Whistleblower Policy

Purpose

Ability Works Australia (AWA) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, ethical conduct, and good governance across all operations. This Whistleblower Policy supports that commitment by fostering a culture where concerns about misconduct or improper practices can be raised safely, responsibly, and without fear.

The purpose of this Whistleblower Policy is to identify wrongdoings and conduct not aligned with AWA policies and values and encourage individuals to disclose any such wrongdoings safely, securely and with conﬁdence that they will be protected and supported.

A whistleblower is someone with inside knowledge of an organisation who reports misconduct or dishonest or illegal activity that may have occurred within that organisation. AWA encourages individuals to disclose wrongdoings and speak up when something is not right.

AWA is committed to ensuring disclosures are dealt with on a timely basis, in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (the Act) and other regulatory obligations.

This Policy is important in helping identify wrongdoing that otherwise would not have been uncovered without the protections granted by the Act which are detailed below.

Scope

This Policy applies to individuals who are, or have been, any of the following in relation to Ability Works Australia:

Company employees and officers;

Suppliers of goods or services to the Company (for example, contractors and suppliers);

Employees of suppliers of goods or services to the Company;

The Company’s related bodies corporate (and their directors/secretaries) and any other associates of the Company; and

Any Relative or dependent of any of the persons listed above, or a dependant of the person’s spouse.

It is sufficient that a person has held one or more of the above statuses in the past even if they do not hold that status at the time of making a disclosure (for example, former employees, former suppliers).

The individuals listed above (collectively referred to as ‘eligible whistleblowers’) can make a disclosure which may qualify for protection under the Act.

Definitions

In this policy, the following deﬁnitions apply:

Detriment	Any damage arising from reprisal against a Whistleblower including, but not limited to: If the Whistleblower is an AWA employee: Dismissal Injury in his or her employment with AWA Alteration of duties to his or her disadvantage; or Discrimination between the Whistleblower and other AWA employees Harassment or intimidation Harm or injury (including psychological harm) Damage to property, reputation or business or ﬁnancial position; or Any other damage to a person.
Legislation	The Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the Tax Administration Act 1953 (Cth).
Personal Work-Related Grievance	A report or disclosure of information made by a person (Discloser): About any matter in relation to the Discloser’s employment, or former employment, having (or tending to have) personal implications for the Discloser; and The information: Does not have signiﬁcant implications for AWA that do not relate to the Discloser; and Does not concern Reportable Conduct, or alleged Reportable Conduct, as outlined in this policy.
Reasonable Grounds	A reasonable person in your position would also suspect the information indicates misconduct or a breach of the law.
Relevant Regulatory Body	The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and any other Commonwealth authority that is prescribed for the purposes of section 1317AA of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
Report	A report or disclosure of information by a Whistleblower about Reportable Conduct in accordance with this policy.
Reportable Conduct	Information concerning misconduct, an improper situation or circumstances in relation to AWA. This may include, but is not limited to, a report of information if the Whistleblower has reasonable grounds to suspect that AWA or an ofﬁcer or employee of AWA has engaged in conduct that: Constitutes an offence against, or a contravention of, a provision of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) or Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth) Constitutes 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 Australian ﬁnancial system, including conduct that poses signiﬁcant risk to public safety or the stability of, or conﬁdence in, the Australian ﬁnancial system, whether it is in breach of any law. Reportable Conduct may also mean information concerning misconduct, an improper situation or circumstances in relation to the tax affairs of AWA. In these circumstances, a Report of Reportable Conduct is covered by this policy if the Whistleblower considers the information may assist AWA to perform functions or duties in relation to their tax affairs. It may also, for example, be an allegation by an external party regarding their knowledge of illegal practices contravening the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) and directly impact our reporting requirements.
Whistleblower	An individual who makes or attempts to make a Report in accordance with this policy.
Wrongdoer	An individual who is deemed to have engaged in Reportable Conduct following an investigation undertaking in accordance with this policy.

A Disclosable Matter

An eligible whistleblower can make a disclosure relating to a ‘disclosable matter.’

To be a ‘disclosable matter’, you must have reasonable grounds to suspect that ‘disclosable conduct’, that is, misconduct (i.e. negligence, breach of trust, or breach of duty) or illegal conduct, has occurred.

Disclosable matters may also relate to issues of public safety but do not necessarily involve a breach of law. Disclosures which are not about a ‘disclosable matter’ do not qualify for protection under the Act.

Personal Work-Related Grievances

Disclosures that relate solely to personal work-related grievances and do not relate to detriment or threat of detriment to the discloser, do not qualify as a disclosable matter. Employees can raise personal work grievances via the Grievance Handling Policy.

False Reports

We strongly discourage deliberate false reporting. Any false reporting will be treated seriously and may be subject to reporting to appropriate authorities.

Who can a Protected Matter be disclosed to?

To be protected by Whistleblower Laws, the disclosure of a Protected Matter must be made to:

An officer or senior manager of the Company or its related bodies corporate;

An auditor or member of an audit team conducting an audit on the Company or its related bodies corporate;

An actuary of the Company or its related bodies corporate; and/or

The Whistleblowing Officer (Quality and Compliance Manager)

ASIC or APRA; or

A legal practitioner for the purposes of obtaining legal advice or representation in relation to Whistleblower Laws.

Generally, an “officer” includes a director or company secretary of the Company. A “senior manager” is a person who:

Makes, or participates in making, decisions that affect the whole, or a substantial part, of the business of the Company; or

has the capacity to significantly affect the Company’s financial standing.

Public Interest Disclosure

Disclosures can be made to a journalist or parliamentarian under certain circumstances and still qualify for protection, this is called a ‘public interest disclosure’. A public interest disclosure can be made where all the criteria below are met:

At least 90 days have passed since the eligible whistleblower made the disclosure to ASIC, ACNC or other Commonwealth body (prescribed by regulation),

The eligible whistleblower doesn’t have reasonable grounds to believe that action is being, or has been taken,

The eligible whistleblower has reasonable grounds to believe making another disclosure is in the public interest; and

Before making a public interest disclosure, the eligible whistleblower has given written notice to ASIC, ACNC or another Commonwealth body (prescribed by regulation) that identiﬁes their original disclosure, and outlines that they intend to make a public interest disclosure.

Emergency Disclosure

Disclosures can be made to a journalist or parliamentarian under certain circumstances and still qualify for protection, this is called an ‘emergency disclosure’. An emergency disclosure can be made where all the criteria below are met:

An eligible whistleblower has made the disclosure to ASIC, ACNC or another Commonwealth body (prescribed by regulation)

The eligible whistleblower has reasonable grounds to believe that the information concerns a substantial and imminent danger to the health and safety of one or more persons or the natural environment

Before making a public interest disclosure, the eligible whistleblower has given written notice to ASIC, ACNC or another Commonwealth body (prescribed by regulation) that identiﬁes their original disclosure, and outlines that they intend to make an emergency disclosure; and

The extent of the information disclosed is no greater than necessary to inform the journalist or parliamentarian of the substantial and imminent danger.

Before making a public interest or emergency disclosure it is important to ensure all the above criteria are met. It may be prudent to seek external legal advice prior to making this type of disclosure.

Protections

Disclosers who fulﬁl the criteria outlined in sections above will likely have certain legal protections available to them for both internal and external disclosures.

Protection of a Discloser’s Identity

AWA has a legal obligation to protect the conﬁdentiality of a discloser’s identity.

A person cannot disclose the identity of a discloser or information that is likely to lead to the identiﬁcation of the discloser unless a person discloses the identity of a discloser to:

ASIC, ACNC or a member of the Australia Federal Police

A lawyer (to obtain legal advice or legal representation)

A person or body prescribed by regulations; or

With the consent of the discloser.

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

The information doesn’t include the discloser’s identity

AWA has taken all reasonable steps to reduce the risk that the discloser will be identiﬁed from the information; and

It is reasonably necessary to investigate the issues mentioned in the disclosure.

It is illegal for a person to identify a discloser or disclose information that is likely to lead to the identiﬁcation of the discloser. If this has occurred, you can lodge a complaint for breach of conﬁdentiality via the AWA Disclosure Officer or with a regulator such as ASIC or ACNC for investigation.

Anonymity

Disclosures by a discloser who fulﬁls the criteria detailed in this Policy can make a disclosure anonymously and still be protected by the Act.

A discloser who makes a disclosure can choose to remain anonymous:

Whilst making a disclosure

Over the course of the investigation

After the investigation is ﬁnalised.

A discloser can refuse to answer any questions which could reveal their identity at any time.

If a disclosure is received from an email address where a person’s identity cannot be determined, it will be treated as an anonymous disclosure. Other mechanisms for protecting anonymity include adopting a pseudonym. AWA will only be able to investigate based on the information provided and subject to the limitations of ensuring the maintenance of identity protection.

Protection from detrimental acts or omissions

A person cannot engage in conduct that causes detriment to a discloser (or another person) in relation to a disclosure if:

The person believes or suspects that the discloser made, may have made, proposes to make or could make a valid disclosure; and

The belief or suspicion is the reason (whole or in part) for the conduct.

Threats, (whether express or implied) to cause detriment to a discloser (or another person) are not permitted.

Detrimental conduct which is prohibited under law includes:

Dismissal, injury to employment, alteration of position or duties

Discrimination

Harassment or intimidation

Harm or injury to a person, property or reputation

Damage to a person’s business or ﬁnancial position

Any other damage

Compensation and other remedies

A discloser (or any other worker or person) can seek compensation and other remedies through the courts if:

They suffer loss, damage or injury because of a disclosure

AWA failed to take reasonable precautions and exercise due diligence to prevent the detrimental conduct.

If a person wishes to proceed with seeking compensation and/or other remedies from the courts independent legal advice should be sought.

Civil, criminal and administrative liability protection

A discloser is protected from the below regarding their disclosure:

Civil liability -Such as legal action against a discloser for breach of an employment contract or duty of conﬁdentiality.

Criminal liability -Such as attempted prosecution of the discloser for unlawfully releasing information.

This does not include protections for making a false disclosure.

These protections do not grant immunity for misconduct by the discloser which is revealed throughout the disclosure procedure.

Support and practical protection for disclosures

AWA is committed to supporting disclosers and protecting disclosers from detriment throughout the disclosure process. AWA cannot disclose:

the identity of a discloser or

information that is likely to lead to the identiﬁcation of the discloser.

Outlined below are the measures adopted by AWA to support and protect disclosers from suffering detriment during the disclosure process.

Protecting the conﬁdentiality of a discloser’s identity

Receiving a disclosure

All personal information or reference to the discloser witnessing an event will be redacted.

The discloser will be referred with a pseudonym.

Where possible, the discloser will be contacted to help identify certain aspects of their disclosure that could inadvertently identify them.

Disclosures will be handled and investigated by qualiﬁed staff.

Record keeping

All paper and electronic documents and other materials relating to disclosures will be stored securely.

Access to all information relating to a disclosure will be limited to those directly involved in managing and investigating the disclosure.

Only a restricted number of people who are directly involved in handling and investigating a disclosure will be made aware of a discloser’s identity (subject to the disclosers consent) or information that is likely to lead to the identiﬁcation of the discloser.

Communication and documents relating to the investigation of a disclosure will not be sent to an email address or printed that can be accessed by other staff.

Each person who is involved in handling and investigating a disclosure will be reminded about the conﬁdentiality requirements.

Protection from detrimental acts or omissions

Detriment in the workplace

Assessing the risk of detriment against a discloser and other persons once a disclosure is received.

Actions to protect a discloser from potential detriment, such as allowing a discloser to perform their duties at a different location or reassigning a discloser to a different role at the same level.

Ensure that Disclosure Ofﬁcers are aware of the need to manage conflicts, ensure fairness and assess the risk of harm to the discloser.

A discloser can lodge a grievance with the AWA Disclosure Officer if they have suffered detriment.

Personal Wellbeing

In some instances, personal wellbeing services may be offered to a discloser, or those subject to detriment, including support services (such as counselling or psychology services) and/or strategies to help a discloser minimise and manage stress, time, performance impacts and other challenges resulting from a disclosure and subsequent investigation.

How to make a Disclosure

A Discloser may make a Disclosure by taking any of the following steps:

Submit a written complaint or report and any relevant documentation on the Disclosure to the Whistleblowing Officer by way of any of the following:
1. By email to whistleblower@abilityworks.com.au
2. By phone at 03 9853 7080.
3. By post to 1 Yarra Boulevard, Kew 3101. Please mark the envelope as “To the Whistleblowing Officer” to ensure it is only opened by the intended recipient; or
4. https://www.abilityworks.com.au/whistleblower/
If a Discloser has a concern with Step 1 (for example the Discloser reasonably believes that the Whistleblowing Officer is involved in the Protected Matters or the Discloser does not feel comfortable reporting it to the Whistleblowing Officer for any other reason), then the Discloser may submit a report directly to an officer or senior manager of the Company.
The Discloser may alternatively disclose the matters to any other person identified in the “Who can a Protected Matter be disclosed to” section (subject to the conditions outlined) above.

If the Discloser wishes to make a Disclosure anonymously, it is recommended that they provide a method by which two-way communication can be established (for example, an anonymised email address or mobile number).

Handling and Investigating a Disclosure

Receiving a disclosure

Upon receiving a disclosure, AWA will assess it to determine:

Whether the disclosure qualiﬁes for protection; and
Whether a formal, in-depth investigation is required.

When and why a disclosure will be investigated

Disclosures raised will be received and treated seriously and with the utmost sensitivity. All disclosures will be reviewed and, based on the nature of the disclosure and the evidence provided, a decision will be made as to whether the disclosure warrants an investigation.

We may not be able to undertake an investigation if we are unable to contact the discloser and/or if the discloser has refused to provide or has not provided a means of contacting them. In these circumstances, we may elect to conduct a broad review on the subject matter disclosed.

Investigation Process

For disclosures that qualify for protection, we will follow the investigation process below:

1.	Receive the disclosure	Disclosures will be received by the Disclosure Ofﬁcer
2.	Acknowledge the disclosure.	A Disclosure Ofﬁcer will acknowledge receipt of the disclosure within a reasonable timeframe.
3.	Assess the disclosure and address immediate risks.	A Disclosure Ofﬁcer will assess the disclosure and determine whether the disclosure warrants an investigation.
4.	Resolve the disclosure.	For disclosures that do not meet the criteria or do not warrant an investigation, the Disclosure Ofﬁcer will seek to resolve the disclosure directly with the discloser or redirect the disclosure (e.g., the Grievance Handling Policy may be more appropriate).
5.	Investigate or review the disclosure.	A third party or a Disclosure Ofﬁcer of AWA may be appointed to investigate. All AWA employees must cooperate fully with the investigation.
6.	Provide regular updates throughout the process.	The relevant Disclosure Ofﬁcer will provide regular updates to disclosers and to AWA regarding the investigation’s progress.
7.	Provide the ﬁnal outcome.	The ﬁndings of the investigation will be communicated appropriately to the discloser and involved parties.
8.	Close the investigation and record the outcome.	The relevant Disclosure Ofﬁcer will close out the investigation and maintain appropriate records
9.	Facilitate ongoing support for those involved.	Where appropriate, AWA will provide referrals to external professional services (e.g., psychology services).
10.	Continuous improvement.	The Disclosure Ofﬁcer may provide recommendations for improvement for future investigations.

Fair treatment of individuals mentioned in a Disclosure

We are committed to fair treatment of our employees who are mentioned in a disclosure that qualiﬁes for protections under the Act, including those who are subject of disclosure.

To ensure fair treatment of individuals mentioned in a disclosure:

Disclosures will be handled conﬁdentially.
Each disclosure will be assessed as to whether the conduct listed warrants an investigation. The investigation is conducted to determine whether there is sufﬁcient evidence to substantiate the claims made in the disclosure.
Investigations will be objective, fair and independent.
An employee will have the contents of the disclosure put to them as required by principles of procedural fairness and prior to any action being taken.
An employee who is subject of a disclosure may access personal wellbeing services outlined in the personal wellbeing section of this Policy.

Access to this Policy

AWA will communicate this policy to the Company employees and officers. This policy will be made available by the following means:

On implementation and amendment, the policy will be communicated to all employees and officers by way of update on AWA’s HRIS, website and AWA’s SharePoint intranet.
The policy will also be disclosed to employees on commencement of employment.

Breaches of this Policy

All employees and contractors of the Company are required to always comply with this policy as well as with Whistleblower Laws.

Non-compliance with this policy or Whistleblower Laws may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment or termination of a contractor’s services (with or without notice).

A person who deliberately makes a false report under this policy (for example, where the discloser knows the allegations are untrue) may be subject to disciplinary action.

Document Review

AWA will review the Privacy Policy bi-annually or when necessary due to significant business / legislative change.

Where the Whistleblower Policy is changed, AWA will publish the updated version on our website.

Relevant Legislation and Regulations

Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)

Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Cth)

Australian Privacy Principles

Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic)

Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)

Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistleblower Protections) Act 2019

Related Documents

The following internal documents are to be read in conjunction with this Policy:

Grievance Handling Policy

Document Approval

The Policy is approved by the Ability Works Australia Chief Executive Officer.

Approver	Philip Brookes
Title	Chief Executive Officer
Approval Date	14/05/2026
Review Cycle	Bi-Annual (2 yearly)

How can we help you?

Whistleblower Policy

Whistleblower Policy

Whistleblower Disclosure Form