Assistant Minister to the Attorney-General Amanda Stoker says Australia’s whistleblowing laws.

Ms Stoker has pledged to make the whistleblowing process - currently considered too complex and inaccessible to be useful - easier for public servants who witness wrongdoing. 

The current laws were introduced by a Labor government in 2013, and have since been heavily criticised for being hard to wrangle for lawyers and judges, let alone public servants.

An independent in 2016 called for sweeping improvements.

“The objectives of the Act are clear and simple; the Act itself is not,” Senator Stoker said this week.

“The reforms will not only secure greater protections against reprisals for those who make disclosures, but also those who could make a disclosure - regardless of whether or not they actually do.”

The Government is reportedly considering a defence for journalists reporting on disclosures in the public interest.

Senator Stoker said the laws must be fixed in order to restore trust in the system.

“The Public Interest Disclosure Act plays a vital role. We are committed to ensuring that it is robust, effective and fit for purpose,” she said. 

Labor's legal affairs spokesperson Mark Dreyfus introduced the law as attorney-general in 2013.

This week, Mr Dreyfus said his legislation had been neglected since the election loss to the Abbott government.

“It was an appropriate scheme but needed to be in operation for some years and then be reviewed,” he said.