On 1 July 2019 the Federal Government amended the Corporations Act 2001 – Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistleblower Protections) 2019.

The amendment requires all:

•      Public, publicly listed, corporate trustees of APRA-regulated superannuation entities and large proprietary companies, and;

•      Charities or not-for-profits structured as public companies limited by guarantee, if their annual (consolidated) revenue is $1 million or more;

To have a Whistleblower Policy.

Penalties in relation to a failure to have a Whistleblower policy could incur a fine of $12,600.

The other changes to the legislation include the definition of an eligible whistleblower to include:

• Current and former employees;

• A supplier of services or goods (paid or unpaid) and their employees;

• An associate of the entity;

• A relative, dependent or spouse of a current or former employee, contractor, consultant, service provider, supplier and business partner.

If the entity is a superannuation entity, an eligible whistleblower can include:

• A trustee, custodian or investment manager including their employees;

• A supplier of services or goods to the trustee, custodian or investment manager (paid or unpaid) including their employees;

• An officer, employee or supplier of goods and services (paid or unpaid) or their employees of a body corporate that is a trustee, custodian or investment manager of a superannuation entity; or

• A relative, dependent or spouse of a trustee, custodian or investment manager including their employees.

There are now harsh consequences for breaching the confidentiality or victimising or threatening a whistleblower.

We have been helping organisations establish whistleblower services for many years and are regarded as subject matter experts in the field.

Stopline also conduct training on whistleblower requirements so that organisations understand their obligations in relation to the new amendments to the acts, know what to do when a whistleblower disclosure is received and how to investigate the allegations.

Our training has moved to an online platform due to the current pandemic, to ensure that our participants are safe, but can still continue their professional development. 

For more information on whistleblowing, if you would like assistance with establishing a whistleblower service, or attend our training on whistleblower requirements and investigations, please don’t hesitate to contact Stopline to discuss your specific requirements.