Handling of whistleblowing concerns

You asked

Please provide:

General information concerning your handling of whistleblowing concerns:

1. Your policies and/or internal guidelines and/or procedures for the handling of ‘whistleblowing’ (workers raising concerns about wrongdoing or malpractice) disclosures for the purposes of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.

   Please identify whether you record information regarding whistleblowing concerns. If you do so please provide:

2. Details of the number of workers raising concerns about wrongdoing or malpractice in their workplace who have contacted you in relation to your duties as a regulator between the years 2005-2016.

   Please include the following details:

   i. Whether each individual contacted you on an anonymous, confidential, or self identified basis, ii. A brief summary of the types of concerns raised iii. If information was passed on to another regulator or enforcement body. If so please indicate the identity of the regulatory body and specify whether the concern was monitored by you following referral. iv. In respect of the above, please identify (if appropriate) whether any subsequent action was taken.

   Information regarding the handling of whistleblowing concerns from vulnerable migrant workers:

3. Please identify whether you have a policy/ policies for handling whistleblowing concerns received from migrant workers.

4. If the answer to the above is yes, please disclose your policies/ internal guidelines.

5. Please identify whether you have specific procedures for handling whistleblowing concerns received from migrant workers.

6. If the answer to the above is yes, please identify what these procedures are.

7. Please identify whether you are able to receive whistleblowing concerns in languages other than English.

8. If the answer is yes, please identify how your organisation would handle concerns raised in another language.

We said

1. Please see attached the Department's whistleblowing policy, procedure, and information for managers.

2. The Department does not have record of a single case of whistleblowing between 2005 and 2016. For this reason, there is no response to questions 2 (i) to (iv).

3. The Department does not have a separate policy for handling whistleblowing concerns received from migrant workers.

4. N/A.

5. The Department does not have a separate procedure for handling whistleblowing concerns received from migrant workers.

6. N/A.

7. The Department does not have any formal processes to deal with whistleblowing concerns in any other language than English.

8. N/A.