Hard look at policy on whistleblowing

The move mirrors that of the Australian banks in 2016, when they sought to stave off growing criticism of the way they had treated customers.

Macaulay, who is leading a trans-tasman project on beefing up protection for whistleblowers, said New Zealand did not have a national whistleblowing standard yet, but that was about to change.

In perhaps as early as three months’ time there would be a new ISO standard for whistleblowing schemes against which the banks could measure their own schemes.

An ISO standard would be a world first, and would provide clarity for organisations such as the NZBA regarding the bestpractice standards their schemes should meet, including the processes to investigate whistleblowers’ concerns and protect them from being persecuted.

A successful whistleblower scheme included not only a written policy, but regular training of staff to use it.

‘‘The world over, the reason people usually don’t blow the whistle is they don’t know what to do, and who to turn to,’’ Macauley said. ‘‘It’s not that people lack courage.’’

Macauley said research indicated many people also didn’t trust their employers to protect them if they blew the whistle.

In addition to the ISO standard being developed, ministerial papers were being prepared on the Protected Disclosures Act, which is supposed to provide protections for whistleblowers.

Last year State Services Minister Chris Hipkins announced a review, saying there was ‘‘a strong view’’ the 17-year-old law needed updating to keep pace with international best practice.

In Australia, the Australian Bankers’ Association (ABA) commissioned a review of whistleblowing protections by banks, which concluded the elements of a ‘‘best practice’’ policy in a bank included making it crystal clear that an employee was not prohibited from communicating with regulators ‘‘at any time’’.

Whistleblowers within a bank should receive formal acknowledgement of their actions.

Whistleblowers also needed to be protected, including protecting their identities. Staff must be trained in the policy, including those responsible for handling whistleblower-prompted investigations, the ABA said.