With the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) set to intensify its regulatory focus on whistleblowing, now more than ever, it is crucial that organisations continue to undertake careful reviews of their whistleblower program to ensure they are compliant.
What are the key elements of an effective whistleblower program, and what should executives and directors keep in mind as they evaluate their organisation’s management of whistleblower issues?
Since 2019, there has been a mandated whistleblower regime under Pt 9.4AAA of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act). All companies regulated by ASIC are required to comply with the whistleblower protections, and public companies, large proprietary companies and trustees of registrable superannuation entities are expressly required to have a whistleblower policy that meets statutory criteria. ASX-listed entities should also publish their whistleblower policy and meet the governance requirements set out in the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations.
As a matter of good corporate governance, all companies subject to the whistleblower laws should ensure that their board is informed of any material incidents reported under their whistleblower policy and periodically receives sufficient information to form a view about the effectiveness of the company’s whistleblower program.
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