• Section 1 - Purpose
• Section 2 - Scope
• Section 3 - Process
• Reporting Fraud, Corruption, Maladministration and  Misconduct
• What happens once a Disclosure is made
• Communication with the Whistleblower
• Internal Reports
• Section 4 - Document Review

Section 1 - Purpose

(1) The purpose of this procedure is to set out the process to follow in logging and addressing allegations of fraud, corruption, maladministration and  misconduct in the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle (the Diocese).

(2) This procedure explains:

1. The process for reporting of concerns and suspicions by workers who have knowledge of actual or suspected fraud, corruption, maladministration and misconduct.
2. When a whistleblower disclosure may be lodged, and the process for lodging and managing a whistleblower disclosure.

Section 2 - Scope

(3) This procedure applies to all workers of the Diocese including its agencies, and parishes if decreed by the Bishop.

(4) This procedure is designed for the protection of whistleblowers and the management of whistleblower disclosures that have been made to an eligible recipient.

(5) Any person who makes a disclosure that would have been a whistleblower disclosure if it had been otherwise made to an eligible recipient may not be able to be afforded protections due to the complexity of the person to whom the disclosure is made not being an eligible recipient and therefore not having access to the tools and resources available to support protections.

(6) Personal work-related grievances are generally not covered by this procedure and are covered by the Grievance Resolution Policy and Procedure. Examples of grievances that may be personal work-related grievances include:

1. An interpersonal conflict between the individual and other worker;
2. A decision about engagement, transfer or promotion of the individual;
3. A decision about the terms and conditions of engagement of the individual; or
4. A decision to suspend or terminate the engagement of an individual, or to otherwise discipline the individual.

Section 3 - Process

Reporting Fraud, Corruption, Maladministration and  Misconduct

(7) Workers are encouraged to report any genuine concern of fraud, corruption, maladministration, misconduct or illegal activity as soon as practicable after becoming aware of the activity.

(8) A whistleblower may make a disclosure to an eligible recipient in writing, by email, verbally, through the Diocesan enterprise risk management system or the whistleblower disclosure service.

(9) The eligible recipient must ensure an incident report is lodged in the Diocesan enterprise risk management system where it has not been reported in this way. Further information about how to submit an incident report is outlined in the Incident Reporting Management Procedure. This clause does not apply to situations where a whistleblower disclosure has been made directly to the whistleblower disclosure service.

(10) Workers are encouraged to provide as much information as possible about the fraud, corruption, maladministration, misconduct or illegal activity so that the matter can be reviewed in detail.

(11) Disclosures by workers related to fraud, corruption or maladministration, misconduct or illegal activity will be marked confidential and access limited to the whistleblower investigator, people supporting the investigation process and senior leaders required to be informed. Person/s subject of the concern or that may have a conflict of interest will not be given access.

(12) To be classified as a whistleblower, workers must satisfy the whistleblower protection criteria as set out in clause 10 of the Whistleblower Policy.

(13) If at any point there is reason to believe a crime has been committed, consideration needs to be given to report the matter to police. If the matter relates to an indictable offence, police must be notified.

Whistleblower Disclosure Service

(14) Workers can make a whistleblower disclosure through the whistleblower disclosure service provided by PKF by:

1. Telephone: 1300 989 183
2. Submit Report

(15) The whistleblower disclosure service will provide the worker with four options when they make a disclosure and will explain the advantages and limitations of each option. These are:

1. Anonymously: making a disclosure without providing any contact information.   
2. Anonymously through an online portal: this allows a user to exchange messages and obtain updates about their disclosure using a report ID and password, provided the user logs back in and this could cause delays in communication.
3. Telling the whistleblower disclosure service who they are and remaining anonymous to the Diocese.
4. Telling the whistleblower disclosure service and eligible recipient who they are.

(16) Disclosures that are anonymous to both the whistleblower disclosure service and the Diocese are permitted and will be investigated fully as far as reasonable possible with the available information. In these circumstances, it will not be possible for the whistleblower to receive any status updates or information relating to investigation outcomes of these disclosures. 

What happens once a Disclosure is made

(17) The whistleblower disclosure service will then contact the eligible recipient to discuss the disclosure and agree on the appropriate body to investigate.

(18) If the whistleblower disclosure service and the eligible recipient agree that referral to an independent external investigation and/or the relevant authorities are required, then the whistleblower disclosure service is precluded from investigating the disclosure.

(19) The appropriate investigator will then undertake an inquisitorial investigation with the objective of locating evidence that either supports the claim or not.

(20) Personal information will be managed according to the Privacy Policy and will comply with relevant Privacy laws.

(21) If information is disclosed to any person under the Whistleblower Policy, that person is subject to the policy and is required to keep that information confidential.

(22) Unauthorised disclosure of information, a whistleblower’s identity or person/s subject of the concern may result in disciplinary proceedings including summary dismissal, civil penalties or potential criminal offences including imprisonment.

Communication with the Whistleblower

(23) The extent to which a whistleblower can be kept informed during the investigation and subsequent handling of a whistleblower disclosure will be judged on a case by case basis by the whistleblower protection officers.

(24) At the conclusion of the investigation, the whistleblower will be informed of the outcome relevant to them or the management of their disclosure.

Internal Reports

(25) The Head of Governance will periodically collect information on the existence of any whistleblower reports that may have been received by the eligible recipient in a summary form.

(26) The information collected and any reports generated using that information will not permit disclosure of whistleblower identities.

(27) A summary of disclosures may be periodically provided to the Diocesan Audit and Risk Committee (DARC) and the Bishop’s Executive Committee and may also be provided to relevant stakeholders within the senior leadership team.

(28) The information included within the summaries will be limited to the category of misconduct (such as Fraud or WHS) and the number of reports.

(29) Those summaries will be used to identify needs for additional prevention measures within the Diocese.

Section 4 - Document Review

(30) This procedure will be reviewed when there is a legislative change, organisational change, delegations change, technology change or at least every 3 years to ensure it continues to be current and effective.