Report Improper Conduct (whistleblowing)
World Vision Australia is committed to the highest standards of legal, ethical and moral behaviour. A key part of supporting ethical standards in World Vision Australia is enabling people to speak up about unethical or unlawful conduct. At World Vision we take any improper conduct very seriously and it is very important that all our donors, suppliers, partners and staff feel that they can safely report any such misconduct without fear of repercussions. For more information please refer to the Protected Disclosure Policy.
Your obligation to report
You must report improper conduct in relation to World Vision Australia, its officers or employees. Improper conduct includes conduct that is:
- illegal, dishonest, fraudulent or corrupt;
- negligent, a default, a breach of trust or breach of duty;
- unethical;
- a significant or considerable misuse or mismanagement of World Vision Australia’s resources;
- potentially damaging to World Vision Australia or our personnel, such as unsafe work practices;
- may cause financial loss to World Vision Australia or damage our reputation or be otherwise detrimental to our interests;
- a breach of relevant legislation; or
- serious misconduct or impropriety of any other kind.
You must make a report under the Protected Disclosure Policy if you have reasonable grounds to suspect that a person has engaged, will engage or is engaging in improper conduct.
Do not make a report if you do not have the reasonable grounds described above, or knowingly make a false report.
Reporting to World Vision
World Vision has engaged the services of “Your-Call” an independent and external service which is authorised to receive whistleblowing reports in relation to World Vision Australia. For further details on how to lodge a report with Your-Call or directly with other World Vision Australia Board Members or Senior Management please refer to Protected Disclosure Reporting page.
Reporting to other eligible recipients
You also have the option to report to:
- the Australian Federal Police
- a legal practitioner for the purpose of obtaining legal advice
- the Commissioner of Taxation if your report concerns tax matters
- the Australian Securities and Investments Commission
- the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority
- a journalist or parliamentarian but only in specific emergency and public interest circumstances
Anonymity
You do not need to disclose your identity if you wish to remain anonymous. World Vision Australia is committed to protecting the anonymity of your identity and your confidentiality throughout the whistleblowing process. However, we may not be able to comprehensively investigate your report if you do not provide all relevant information, or if we are unable to contact you. We may reveal your identity to any of the recipients listed above under “Reporting to other eligible recipients” if reasonably necessary regardless of whether you agree to this or not.
Investigation
Depending on who you report to, your report may be investigated by:
- World Vision Australia’s internal auditor (currently outsourced to an external organisation);
- an investigator appointed by World Vision International (such person may be an independent external investigator); or
- another appropriate investigator under the approval and/or oversight of World Vision Australia’s Head of Risk or, for allegations of a more serious nature, under the approval and/or oversight of the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee.
Your other legal protections
Under Whistleblower legislation, you are afforded a range of protections and options in relation to whistleblowing. For further information, refer to the Protected Disclosure Policy.