Our Whistle Blower Policy

Act: Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)

Eligible Recipient: A Protected Disclosure can be made to:

• Make-A-Wish’s Protected Discloser Officers or fibreHR (contact details in “Reporting” section below.) An auditor or member of an audit team conducting an audit of Make-A-Wish;
• ASIC;
• APRA;
• a Commonwealth Authority prescribed by the regulations of the Act;
• a legal practitioner if the Protected Disclosure is made for the purposes of obtaining legal advice or representation in relation to the operation of the whistleblower provisions in the Act; or
• in certain circumstances, a journalist or a member of the Commonwealth, State or Territory Parliament if the Protected Disclosure is a public interest or emergency disclosure made in accordance with the Act.

Protected Disclosure: A Protected Disclosure is one made by a Whistleblower to an Eligible Recipient in circumstances where the Whistleblower has reasonable grounds to suspect misconduct or an improper state of affairs or circumstances in relation to Make-A-Wish, including information that indicates that Make-A-Wish or an officer or employee of Make-A-Wish has engaged in conduct that:

• Constitutes an offence against, or a contravention of, a provision of one of the following:
• the Act;
• the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth);
• the Banking Act 1959 (Cth);
• the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 (Cth);
• the Insurance Act 1973 (Cth);
• the Life Insurance Act 1995 (Cth);
• the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth);
• the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth); or
• regulations or other instruments made under those laws;
• constitutes an offence against any other law of the Commonwealth that is punishable by imprisonment for a period of 12 months or more;
• represents a danger to the public or the financial system; and/or
• is prescribed by the regulations of the Act.

For the avoidance of doubt, a disclosure that relates solely to a personal work-related grievance is not a Protected Disclosure and will not qualify for protection under this Policy in accordance with the Act, this includes, for example, a grievance about:

• an interpersonal conflict with another employee;
• a decision regarding engagement, transfer or promotion;
• the terms and conditions of engagement; and/or

a decision regarding suspension, termination or other disciplinary action.

Make-A-Wish: Make-A-Wish and each of its related bodies corporate

Whistle Blower: An individual is an eligible whistleblower if the individual is or has been any of the following in relation to Make-A-Wish:

• an officer;
• an employee;
• a volunteer;
• an individual who supplies goods or services or their employee;
• an associate;
• a relative or dependant of the above, or of their spouse,

and makes a Protected Disclosure to an Eligible Recipient.

A Whistleblower who makes a Protected Disclosure, subject to legislative exceptions, cannot be subject to:

• civil, criminal or administrative liability (including disciplinary action) for the making of the Protected Disclosure;
• contractual or any other remedies which may be enforced or exercised against the Whistleblower on the basis of making the Protected Disclosure;
• the information disclosed in the making of the Protected Disclosure being used against the Whistleblower as evidence in criminal proceedings or in proceedings for the imposition of a penalty.

However, a Whistleblower will not be immune from liability if:

• the Whistleblower has provided false information; or
• wrongful conduct engaged in by the Whistleblower is revealed by the making of the Protected Disclosure.

Make-A-Wish recognises that Whistleblowers who make a Protected Disclosure may require support during the handling and investigation of that disclosure. Make-A-Wish encourages the Whistleblower and any other party named as a potential wrongdoer in a Protected Disclosure, to utilise the services of Make-A-Wish’s EAP, Centre for Corporate Health or alternatively reach out to FibreHR for assistance as soon as possible.

Further, Make-A-Wish will endeavour to ensure that the Whistleblower, and/or any other party named as a potential wrongdoer in a Protected Disclosure are afforded an opportunity to properly respond to the allegations raised.

While Make-A-Wish recognises that all Protected Disclosures are unique, it endeavours to provide a fair and thorough fact-finding investigation process, that is appropriate and reasonable to the circumstances surrounding the Protected Disclosure, to ultimately determine what has happened.

Where a Protected Disclosure has been made, Make-A-Wish may conduct an investigation or undertake initial enquiries based on the information provided to it. This may include the Whistleblower and/or other participants, or witnesses being interviewed. However, if a Protected Disclosure has been made anonymously, anonymity may prevent Make-A-Wish from taking the issue further if Make-A-Wish is not able to obtain further information from the source of the disclosure.