Updated laws in the Corporations Act will require
certain companies to have in place a compliant whistleblower policy
before the 1st of January 2020.
ASIC has also provided explicit guidance on the new laws and on
what it expects a policy to contain. The updated laws and guidance
go beyond the existing regime, with a view to providing better
whistleblower protections and processes than the legislation
currently provides.
Given the new laws and associated guidelines, it is unlikely
that existing whistleblower policies will comply with the new
requirements. It is critical therefore that affected businesses put
in place new or updated policies as a matter of urgency.
WHAT ARE THE NEW LAWS?