{"id":1975,"date":"2019-12-05T14:40:58","date_gmt":"2019-12-05T03:40:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/insight.thomsonreuters.com.au\/?post_type=insight_resource&#038;p=1975"},"modified":"2020-05-30T09:32:57","modified_gmt":"2020-05-30T09:32:57","slug":"meet-the-whistleblower-policy-deadline-with-practical-laws-quick-guide","status":"publish","type":"insight_resource","link":"https:\/\/insight.thomsonreuters.com.au\/legal\/resources\/resource\/meet-the-whistleblower-policy-deadline-with-practical-laws-quick-guide","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Whistleblower Policy Deadline with Practical Law&#8217;s Quick Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Earlier this year, the Federal Parliament passed the <em>Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistleblower Protections) Act 2019<\/em>, which significantly strengthened and broadened the existing whistleblower regime found in the <em>Corporations Act<\/em>. In addition, it introduced a new whistleblower regime into the <em>Taxation Administration Act<\/em>, which previously had no whistleblower protections.  The new law came into force on <strong>1 July 2019<\/strong>. <\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Whistleblowing systems form part of a company\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/insight.thomsonreuters.com.au\/resources\/resource\/guide-to-the-new-asx-corporate-governance-principles-and-recommendations-what-has-changed\">corporate governance<\/a> and risk management profile, so <a href=\"http:\/\/insight.thomsonreuters.com.au\/resources\/resource\/webinar-corporate-compliance-in-the-whistleblowing-era\">compliance with the new laws<\/a> is a top priority and an area of key concern for many boards and general counsel\/in-house legal teams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are the key features of the new whistleblower regimes?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Broadly, the whistleblower\nregimes under the Corporations Act and the Taxation Administration Act provide\na range of statutory protections to whistleblowers (and others), where a\ndisclosure of corporate wrongdoing or misconduct:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>has\nbeen made, <\/li><li>could\nbe made, or <\/li><li>is\nsuspected to have been made. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To be protected, the disclosure\nmust:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>be\nmade by an eligible whistleblower, <\/li><li>be\nmade to certain recipients prescribed by the legislation, and <\/li><li>relate\nto certain matters prescribed by the legislation.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The type of protections available\ninclude:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Strict\nobligations around the protection of a whistleblower\u2019s identity.<\/li><li>Protections\nfor a whistleblower from detrimental conduct (often referred to as\nvictimisation or retaliation) because a person believes that a qualifying disclosure\nhas been made, may be made, or could be made.<\/li><li>A\nnumber of legal immunities for a whistleblower.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New penalties<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Contravening the whistleblower\nregimes can result in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Significant criminal penalties in criminal prosecutions commenced by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), or the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions, including imprisonment.<\/li><li>Significant civil penalties in civil prosecutions commenced by the ASIC (up to $1.05 million for an individual, and $10.5 million for a corporation).<\/li><li>Exposure to un-capped compensation, and other remedial orders deemed appropriate, in civil liability proceedings commenced by a whistleblower, or another person who suffers detriment because a disclosure has been made.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Whistleblower policy deadline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The amendments to the\nCorporations Act include a mandatory requirement for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Public\ncompanies,<\/li><li>Large\nproprietary companies, and<\/li><li>Proprietary\ncompanies that are the trustee of a registerable superannuation entity,<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>to have a whistleblower policy\nthat meets prescribed requirements set out in the Corporations Act, and to make\nthat policy available to every officer and employee of the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To be compliant, a whistleblower\npolicy will need to address the requirements of the new legislation, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Protections\navailable to whistleblowers.<\/li><li>To\nwhom, and how, a whistleblower can make a protected disclosure.<\/li><li>How\nthe company will support whistleblowers.<\/li><li>How\nthe company will investigate protected disclosures.<\/li><li>How\nthe company will ensure fair treatment of employees mentioned in protected\ndisclosures.<\/li><li>How\nthe policy will be made available to officers and employees.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The deadline to have a compliant\npolicy in place \u2013 which is fast approaching \u2013 is <strong>1 January 2020<\/strong>. Failure to adopt a compliant policy is a strict\nliability offence under section 1317AI of the Corporations Act. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>For guidance on the new requirements of a whistleblower policy, simply fill in the form on this page to download Practical Law\u2019s &#8220;Quick guide to whistleblower polices&#8221;, part of a comprehensive suite of materials created by <a href=\"https:\/\/legal.thomsonreuters.com.au\/products\/practical-law\/\">Practical Law<\/a> Employment and Practical Law Corporate to help companies and their advisers to navigate the new whistleblower regimes.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whistleblowing systems form part of a company\u2019s corporate governance and risk management profile, so compliance with the new laws is a top priority and an area of key concern.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":1977,"template":"","categories":[1323,647,648,625],"tags":[45,156,218,522,546,548],"resource_type":[596],"insight_job_role":[595,597,598,619,628],"insight_practice_area":[579,582,586,590],"class_list":["entry","author-practicallawwritingteam","has-excerpt","post-1975","insight_resource","type-insight_resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","category-knowledge-solution","category-legal-research","category-legislation-and-case-law","category-research-and-know-how","tag-asic","tag-corporations-act","tag-enhancing-whistleblower-protections","tag-treasury-laws-amendment","tag-whistleblower","tag-whistleblowing","resource_type-guide","insight_job_role-general-counsel","insight_job_role-hr-ir-professional","insight_job_role-in-house-lawyer","insight_job_role-practice-manager","insight_job_role-solicitor","insight_practice_area-commercial-law","insight_practice_area-company-law","insight_practice_area-dispute-resolution","insight_practice_area-employment-law","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - 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