Whistleblower Reporting Services

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Whistleblowers are a critical component in reporting fraud and misconduct in the workplace. They often provide pivotal evidence for a successful prosecution. Promoting a whistleblowing culture encourages transparency and integrity in the workplace, as well as protecting the value within the organisation.

Reform to whistleblower laws in Australia passed parliament in 2019 under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistleblower Protections) Bill 2017. These legislative changes mean publicly listed companies operating in Australia must now ensure they are compliant with whistleblowing legislation.

This is also an opportunity for all medium-to-large organisations with more than 50 employees to take a proactive approach in the way they protect, defend and respond to whistleblowers, and fraud and corruption more broadly within their organisations.

What should you consider?

  • Do you have a whistleblower policy and has this been communicated?
  • Do you have a process that enables anonymous reporting?
  • Are your processes adequate to respond to any report received and ensure adequate protection for whistleblowers?
  • Is your organisation able to adequately respond to any reports?

How BDO can help

Our experienced team works with clients to deliver a range of services:

  • Develop whistleblower policy and procedures
  • Review existing whistleblower policies and procedures
  • Provision of whistleblower reporting services through our BDO Secure service (see below)
  • Independent investigation of whistleblower reports.

BDO Secure 

The BDO Secure service is designed to provide a means for employees and stakeholders to report an allegation of misconduct at any time. All complaints are received and responded to by members of the BDO Forensic Services team, who are experienced in conducting investigations and interviewing witnesses.

Our service allows anonymous complaints to be made through the following confidential channels:

  • Online portal access via a BDO Secure webpage
  • A free-call 1300 telephone number
  • Email
  • Post.

The diagram below highlights the BDO Secure service from start to finish.

COMPLAINT

COMPLAINT 

  • The complaint is received by a qualified investigator
  • Confirmation - is the complaint anonymous?
  • If the matter is a verifiable complaint about a misconduct, we will proceed to the next step
DETAILS

DETAILS

  • Full allegation details are taken
  • Other sources - including who or what else might be of assistance - are identified
  • If this matter is not misconduct or HR related, we will not report the notification to the organisation unless specifically requested to
ACTIONS

ACTIONS

  • In urgent matters, e.g. threat to property or life, BDO will engage law enforcement on the organisation's behalf
  • If the matter is routine we will respond normally according to our terms and in a manner which maximises evidence collection and minimises loss to the organisation
  • Status will be advised to the nominated contact
REPORT

REPORT

  • The nominated contact person will receive a report within 48 hours
  • This includes advice on how to commence an investigation, as well as information on whistleblower protection
  • The report will contain sufficient information (where this can be obtained) to begin an investigation, and appropriate recommendations based on our experience with similar matters (where appropriate)
INVESTIGATIONS

INVESTIGATION

  • If the matter requires an investigation, we can provide an estimate to undertake the investigation
  • Based on our reported recommendations it may be appropriate to risk-manage the issue(s) without engaging us for an investigation
  • Our findings will help guide in this regard

Contact us

Contact our team to discuss your needs using the request for service form. Alternatively, call us on 1300 138 991 to speak with an adviser in your nearest BDO office.

Meet our team