Whistleblowing is a key part of a transparent, accountable, and safe work culture. Whistleblowers need to know that they can raise an issue when they have reasonable grounds to suspect misconduct or an improper state of affairs involving a firm.

All companies in Australia must comply with the whistleblower protection provisions in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), which provides protections for corporate sector whistleblowers to encourage them to come forward with their concerns.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) recently announced that they have published a report to help entities improve their whistleblower policies and procedures, and encourage people to speak up.

Good practices for handling whistleblower disclosures

The Good practices for handling whistleblower disclosures report (“the report”) sets out the good practices ASIC observed from its review of seven entities’ whistleblower programs from a cross-section of industries.

ASIC identified that firms with stronger programs:

• Established a strong foundation for the program.
• Fostered a culture and practices to support whistleblowers.
• Informed and trained those involved in receiving or handling disclosures about protecting whistleblowers and treating material confidentially.
• Monitored, reviewed, and improved the program.
• Used information from disclosures to address underlying harms and improve company performance.
• Embedded senior executive accountability for the program.
• Created frameworks to...

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