Whistleblowing policy

The purpose of this policy is to:

• Provide a clear framework within which Eligible Whistleblowers can confidently disclose information relating to any Disclosable Matters or suspected Disclosable Matters without fear of Detriment.
• Outline how St John of God Health Care will respond to and investigate disclosures of Disclosable Matters or suspected Disclosable Matters
• Describe St John of God Health Care's obligations in complying with the whistleblower protection provisions in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (“Corporations Act”) and the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth).
• Contribute to the St John of God Health Care's Strategic enabler of Strengthening Our Culture.

• St John of God Health Care Inc and any related body corporate
• caregivers
• supplier of services or goods (“Contractors”) or an employee of a supplier
• visiting medical officers
• student or volunteers
• diocesan Catholic chaplains or representative of other faiths
• trustees
• board members
• officers
• associates
• other health practitioner, accredited or contracted, who provides care or services to patients, clients and caregivers of St John of God Health Care relatives, dependents or spouses of an individual listed above.

Whistleblowing

St John of God Health Care is committed to fostering a strong culture of honest and ethical conduct and behaviour, legislative compliance and excellent corporate governance, in line with its Vision, Mission and Values.

The purpose of whistleblowing is to eradicate unethical behaviour in the workplace. A key component to workplace ethics and behaviour is integrity or being honest and doing the right thing at all times. St John of God Health Care encourages individuals who have dealings with St John of God Health Care to raise concerns when they have reasonable grounds to suspect conduct or behaviour relating to misconduct or an improper state of affairs or circumstances (a “Disclosable Matter”).

This policy provides protections to Eligible Whistleblowers who make a Protected Disclosure in accordance with the Corporations Act, including confidentiality (protection of their identity) and protection from Detriment.

Making a disclosure

1. To be eligible for protection, a disclosure must be:

• made by an Eligible Whistleblower
• made to an Eligible Recipient
• the Eligible Whistleblower must have reasonable grounds to suspect the information concerns a Disclosable Matter in relation to St John of God Health Care. 

2. An Eligible Whistleblower can make a Protected Disclosure to an Eligible Recipient by email, telephone, letter, in-person or via the Your Call online portal.

3. The contact details for internal Eligible Recipients are available on CORA.  Individuals who do not have contact details for an internal Eligible Recipient are encouraged to use St John of God Health Care’s independent third party provider, Your Call.

St John of God Health Care’s response to disclosures

1. St John of God Health Care will:

• a. Appoint an appropriately qualified and independent senior caregiver to the position of Protected Disclosure Officer.
• b. Appoint an appropriately qualified and independent senior caregiver to the position of Whistleblower Protection Officer.
• c. Appoint an appropriately qualified and independent person to the position of Investigation Officer.
• d. Not appoint the positions of Investigation Officer and Protected Disclosure Officer to the same person. The Protected Disclosure Officer and Investigation Officer must operate and be seen to operate independently of each other and must act in such a way they discharge the two separate functions independently of each other.  The Investigation Officer and Protected Disclosure Officer will also be independent from the Eligible Whistleblower and the other parties involved in the disclosure of Disclosable Matters received.
• e. Assess whether the disclosure is a Protected Disclosure and advise the individual.
• f. Assess any Protected Disclosure and decide on whether an investigation is required or an alternative response is suitable in the circumstances.
• g. Aim to conduct investigations in a timely manner, noting that the scope and timeframe for any investigation undertaken may differ depending on the information that has been disclosed.
• h. Seek to provide the individual with updates where appropriate (and where contact details have been provided) and subject to any legal and confidentiality constraints.
• i. Follow the processes and procedures set out in GO GRC0004 0001 Whistleblowing Roles and Responsibilities Procedure.
• j. Not tolerate any actions by others that attempt to prevent or stop an Eligible Whistleblower from making a Protected Disclosure.
• k. Take reasonable steps to enable an Eligible Whistleblower to make a Protected Disclosure without fear of Detriment.
• l. make this policy accessible on the St John of God Health Care external website; CORA and the St John of God Health Care policy library. 

2. Individuals must: 

• a. Cooperate fully with any investigations undertaken under this policy.
  b. Act consistently with St John of God Health Care’s values in making a Protected Disclosure (eg not act maliciously, vexatiously or make disclosures they know are untrue).

Protections for eligible whistleblowers

1. The following protections are available to Eligible Whistleblowers under the Corporations Act:

• a. identity protection (confidentiality)
• b. protection from Detriment
• c. protection from some types of liability
• d. compensation and other remedies.

2. These protections apply to Protected Disclosures that are made to an Eligible Recipient in accordance with the Corporations Act.

Confidentiality and anonymity

1. An Eligible Whistleblower may:

• a. Make a Protected Disclosure on an anonymous basis and still receive the protections provided under the Corporations Act.
• b. Choose to remain anonymous while making a Protected Disclosure, over the course of the investigation and after the investigation is finalised.
• c. Refuse to answer any questions that they feel could reveal their identity.

2. St John of God Health Care encourages an ongoing two-way communication to allow for follow-up questions and to enable St John of God Health Care to provide feedback or updates throughout the process to the extent appropriate in the circumstances.

3. On receipt of a Protected Disclosure, St John of God Health Care will seek the Eligible Whistleblower’s consent to disclose their identity.

• a. If consent is given, the information provided will be used to the extent reasonably necessary to investigate the disclosure, and to maintain governance over the Disclosable Matter.
• b. If consent is not given and the Eligible Whistleblower requests to remain anonymous, St John of God Health Care may be limited in its ability to respond to and investigate the Protected Disclosure. The Protected Disclosure may still be referred to the Investigation Officer for investigation, but the Investigation Officer will take all reasonable steps to reduce the risk that the Eligible Whistleblower is identified as a result of the investigation.

4. St John of God Health Care will take steps to protect confidentiality, including but not limited to:

• a. Where appropriate, redacting personal information from documents and referring to the Eligible Whistleblower in gender-neutral terms.
• b. Securely storing information relating to a Protected Disclosure and any corresponding communications or investigation reports, including only sending related materials to secure printers.
• c. Where consent has been given to disclose the Eligible Whistleblower’s identity, continuing to limit this disclosure to those reasonably required to know.
• d. Reminding each person who is involved in handling or investigating a Protected Disclosure about the confidentiality requirements, including that an unauthorised disclosure of identity may be a criminal offence.

5. St John of God Health Care may disclose an Eligible Whistleblower’s identity, or information that is likely to lead to the identification of the Eligible Whistleblower, in the following circumstances:

• a. Where the disclosure is made to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (“ASIC”), the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (“APRA”) or a member of the Australian Federal Police.
• b. Where the disclosure is made to a legal practitioner for the purpose of obtaining legal advice or legal representation.
• c. Where the disclosure is required or permitted by law.
• d. With the consent of the Eligible Whistleblower.

6. St John of God Health Care may need to disclose information which is likely to lead to the Eligible Whistleblower’s identification, without directly disclosing the Eligible Whistleblower’s identity. This information may be disclosed in the following circumstances:

• a. Where such information is reasonably necessary for the purposes of investigating a Disclosable Matter.
• b. Where all reasonable steps are taken to reduce the risk that the Eligible Whistleblower will be identified.

7. If an Eligible Whistleblower believes a breach of confidentiality has taken place, they may lodge a complaint with an Eligible Recipient.

8. A person who breaches the confidentiality protections afforded to an Eligible Whistleblower may be subject to serious consequences, including disciplinary action / termination of engagement and / or civil and criminal penalties.

Detriment

1. St John of God Health Care does not allow any form of Detriment to be taken against, or threatened to be taken against an individual because of a belief or suspicion that they (or someone else) have made, may have made, proposes to make, or could make, a disclosure that qualifies for protection.  This protection also applies to persons conducting, assisting or participating in an investigation into a Protected Disclosure.

2. St John of God Health Care may take steps to protect an Eligible Whistleblower (or other individual) from Detriment. What is appropriate in the circumstances will vary, but may include:

• a. Assessing the risk of Detriment.
• b. Making available support services (eg the Employee Assistance Program).
• c. Assisting with strategies to help minimise and manage stress, time or performance impacts, or other challenges resulting from the disclosure.
• d. ensuring that St John of God Health Care’s management are aware of their responsibilities to maintain confidentiality.
• e. modification of work rosters or responsibilities.
• f. offering a leave of absence.

Protection from some types of liability

1. An Eligible Whistleblower may also be entitled to protections from other types of liability in certain circumstances, including:

• a. Protection from civil liability (eg any legal action against the Eligible Whistleblower for breach of an employment contract, duty of confidentiality or another contractual obligation) related to making the Protected Disclosure.
• b. Protection from criminal liability (eg attempted prosecution of the Eligible Whistleblower for unlawfully releasing information, except for making a false disclosure) related to making the Protected Disclosure.
• c. Protection from administrative liability (eg disciplinary action) related to making the Protected Disclosure.
• d. Protection from contractual or other remedies being sought on the basis that the Eligible Whistleblower made a Protected Disclosure.
• e. The information provided may be inadmissible in evidence against the Eligible Whistleblower in legal proceedings, unless the information provided was false.

2. An Eligible Whistleblower is not granted immunity for any misconduct engaged in that is revealed as a result of the Protected Disclosure, or the investigation of the Protected Disclosure.

Compensation and other remedies

1. An Eligible Whistleblower (or any other individual) may be able to seek compensation or another remedy through the courts if:

• a. They suffer loss, damage or injury because of a Protected Disclosure.
• b. St John of God Health Care failed to take reasonable precautions and exercise due diligence to prevent the Detriment. 

2. An individual may wish to seek independent legal advice if they believe they have suffered Detriment.

Fair treatment of persons the subject of a protected disclosure

1. A person who is the subject of a Protected Disclosure:

• a. Will be treated fairly and objectively.
• b. May be advised about the subject matter of the Protected Disclosure as and when required by principles of natural justice and procedural fairness and prior to any actions being taken.  The appropriate timing of informing the person is at the discretion of St John of God Health Care.
• c. May contact St John of God Health Care’s employee assistance provider.

2. St John of God Health Care will keep confidential the identity of a person the subject of a Protected Disclosure to the extent practicable and reasonable in the circumstances.

3. The objective of any investigation undertaken is to determine whether there is enough evidence to substantiate or refute the matters disclosed, with any findings made on the basis of reliable evidence. 

Glossary