing & Public Interest Disclosures"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/whistleblowing-and-public-interest-disclosures"
type: "practice_area"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A67"
task_count: 17
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Whistleblowing & Public Interest Disclosures

> Protected disclosures by employees, officers and public officials, from the whistleblower policy and the first report to investigations and claims for detriment.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/whistleblowing-and-public-interest-disclosures  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

Protected disclosures by employees, officers and public officials, from the whistleblower policy and the first report to investigations and claims for detriment.

## Key facts

- Tasks: 17
- Green: 1, Yellow: 8, Red: 8
- Levels: Green is AI drafts and the lawyer checks; Yellow is lawyer and AI draft together; Red is the lawyer writes and AI may only check, clarify or collect data.

## Basis

Planning guidance checked on 18 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## How this work usually runs

A whistleblowing matter arrives in one of three ways, and the first step is to name the statute. A prospective discloser is advised which recipient to use before anything is sent: for a corporations matter, whether the entity is a regulated entity, whether the person is an eligible whistleblower, which of s 1317AA(1), (2) or (3) fits, and how far s 1317AADA applies. A company that has received a report is taken through identity first. Nothing goes into a tool, and nothing goes to an investigator, until the lawyer has decided what s 1317AAE allows. The investigation plan, the fair-treatment steps and any detriment allegation are then handled against ss 1317AD to 1317AE, and the lawyer writes the claim if one is made. A tax disclosure is opened on Taxation Administration Act s 14ZZT, including the Tax Practitioners Board path and a disclosure to a medical practitioner or psychologist, and identity is decided under s 14ZZW. A public-sector disclosure is opened on the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth) or the State or Territory Act that applies. The Commonwealth allocation worksheet, the 14-day best-endeavours period and the 90-day investigation period are used only after the lawyer marks the file as a Commonwealth disclosure. Separately, when a company asks whether it must have a policy, the work is the s 1317AI threshold and timing table, using the prescribed large-proprietary figures, and the policy is made available to that company's officers and employees. A release or contract change is read against s 1317AB before it is signed. When a Commonwealth disclosure is allocated or investigated, the notification to the Ombudsman is the current form on the Ombudsman's tools page, and the copy of an investigation report is checked against the deletions in s 51 before it is given.

## Name the regime before any template runs

Corporations Act Part 9.4AAA, Taxation Administration Act Part IVD, and the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth) use different tests, and each State and Territory public-interest disclosure Act is different again. A tool or template states which statute it is applying. On a tax file, keep the disclosure to a medical practitioner or psychologist in s 14ZZT(3B), and the Tax Practitioners Board path in s 14ZZT(1A), visible. Those routes have no corporations equivalent.

## Keep identity out of the tool

Disclosing a discloser's identity, or information likely to lead to identification, is an offence under Corporations Act s 1317AAE and a civil penalty provision. The investigation exception in s 1317AAE(4) is not a permission to disclose the identity itself. Section 1317AAE(3) authorises a disclosure made by ASIC, APRA or a member of the Australian Federal Police. Tax identity is s 14ZZW, with a stated penalty of imprisonment for 6 months or 60 penalty units, or both. Commonwealth public-sector identity is s 20 of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth), with a stated penalty of imprisonment for 6 months or 30 penalty units, or both. A tool receives a de-identified copy.

## A disclosure to a lawyer is its own route

A disclosure to a legal practitioner for advice or representation on the operation of Corporations Act Part 9.4AAA qualifies under s 1317AA(3) without the eligible-whistleblower and disclosable-matter tests. The note to s 1317AADA records that a personal work-related grievance told to a legal practitioner may still qualify that way. That disclosure is not a disclosure to ASIC or APRA. The use-immunity in s 1317AB(1)(c) applies where the disclosure qualifies under s 1317AA(1) or s 1317AAD. The note to s 1317AB(1) records that, except for paragraph (c), protection for making the disclosure leaves the person's own revealed conduct open to liability.

## The journalist and parliamentarian routes have a prior step

A corporations public-interest disclosure or emergency disclosure under s 1317AAD requires a previous disclosure that qualifies under s 1317AA(1). The public-interest path requires at least 90 days, a written notice after those 90 days, and the belief tests in s 1317AAD(1). The emergency path requires reasonable grounds to believe the information concerns a substantial and imminent danger to the health or safety of one or more persons or to the natural environment, and a written notice, without the 90-day wait. Journalist is defined in s 1317AAD(3). A public-sector disclosure to a journalist is assessed under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth) s 26 or the applicable State or Territory Act.

## Fix the version of the law and the company's own threshold

The corporations section text used here is the AustLII consolidated text of each section, read on 22 October 2026. The Federal Register of Legislation compilation of the Corporations Act 2001 is Compilation No. 149, C2026C00432, dated 19 September 2026, which includes amendments by Act No. 87 of 2026. That compilation's landing page identifies the Act. It does not, by itself, show that Act No. 87 of 2026 amended Part 9.4AAA. Before reliance, compare a section that will be advised on with the 19 September 2026 compilation. The Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth) text used here is compilation C2026C00225, dated 4 June 2026. Whether a proprietary company must have a whistleblower policy depends on s 1317AI(2) or (3) and on the large-proprietary test in s 45A(3) as prescribed by Corporations Regulations reg 1.0.02B. The policy must contain each matter in s 1317AI(5) and be made available to that company's officers and employees. Failure is an offence of strict liability. The Taxation Administration Act sections were read on AustLII. A compilation page for that Act on legislation.gov.au was not opened.

## Tasks (17)

| Task | Level | How AI is used | What the lawyer must review |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Advise a prospective discloser which recipient to use so the corporations disclosure qualifies for protection](https://ailawframework.com/practice/whistleblowing-and-public-interest-disclosures/advise-a-prospective-discloser-which-recipient-to-use-so-the-corporation.md) | Red | From the de-identified instructions, set out the recipient options in Corporations Act s 1317AA and the eligible-recipient categories in s 1317AAC, tagged to… | The lawyer advises the prospective discloser which recipient to use. A disclosure to ASIC, APRA or a prescribed Commonwealth authority qualifies under s… |
| Work out which companies must have a whistleblower policy, and from which day | Yellow | From the company type and the financial-year figures the lawyer supplies, build a threshold and timing table.… | The lawyer decides whether s 1317AI(1), (2) or (3) applies and from which day. Failure to comply is an offence of strict liability under s 1317AI(4),… |
| Plan an investigation of a qualifying disclosure without identifying the discloser | Yellow | From the de-identified qualifying disclosure, draft an investigation plan that records the s 1317AA(4) or (5) matter, the investigator, and the information… | The lawyer decides the scope, who investigates, and what may be said. The lawyer writes any instruction that is actually sent.… |
| Decide whether telling someone a whistleblower's identity is permitted | Red | From the de-identified proposal to tell someone an identity, or information likely to lead to identification, build a permission table.… | The lawyer decides whether the proposed communication is authorised and writes it if it proceeds.… |
| Assess a proposed disclosure to a journalist or parliamentarian under the corporations whistleblower regime | Red | From the de-identified chronology, build a limb-by-limb table for Corporations Act s 1317AAD.… | The lawyer decides whether s 1317AAD is met and writes any notice and any advice on what may be said. The previous disclosure must qualify under s 1317AA(1).… |
| [Prepare the issues for a compensation claim for detriment](https://ailawframework.com/practice/whistleblowing-and-public-interest-disclosures/prepare-the-issues-for-a-compensation-claim-for-detriment.md) | Red | From the de-identified chronology, build an issues table for a corporations compensation claim.… | The lawyer decides whether a claim is open, who the respondents are, and what orders to seek, and writes the application.… |
| [Check a proposed release or contract change against whistleblower protections](https://ailawframework.com/practice/whistleblowing-and-public-interest-disclosures/check-a-proposed-release-or-contract-change-against-whistleblower-protec.md) | Yellow | From the clause list the lawyer supplies, mark each clause that would enforce a contractual or other remedy, or exercise a contractual or other right, on the… | The lawyer decides whether the clause is affected by s 1317AB and writes any change.… |
| Assess a disclosure about tax affairs under the tax whistleblower regime | Red | From the de-identified tax disclosure, build an element table under Taxation Administration Act s 14ZZT and stop.… | The lawyer writes the assessment of whether the disclosure qualifies. The Commissioner limb and the Tax Practitioners Board limb use a 'considers that the… |
| [Prepare the allocation and investigation worksheet for a public-sector disclosure](https://ailawframework.com/practice/whistleblowing-and-public-interest-disclosures/prepare-the-allocation-and-investigation-worksheet-for-a-public-sector-d.md) | Yellow | From the de-identified Commonwealth public-sector file, once the lawyer has marked it as a disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth),… | The lawyer marks the file as a Commonwealth public interest disclosure before any 14-day or 90-day period is counted, decides allocation and whether to… |
| Prepare the written reasons for not allocating or not investigating a public-sector disclosure | Red | From the de-identified facts and the lawyer's proposed ground, list which statutory ground the facts appear to touch and the notices that follow.… | The lawyer chooses the ground, decides whether a referral is required, and writes the notice.… |
| [Plan support and risk controls where detriment or a reprisal is alleged](https://ailawframework.com/practice/whistleblowing-and-public-interest-disclosures/plan-support-and-risk-controls-where-detriment-or-a-reprisal-is-alleged.md) | Yellow | From the de-identified account of alleged detriment, prepare a support and risk-control plan for a Commonwealth public interest disclosure.… | The lawyer decides the controls, whether any proposed step is itself a reprisal or is reasonable administrative action under s 13(3), and writes any direction… |
| [Issue the eligible-recipient card from the approved whistleblower policy](https://ailawframework.com/practice/whistleblowing-and-public-interest-disclosures/issue-the-eligible-recipient-card-from-the-approved-whistleblower-policy.md) | Green | From the whistleblower policy the lawyer has already approved, fill a one-page eligible-recipient card.… | The lawyer checks the card when the policy is approved, and again when the policy or the named contact channel changes.… |
| [Screen a workplace complaint against the personal work-related grievance provisions](https://ailawframework.com/practice/whistleblowing-and-public-interest-disclosures/screen-a-workplace-complaint-against-the-personal-work-related-grievance.md) | Yellow | From a de-identified workplace complaint, screen it against the personal work-related grievance provisions and stop there.… | The lawyer decides whether s 1317AADA or s 29(2A) applies, and to what extent. This screen is not the decision that a disclosure qualifies for protection.… |
| Assess a proposed external or emergency public-sector disclosure | Red | From a de-identified proposal to disclose outside an agency, list the further requirements in Public Interest Disclosure Act s 26(1) item 2 or item 3, as the… | The lawyer decides whether item 2 or item 3 is met, reads item 2 in the 4 June 2026 compilation before relying on the opened table, and writes any advice.… |
| [Check a service provider's disclosure against the Commonwealth contract limit](https://ailawframework.com/practice/whistleblowing-and-public-interest-disclosures/check-a-service-provider-s-disclosure-against-the-commonwealth-contract.md) | Yellow | From a de-identified account of a contractor's disclosure, test it against Public Interest Disclosure Act s 30 and s 29(1)(c).… | The lawyer decides whether the contract is a Commonwealth contract and whether the conduct is in connection with entering into it or giving effect to it.… |
| Mark the deletions before a copy of the investigation report is given to the discloser | Red | From a de-identified draft investigation report, list the deletions the principal officer may make before a copy is given, and do not make them.… | The lawyer, or the principal officer, decides each deletion and approves the copy that is given. The report itself must still set out the matters in s 51(2).… |
| Choose the Ombudsman notification for an allocation or investigation decision | Yellow | From the decision the lawyer has marked, name the matching notification form on the Commonwealth Ombudsman PID tools and resources page, and stop.… | The lawyer downloads the current form from the tools page, completes it, and sends it. The form is the notification to the Ombudsman.… |

## Jurisdiction notes

### United States

Local name: Whistleblower protection, securities awards and false claims

#### Public-company fraud retaliation

18 U.S.C. § 1514A covers a company with a class of securities registered under section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or required to file reports under section 15(d), including a subsidiary or affiliate whose financial information is in the consolidated financial statements, and a nationally recognised statistical rating organisation, and an officer, employee, contractor, subcontractor or agent. Such a person may not discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass or otherwise discriminate against an employee because the employee provided information or assisted an investigation, or filed, testified or assisted in a proceeding, about conduct the employee reasonably believes is a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341, § 1343, § 1344 or § 1348, a Securities and Exchange Commission rule, or a federal law relating to fraud against shareholders. The report or investigation must be to a federal regulatory or law-enforcement agency, a Member or committee of Congress, or a person with supervisory authority. The employee may file a complaint with the Secretary of Labor. If the Secretary has not issued a final decision within 180 days and the delay is not from the claimant's bad faith, the employee may bring a de novo action in the appropriate district court. An action under that paragraph must be commenced not later than 180 days after the violation or after the employee became aware of it. A prevailing employee is entitled to all relief necessary to make the employee whole, including reinstatement, back pay with interest, and special damages including litigation costs, expert witness fees and reasonable attorney fees. The rights and remedies may not be waived by a predispute arbitration agreement.

#### Securities whistleblower awards

Under 15 U.S.C. § 78u-6 a whistleblower is an individual, or two or more individuals acting jointly, who provides information relating to a violation of the securities laws to the Commission in the manner the Commission sets by rule. Original information is derived from the whistleblower's independent knowledge or analysis, is not already known to the Commission unless the whistleblower is the original source, and is not exclusively derived from an allegation in a hearing, a governmental report, audit or investigation, or the news media unless the whistleblower is a source. In a covered action, which is one that results in monetary sanctions exceeding $1,000,000, or a related action, the Commission shall pay an award of not less than 10 percent and not more than 30 percent, in total, of the monetary sanctions collected, subject to subsection (c). The award is paid from the Securities and Exchange Commission Investor Protection Fund. A whistleblower who submits information anonymously and claims an award must be represented by counsel. A determination, including whether, to whom or in what amount to make an award, is in the Commission's discretion. Except for the amount of an award made in accordance with subsection (b), it may be appealed to the appropriate court of appeals not more than 30 days after the determination. The Commission and its officers and employees shall not disclose information that could reasonably be expected to reveal a whistleblower's identity, except as that subsection provides.

#### False claims actions

Under 31 U.S.C. § 3730 the Attorney General shall diligently investigate a violation of section 3729 and may bring a civil action. A person may bring a civil action for a violation of section 3729 for that person and for the United States Government. The action is brought in the name of the Government. It may be dismissed only if the court and the Attorney General give written consent and their reasons. The complaint is filed in camera, remains under seal for at least 60 days, and is not served on the defendant until the court orders. The Government may intervene within 60 days after it receives the complaint and the material evidence, and may seek an extension. The court shall dismiss an action or claim, unless the Government opposes, where substantially the same allegations or transactions were publicly disclosed in a federal criminal, civil or administrative hearing in which the Government or its agent is a party, in a congressional, Government Accountability Office or other federal report, hearing, audit or investigation, or in the news media, unless the Attorney General brings the action or the person is an original source as that paragraph defines it. The elements of section 3729, and any share of the proceeds, are not stated in the parts of section 3730 used for this note.

#### False claims retaliation

Under 31 U.S.C. § 3730(h) an employee, contractor or agent who is discharged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed or otherwise discriminated against because of lawful acts in furtherance of an action under the section, or other efforts to stop one or more violations of the subchapter, is entitled to all relief necessary to make that person whole. Relief includes reinstatement with the same seniority, twice the back pay, interest on the back pay, and special damages including litigation costs and reasonable attorneys' fees. The action is brought in the appropriate district court and may not be brought more than 3 years after the date the retaliation occurred.

- Do not apply Part 9.4AAA of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), Part IVD of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth), the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth), or a state public-interest disclosure Act.
- This note does not cover a federal-employee whistleblower statute or a state whistleblower statute. Check that statute before using the note for a federal employee or a state claim.
- Do not let the tool decide whether a disclosure is protected, or draft the complaint or the disclosure.

Sources:

- [18 U.S.C. § 1514A (civil action to protect against retaliation in fraud cases)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1514A) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [15 U.S.C. § 78u-6 (securities whistleblower incentives and protection)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/78u-6) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [31 U.S.C. § 3730 (civil actions for false claims)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/3730) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*