The trial date for an ATO whistleblower accused of releasing protected federal government documents has been delayed a further year while a ruling against his immunity claim is tested.
Former Australian Taxation Office official Richard Boyle will now face trial in September 2024 for 24 charges relating to the release of protected documents.
Mr Boyle first blew the whistle on his employer's introduction of harsher debt-collection tactics to the media in 2018 in an episode of ABC's Four Corners.
His disclosure revealed the tax office had planned the use of orders that require a bank to hand over money from a personal or business account without the permission of the taxpayer.
The former public servant, who could face jail time if found guilty, attempted to use the federal government's Public Interest Disclosure Act to defend himself against 23 of 24 Commonwealth charges.
It marked the first time the whistleblower defence had been used since it was introduced in 2013 by then-Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus
But a South Australian court in March dismissed Mr Boyle's bid to use federal whistleblower protections, saying he was not immune from punishment for criminal actions because it was not clearly a part of his public interest disclosure.
Mr Boyle's legal team, counsel Steven Millsteed KC and junior counsel Lauren Gavranich, have appealed the ruling and are expected to appear in court in August, which caused the trial to be pushed to a later date.
Human Rights Law Centre senior lawyer Kieran Pender said on Tuesday the soon-to-be seven-year saga only further underscored the injustice of this case.
"Boyle spoke up about wrongdoing at the tax office; he has been vindicated by multiple independent inquiries, and yet his prosecution drags on," he said in a statement.
"By the time of his trial, Boyle will have had this prosecution hanging over him for almost seven years. Whistleblowers should be protected, not prosecuted."
The human rights advocacy group announced in June it had been granted leave to offer expert opinions in the case it says will have "significant implications for truth and transparency in this country".
Top silk, Perry Herzfeld SC, who has represented the Commonwealth on other high-profile whistleblower cases involving Bernard Collaery and David McBride, has also been recruited to join the team.
Amendments to the Public Interest Disclosure Act passed the Senate in June, expanding protections to those who could make a disclosure.
The new National Anti-Corruption Commission began operations on July 1, receiving more than 300 referrals in its first week.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said consultations on a second stage of reforms to whistleblower protections would shortly begin.
Mr Dreyfus said it would look at redrafting the laws to address "the underlying complexity of the scheme and provide effective and accessible protections to public sector whistleblowers".
