ob体育 has welcomed the passing of the, approved by Parliament late on 19 February 2019. The reforms significantly聽improve the protections available for whistleblowers who report company misconduct.
The reforms:
- broaden聽the聽whistleblower definition聽to include both聽current and聽former employees, officers, and contractors, as well as their spouses and聽dependants, and anonymous disclosures;
- extend the protections聽to whistleblower聽reports聽that allege聽misconduct or聽an聽improper聽state of affairs or circumstances聽about any matter聽covered by聽financial sector law,聽as well聽as聽all聽Commonwealth聽offences punishable by imprisonment of聽12 months or more;
- create聽civil penalty provisions,聽in addition to the existing聽criminal聽offences, for聽causing聽detriment聽to聽(or聽victimising)聽a聽whistleblower and for breaches聽of confidentiality;
- provide protections for聽disclosures to journalists and parliamentarians in certain circumstances;
- provide whistleblowers聽with聽easier access to compensation and other remedies if they suffer聽loss; and
- require聽all聽public聽companies, large proprietary companies, and corporate trustees of聽registrable superannuation entities聽to have聽a聽whistleblower聽policy.聽
鈥楾hese reforms will help ob体育 to perform our important regulatory role by encouraging people who have observed misconduct to come forward. They聽complement the measures we have put in place since 2014 to improve our processes for assessing whistleblower reports and communicating with whistleblowers during our inquiries,鈥� said ob体育 Executive Director Warren Day.
ob体育鈥檚 Office of the Whistleblower will oversee the implementation of the reforms when they commence from 1 July 2019.
For further information on ob体育鈥檚 approach to whistleblowers under the current regime, see information sheet 52: Guidance for whistleblowers.