1. /
  2. About us /
  3. Policies, plans and strategies /
  4. Policies /
  5. Whistleblower Policy
Policies

Whistleblower Policy

This policy empowers Burnet representatives to report alleged or suspected wrongful acts.

Document No

Original Issue

RISK_POL_8

08/2017
Authorised By

RISK_POL_8

Board
Last Review

RISK_POL_8

06/2026
Next Review

RISK_POL_8

06/2029

This policy is also available as a downloadable PDF.

Purpose

Australia’s Whistleblower Protection Regime provides certain protections for eligible whistleblowers.

The purpose of this Policy is:

  1. to set out the scope of, and protections available under, the Whistleblower Protection Regime and how disclosures may be made by eligible whistleblowers and handled by Burnet;

  2. ensure that individuals who disclose wrongdoing can do so safely, securely and with confidence that they will be protected and supported;

  3. ensure disclosures are dealt with appropriately and on a timely basis; and

  4. provide transparency around Burnet's framework for receiving, handling and investigating disclosures.

Disclosures under this Policy are an important part of Burnet's risk management and corporate governance framework.  This Policy is a practical tool for helping Burnet to identify wrongdoing that may not otherwise be uncovered or disclosed.  It is important that all individuals, whether or not employees of Burnet, who are aware of wrongdoing should have the confidence to speak up.

This Policy is not intended to go beyond the legislation.  This policy is not a term of any contract, including any contract of employment and does not impose any contractual duties, implied or otherwise, on Burnet.

Definitions

Detriment

includes:

  1. dismissal of an employee;
  2. injury of an employee in their employment;
  3. alteration of an employee’s position or duties to their disadvantage;
  4. discrimination between an employee and other employees;
  5. harassment or intimidation of a person;
  6. harm or injury to a person, including psychological harm;
  7. damaging a person’s property, reputation, business or financial position; and
  8. any other damage to a person.

Eligible whistleblowers

A person is an eligible whistleblower for the purposes of this Policy if they are or have previously been:

  1. an Officer of Burnet;
  2. an employee of Burnet (including without limitation a part time, fixed term or temporary employee);
  3. a person who supplies goods or services to Burnet (whether paid or unpaid), and employees of those suppliers;
  4. an individual who is an associate of Burnet; or
  5. a relative, dependant or a dependant of the spouse of any individual referred to in paragraphs (a) to (d) above.

Eligible Recipient

As defined in section 4.1 of this Policy

Misconduct

includes fraud, negligence, default, breach of trust and breach of duty

Officer

Means:

  1. a director or secretary of Burnet;
  2. a person who makes or participates in making decisions that affect the whole or a substantial part of the business of Burnet;
  3. a person who has the capacity to significantly affect Burnet's financial standing; or
  4. a person in accordance with whose instructions or wishes the directors of Burnet are accustomed to act.

Whistleblower Protection Regime

The Whistleblower Protection regime as set out in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the Tax Administration Act 1953 (Cth))

3.1 Protected disclosures

Eligible whistleblowers are afforded protections under the Whistleblower Protection Regime if the following conditions are met:

  1. the disclosure is made to any of the following:

    1. an Eligible Recipient;

    2. an independent legal practitioner (not employed by Burnet) for the purpose of obtaining legal advice or legal representation in relation to the operation of the protections available under the Whistleblower Protection Regime;

    3. ASIC or APRA or a prescribed Commonwealth authority; or

    4. the Commissioner of Taxation or a registered tax or BAS agent who provides tax agent or BAS services to Burnet; and

  2. the discloser has reasonable grounds to suspect that the information:

    1. concerns Misconduct or an improper state of affairs or circumstances in relation to Burnet; or

    2. indicates that Burnet or any employee or officer of Burnet has engaged in conduct that constitutes and offence against, or a contravention of, a provision of specified legislation (including the Corporations Act) an offence against any other law of the Commonwealth, that is punishable by imprisonment for a period of 12 months or more or represents a danger to the public or the financial system.

  1. the disclosure is made to an eligible recipient in accordance with this Policy.

3.2 Examples of disclosures that may be protected disclosures under this Policy

Examples include:

  1. illegal conduct, such as theft, dealing in, or use of illicit drugs, violence or threatened violence, and criminal damage against property;
  2. fraud, money laundering or misappropriation of funds;
  3. offering or accepting a bribe;

  1. financial irregularities;

  2. failure to comply with, or breach of, legal or regulatory requirements;

  3. victimization – see section 7.4;

  4. a breach of a legal obligation by Burnet;

  5. conduct which poses danger to the health and safety of an individual;

  6. any systemic issue that the relevant regulator should know about to properly perform its functions;

  7. conduct that relates to dishonest or unethical behaviour and practices;

  8. conduct prohibited by Burnet's code of conduct; or

  9. information that indicates a significant risk to public safety or the stability of, or confidence in, the financial system.

A disclosure does not qualify for protection under the Whistleblower Protection Regime to the extent that the information disclosed:

  1. concerns a personal work-related grievance of the eligible whistleblower; and
  2. does not concern a contravention, or an alleged contravention, of the prohibition of victimisation under the Whistleblower Protection Regime as set out in section 7.4 of this Policy.

A disclosure is a personal work-related grievance if:

  1. the information concerns a grievance about any matter in relation to an eligible whistleblower's employment, or former employment, having (or tending to have) implications for the eligible whistleblower personally; and
  2. the information does not concern conduct, or alleged conduct, referred to in paragraph 3.1 under the heading “Protected Disclosures” above.

Examples of personal work-related grievances include:

  1. an interpersonal conflict between the discloser and another employee; and
  2. decisions that do not involve a breach of workplace laws:

    1. about the engagement, transfer or promotion of the discloser;

    2. about the terms and conditions of engagement of the discloser; or

    3. to suspend or terminate the engagement of the discloser, or otherwise to discipline the discloser.

Who can receive a disclosure

4.1 Eligible recipients

For protections under the Whistleblower Protection Regime to apply, a disclosure must be made directly to an 'eligible recipient', regardless of whether the eligible whistleblower or the recipient recognizes that the disclosure qualifies for protection at that time.

Burnet encourages disclosures be made internally to the persons referred to below (Authorised Recipient) to the Company's General Counsel or Company Secretary: email ask.legal@burnet.edu.au 

4.2 Alternative recipients

If an eligible whistleblower does not feel comfortable raising their disclosure with an Authorised Recipient, they could also raise it with any of the following:

  1. an officer or senior manager of the Company or a related body corporate. For these purposes, a senior manager includes the CEO or the CFO or equivalent roles;
  2. the internal or external auditors of the Company (including a member of the audit team conducting the audit); or
  3. via Integrity Line, an independent external reporting service, as follows:

4.3 Alternative recipients to pass information on

Any person who receives information from a potential eligible whistleblower pursuant to this Policy must provide the information to the Company’s General Counsel as soon as practicable, removing any information which identifies or may identify the potential eligible whistleblower prior to doing so (unless the potential eligible whistleblower has provided their consent to their identity being provided).

How disclosures may be made

5.1 Generally

Burnet is committed to identifying and addressing wrongdoing as early as possible.  Where an eligible whistleblower is aware of or suspects misconduct or an inappropriate state of affairs, the eligible whistleblower is encouraged to disclose that information to an eligible recipient as soon as reasonably practicable.

5.2 Anonymous disclosure

Disclosures may be made anonymously or on a confidential basis by eligible whistleblowers including through anonymous telephone lines and anonymised email addresses.  They can refuse to answer questions that they feel could reveal their identity during follow-up conversations.  A discloser may choose to adopt a pseudonym for the purposes of disclosure and not use their true name. However, eligible whistleblowers are encouraged to consent in writing to have their identity disclosed as this will assist in a more effective investigation of the matter and will enable Burnet to keep the eligible whistleblower informed of the progress of the investigation.

At the least, anonymous disclosers should maintain two-way communication with their Authorised Recipient so Burnet can ask follow-up questions or provide feedback. 

5.3 Integrity Line

Disclosures can be made via Integrity Line, an independent external reporting service, as follows:

Handling and investigation of disclosures

6.1 Handling a disclosure

Where a disclosure is made under this Policy, Burnet will as soon as reasonably practicable make preliminary enquiries to decide whether it falls within the Policy and whether a formal in-depth and full investigation is required.  If it is determined that an investigation is required, then, depending on the nature of the matter, a disclosure will be either investigated internally or referred externally for investigation.

6.2 Investigating a disclosure

The Company’s General Counsel will be responsible for handling and investigating a disclosure, or if appropriate, appointing an investigator with no personal interest in the matter to investigate the matters disclosed.  Burnet will determine:

  • the nature and scope of the investigation;
  • the persons within and/or outside Burnet that should lead the investigation;
  • the nature of any technical, financial or legal advice that may be required to support the investigation; and
  • the timeframe for the investigation.

6.3 Keeping a discloser informed

Burnet will aim to keep the eligible whistleblower regularly updated and informed of the progress of the investigation. However, due to obligations of confidentiality, Burnet may be prohibited from providing details of the investigation or any disciplinary action taken as a result of an investigation. In addition, the frequency and timeframe may vary depending on the nature of the disclosure.

Protections available to eligible whistleblowers

7.1 Support and Workplace Rights

Burnet will support eligible whistleblowers who disclose matters on a bona fide basis.

Specific protections are available to eligible whistleblowers for disclosures which qualify for protection under the Whistleblower Protection Regime.

Disclosures that qualify for protection under the Whistleblower Protection Regime may also amount to the exercise of a workplace right.  Burnet and its employees are prohibited under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) from taking adverse action against employees or contractors because they exercised or proposed to exercise any workplace rights.

7.2 Confidentiality of Identity

For disclosures which qualify for protection under the Whistleblower Protection Regime, strict confidentiality obligations apply.

The identity or any information that may lead to the identification of an eligible whistleblower must be kept confidential unless one of the following exceptions apply:

  1. the eligible whistleblower has consented to the disclosure of their identity;
  2. the eligible whistleblower's identity is not disclosed but disclosure of information that is likely to lead to the identification of the eligible whistleblower is reasonably necessary for the purposes of investigating a matter; or
  3. the disclosure is made to:

    1. a member of the Australian Federal Police;

    2. ASIC or APRA (in relation to disclosures which qualify for protection under the Corporations Act);

    3. the Commissioner of Taxation (in relation to disclosures which qualify for protection under the Tax Act);

    4. a legal practitioner for the purpose of obtaining legal advice or legal representation in relation to the operation of the protections under the Corporations Act; or

    5. a body prescribed by the relevant regulations.

It is illegal for a person to identify a discloser or disclose information that is likely to lead to the identification of the disclosure, outside the exceptions in (a) – (c) above or the following paragraph.

A person can disclose the information in a disclosure with or without the discloser's consent if:

  1. the information does not disclose the discloser's identify;
  2. the entity has taken all reasonable steps to reduce the risk that the discloser will be identified from the information; and
  3. it is reasonably necessary for investigating the issues raised in the disclosure.

If a discloser has concerns about a breach of confidentiality they can lodge a complaint with Burnet by contacting an eligible recipient in accordance with clause 4 of this Policy.

A discloser may also lodge a complaint with a regulator, such as ASIC, APRA or the ATO, for investigation.

7.3 Protection against victimisation

For disclosures which qualify for protection under the Whistleblower Protection Regime, it is unlawful for a person to:

  1. engage in conduct that causes any detriment to an eligible whistleblower or another person because the person engaging in the conduct believes or suspects that the eligible whistleblower or another person made, may have made, proposes to make, or could make, a protected disclosure under the Whistleblower Protection Regime; or
  2. make a threat (whether express or implied, conditional or unconditional, intentional or reckless) to cause any detriment to an eligible whistleblower or another person because the whistleblower or another person has made, or may make, a protected disclosure.

Any person involved in the contravention may be found liable.

Additional categories of disclosure

8.1 Public interest disclosures

There is an additional category of disclosures called 'public interest disclosures' that qualify for protection.  These can be made to journalists and members of Parliament, but only if the eligible whistleblower complies with the following strict requirements:

  1. the eligible whistleblower must have first made a qualifying disclosure to ASIC, APRA, or a prescribed Commonwealth authority;
  2. at least 90 days has passed since the qualifying disclosure was made;
  3. the eligible whistleblower does not have reasonable grounds to believe that action is being, or has been, taken to address the matters to which the qualifying disclosure related;
  4. the eligible whistleblower has reasonable grounds to believe that making a public interest disclosure would be in the public interest;
  5. after 90 days has passed, the eligible whistleblower must give the body to which the qualifying disclosure was originally made, a written notification that:

    1. includes sufficient information to identify the qualifying disclosure; and

    2. states that the eligible whistleblower intends to make a public interest disclosure; and

  6. the extent of the information disclosed in the public interest disclosure is no greater than to inform the journalist or member of Parliament of the misconduct or improper state of affairs or circumstances, or other conduct falling within the scope of the Whistleblower Protection Regime. 

8.2 Emergency disclosures

There is an additional category of disclosures called 'emergency disclosures' that qualify for protection.  These can be made to journalists and members of Parliament, but only if the eligible whistleblower complies with the following strict requirements:

  1. the eligible whistleblower must have first made a qualifying disclosure to ASIC, APRA or a prescribed Commonwealth authority;
  2. the eligible whistleblower has reasonable grounds to believe that information concerns a substantial and imminent danger to the health or safety of one or more persons or to the natural environment;
  3. the eligible whistleblower gave notice to the body to which the qualifying disclosure was made that states:

    1. that they intend to make an emergency disclosure; and

    2. includes sufficient information to identify the qualifying disclosure; and

  4. the extent of the information disclosed in the emergency disclosure is no greater than is necessary to inform the journalist or member of Parliament of the substantial and imminent danger. 

Before making a public interest or emergency disclosure, it is important that an eligible whistleblower understands the criteria for protection under the relevant legislation.  Eligible whistleblowers should obtain independent legal advice prior to making any disclosure.

Vexatious and deliberately false disclosures

The protections available under the Whistleblower Protection Regime will not extend to deliberately false or vexatious disclosures or complaints. 

Burnet may take disciplinary action (including termination of employment) against any person makes a deliberately false or vexatious disclosure or complaint. 

Documenting and reporting the findings of an investigation

Burnet will report findings of all investigation to the Finance, Audit, Risk and Investments Committee. The manner and level of detail of reporting of an investigation will be determined having regard to the nature, sensitivity and confidentiality of the disclosure – but may include a summary report of the findings. 

Consequences for breach of this Policy

Breach of this Policy may be regarded as misconduct and may lead to disciplinary action (including termination of employment).

Review of this policy

This Policy will be reviewed as required from time to time to ensure it remains consistent with Burnet’s risk management framework.

On this page