People who disclose suspected wrongdoing by State bodies or public officers would be protected from civil, criminal and administrative liability under Fiji’s proposed 2026 Draft Constitution.
Section 227 of the draft provides constitutional protection for whistleblowers who make disclosures in good faith to a State officer or State body.
To qualify for protection, the person must reasonably believe the information shows, or tends to show, that a State body or public officer has contravened the Constitution or the law while performing official functions.
Protection would also extend to disclosures concerning official conduct that has endangered, or is likely to endanger, an individual’s health or safety.
The provision also covers information relating to conduct that has damaged or is likely to damage the environment.
Significantly, the Draft Constitution states that a person making a qualifying disclosure would be “immune from any civil, criminal or administrative liability for that disclosure”.
State bodies would also have a constitutional obligation to establish and maintain systems through which people can make confidential disclosures, and mechanisms would have to be in place to act on the information received.
The availability of these whistleblower reporting systems would also have to be regularly publicised to the public.
The whistleblower protections are contained in the Draft Constitution released as part of the Constitution Review Report and remain proposals rather than current law.
