New Whistleblower Laws and Policies In Effect for 2020

There has never been a time in American history when whistleblowers have had more protections afforded to them than they do right now. The last 10 years have seen significant increases in the protections and benefits provided to whistleblowers, and 2020 has seen some new rules go into effect that further enhance those protections.

In 2019, congress amended the Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act) and various other finance-related pieces of legislation to provide a clearer, more consolidated whistleblower protection regime in the corporate and financial sectors. Under the new regime, there are enhanced protections for eligible whistleblowers who disclose certain forms of misconduct.

Whistleblowers must meet the following legislative requirements to be eligible for those protections.

• They must qualify as a whistleblower. For these purposes, an eligible whistleblower is an officer, employee, supplier (or employee of a supplier) of goods or services, an associate or a relative/dependent of any previously listed person.
• The must disclose information relating to the regulated entity or a related corporate body of that regulated entity, and have reasonable grounds to suspect the information is related to a disclosable matter (such as misconduct or other improprieties).
• They must disclose this information to a regulator or other eligible recipient, such as an attorney, officer, senior manager, auditor, actuary or any other authorized person.

In addition, certain entities that did not have whistleblower policies implemented by January 1, 2020 would be subject to penalties, including fines.

For more information about some of the latest protections provided to whistleblowers, contact an experienced whistleblower attorney at Kardell Law Group.