New – Whistle Blower New Legislation 2019

Your Risk Register may need to be reviewed.

Commencing 1 July 2019, public, large proprietary companies, as well as trustees of private companies that are registrable superannuation entities, are now required to have a whistleblower policy in place and implemented by no later than 1^st January 2020.

Australia made a commitment as a member of the G20 to increase whistleblower protection and help provide safe ways for individuals to report misconduct, crime, and corruption. Even if your organisation has a current whistleblowing policy, it will need to be revised to comply with the new legislation.

The aim of the whistleblower legislation is to not only to create a stronger whistleblower protection regime covering the corporate, financial and tax sectors but also to encourage ethical whistleblowing and discourage white collar crime.

If your company has at least two of the following, your whistleblowing policy needs to be amended.

• revenue of at least $25 million
• consolidated gross assets of at least $12.5 million
• at least 50 employees within the company and entities it controls

To comply with the legislation, a whistleblower policy will need to contain:

• protections available to whistleblowers, including protections under the Corporations Act;
• who can receive disclosures qualifying for protection under the Corporations Act (protected disclosures), and how they can be made;
• how the company will support whistleblowers and protect them from detriment;
• how the company will investigate protected disclosures;
• how the company will ensure fair treatment of employees who are mentioned in protected disclosures, or to whom such disclosures relate;
• how will the policy be made available to officers and employees; and
• any other matters prescribed by regulations

All companies should have a whistleblower policy to ensure good corporate governance.

A suite of policies and procedures can be used with Tickit On Demand Software to assist with organising and updating your policies.

Tickit On Demand – Your Ticket to Compliance.