Whistleblowers play a significant role in identifying inappropriate conduct which can harm consumers and the community. A whistleblower protection regime has been introduced under Part 9.4AAA of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) which encourages whistleblowers to report misconduct without being subject to detrimental conduct. The prohibition on detrimental conduct includes matters such as dismissal of an employee, alteration of an employee’s position, injury of an employee in their employment (including psychological), discrimination or damage to the individual’s reputation or property etc.
The whistleblower protection regime requires public companies, large proprietary companies and corporate trustees of APRA-regulated superannuation entities to have a whistleblower policy in place from 1 January 2020.
Whistleblower policies aim to provide better protections for individuals who disclose misconduct, improve whistleblowing culture of companies, deter wrong-doing and promote compliance with the law.
Significant penalties apply for contraventions of the Corporations Act such as:
- For individuals $1.05 million or three times the benefit derived/detriment avoided; and
- For companies $10.5 million or 10% of the annual turnover
If your company requires a whistleblower policy, please contact us for further information.
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