Whistleblowing

Yes, while whistleblowers can provide their name and contact details when they report - they can also report anonymously (ASIC Information Sheet 238 issued on 1 July 2019). 

This means that a whistleblower must make their disclosure to:

• a director, company secretary, company officer, or senior manager of the company or organisation, or a related company or organisation;
• an auditor, or a member of the audit team, of the company or organisation, or a related company or organisation;
• an actuary of the company or organisation, or a related company or organisation;
• a person authorised by the company or organisation to receive whistleblower disclosures;
• ASIC or the APRA; or
• a lawyer.

However, they do not have to identify themselves or their role, and so can raise their concerns anonymously and still access the same whistleblower protections afforded to those who provide their name and contact details when they report.

However, while an individual can report their concerns to ASIC anonymously, ASIC will not be able to follow up with the whistleblower for further information or next steps due to this anonymity (ASIC Information Sheet 238 issued on 1 July 2019).[2]

The Whistleblower Protection Act does not state that the employer must set up reporting channels in such a way that anonymous reports are admissible (section 16 (1) HinSchG). Also, external reporting offices do not have to process anonymous reports (section 27 (1) HinSchG). According to the Whistleblower Protection Act, however, anonymous reports “shall” be processed by the internal and external reporting offices. Against this background, employers are entirely free to choose whether to provide systems that allow for the submission and processing of anonymous reports or not.