BackChief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has released a new guide to help anyone looking to disclose serious wrongdoing happening in their workplace.
The Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 (or PDA) is about disclosing serious wrongdoing – sometimes called ‘whistle-blowing’ – and explains the procedures to be followed when making a disclosure, as well as the protections available to those who do make a disclosure.
A protected disclosure may be made internally, via your organisation’s internal procedures or to the head or deputy head of your organisation.
If you don’t want to do this within your organisation – for example if your concerns relate to the conduct of senior staff members – you can disclose your concerns to an appropriate authority outside your organisation.
Appropriate authorities include:
- The head of any public sector (government) organisation.
- Any officer of Parliament (the Ombudsman, the Controller and Auditor-General, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment).
- The membership body of a particular profession, trade or calling with the power to discipline its members. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- The Law Society (for concerns about lawyers)
- The Social Workers Registration Board (for concerns about social workers)
- The Medical Council (for concerns about doctors)
- The Real Estate Authority (for concerns about real estate agents)
- The Teaching Council (for concerns about teachers)
- An appropriate authority does not include a Minister or a member of Parliament.
You can find out more about the range of appropriate authorities, and how you might decide who to make a disclosure to, by reading the guide.
Source: The National Ombudsman of New Zealand
