The poll of 1502 people, conducted by YouGov, also found 8 in 10 voters support the creation of a Whistleblower Protection Authority.
The research, supported by the Human Rights Law Centre and Whistleblower Justice Fund, shows support for better whistleblower protections hit a record high level last year and has increased even further in this new poll.
It comes as the CEO of KPMG Australia quits over his mishandling of a whistleblower request, while the federal government continues to drag its feet on releasing a long-awaited second tranche of whistleblower reforms.
Key findings
- The majority of Australians (87%) support or strongly support stronger legal protections for Australian whistleblowers.
- This is a slight increase on the 86% who supported legal protections for whistleblowers in 2025, a record high at the time.
- Four in five (81%) Australians think that whistleblowers make Australia a better place; only 3% think they make Australia a worse place.
- Most (84%) Australians would support the introduction of a Whistleblower Protection Authority, with only 4% opposed.
- Support for a Whistleblower Protection Authority includes 91% of Labor voters, 86% of Coalition voters, 85% of Greens voters, 91% of One Nation voters, and 94% of independent voters.
- Over half (63%) of Australians would support laws that reward whistleblowers in Australia who exposed corporate wrongdoing.
“In Australia, whistleblowers who have exposed alleged war crimes or the unfair treatment of small businesses face years of jail time,” said Bill Browne, Democracy & Accountability Director at The Australia Institute.
“Blowing the whistle often comes at great personal cost – to work and earnings, relationships and even health. A Whistleblower Protection Authority would support and assist truth-tellers.
“Protections for whistleblowers are overwhelmingly supported by voters of all political stripes, from the Greens to One Nation.”
“Whistleblowers make Australians a better place – and Australians know that,” said Kieran Pender, Associate Legal Director of the Human Rights Law Centre Whistleblower Project.
“There is consistently strong public support for stronger whistleblower protections. It is now time for the Albanese Government to act.”
“The overwhelming support from the Australian public for stronger whistleblower protections tells the Albanese Government what it should already know: it is well past time to act on reform, and the establishment of a Whistleblower Protection Authority,” said Rex Patrick, Founder of the Whistleblower Justice Fund.
The Australia Institute is a member of the Australian Polling Council. The polling methodology, long disclosure statement and margin of error for polling questions are included in the appendix of the report.
