Policy & Compliance

1. GENERAL

Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia Central Operations (ABN 81 108 409 735) of 1 Tower Road, Adelaide Airport, SA, 5950 (referred to in this Policy as RFDS SA/NT, we, us or our) is committed to protecting the personal information we collect from or about you. The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) govern the way in which we must manage your personal information and this Policy sets out how and why we collect, use, hold and disclose your personal information.

RFDS SA/NT provides emergency and aeromedical care, primary health care, mental health care, dental services and medical chests to our patients in South Australia and the Northern Territory. As a not-for-profit organisation, we also collect donations and conduct fundraising activities across a wide range of channels. As part of our activities, we communicate with our stakeholders and donors, conduct publicity campaigns with media and online, handle feedback and report to our funders.

We collect personal information about our patients, their carers, representatives, family and friends; other health care providers; medical chest custodians; our supporters (including donors, bequestors and those involved in the administration of their estates); our employees and job applicants, contractors, volunteers; and others.

We take all reasonable efforts to safeguard all personal information.

In general, we:

(a) ensure fair, open and transparent management of personal information;

(b) collect information lawfully and through fair means;

(c) collect, use and disclose only the personal information we need for our intended purpose or to comply with the law;

(d) take reasonable steps to ensure accuracy of personal information;

(e) manage access requests and requests for correction of personal information;

(f) ensure appropriate storage and security of personal information;

(g) take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify personal information when it is no longer needed, subject to our legal obligations;

(h) ensure all of our staff are aware of privacy expectations.

2. COLLECTION

2.1 Types of personal information collected and held

Personal information is any information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who can be reasonably identified from the information or opinion. Information or an opinion may be personal information regardless of whether it is true.

Sensitive information is a subset of personal information under the Privacy Act, and is defined as information or an opinion about an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, memberships of a political association, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, membership of trade associations or unions, sexual orientation or practices and criminal records. Sensitive information also includes health information, as defined in the Privacy Act.

RFDS SA/NT may collect personal information and sensitive information about you and your interactions with us relevant to our functions and activities.

The kinds of information we typically collect depends on our relationship with you, but may include your name, gender, date of birth, address, phone numbers, email address, payment or billing information (including bank account details and payment card details), and other information relevant to providing you with goods and services or reasonably necessary for one or more of our functions or activities.

In addition, depending on our relationship with you, we may also collect:

(a) If you are a patient: health information about you (as that term is defined in the Privacy Act), your insurance information (if relevant), as well as your emergency contact details.

(b) If you are an employee, contractor or job applicant: emergency contact details, reference information, medical details, details of any injuries or disabilities, identification status as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, tax file number, vaccination status, proof of identity, superannuation details, criminal history, citizenship or residency status, employment and education history, and training and qualification details.

(c) If you are a volunteer or a medical chest holder/nominated person: proof of identity, driver’s licence details and vehicle registration number, your emergency contact details, training and qualification information, criminal history, details of relevant medical conditions, injuries and disabilities (depending on the role).

(d) If you are a donor or bequestor: information about whether you have left or plan to leave a gift in your will to RFDS SA/NT; and in some cases, a copy of your will (if you choose to provide this).

(e) If you attend an RFDS event, base or tourist facility: we may collect images of you (including still photographs and video recordings), including for official event documentation and for security CCTV purposes.

RFDS SA/NT will not collect sensitive information about you unless a permitted health situation applies; or if you have consented to provide this information and it is relevant to the work of RFDS SA/NT; or it is otherwise authorised by law.

2.2 Method of collection

We collect information in different ways, including:

- where you are a patient, we may collect information about you in a clinical setting through the use of medical instruments, devices and cameras;

- using paper or digital forms;

- electronically in approved RFDS SA/NT systems and apps, as well as through our website (including where you participate in an online survey or purchase tickets to an event);

- via email;

- through other digital channels including but not limited to digital advertising platforms such as Google, Meta, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms; third party fundraising platforms and services; and supporter engagement tools; and

- through telephone conversations or face-to-face interactions with you.

Personal information will generally be collected directly from you. There may, however, be some instances where personal information about you will be collected indirectly because it is unreasonable or impractical to do so. We will usually notify you about these instances in advance, or where that is not possible, we will take such steps (if any) as are reasonable in the circumstances to notify you. For example, if you are a patient, where collection directly from you would be impractical or unreasonable, or where you have otherwise given consent, personal information may be collected from third parties such as hospitals, service providers, health professionals, government agencies, social and community workers, family members, or others.

We may also collect personal information about you from third party providers of marketing lists for fundraising purposes. We take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information obtained from third parties has been collected and disclosed in accordance with the APPs.

2.3 Purpose of collection

Generally, we will collect, use and hold your personal information so that we can:

(a) provide you with health care services (where you are a patient);

(b) contact you, for example, to respond to your enquiries or feedback, or if we need to tell you something important;

(c) collect donations to support RFDS SA/NT from you;

(d) provide you with promotional material and other information about events, campaigns, goods and services that we, and other organisations that we have affiliations with, offer that may be of interest to you; and

(e) manage your employment (or your application for employment) or engagement as a contractor or consultant with us;

(f) facilitate our internal business operations, including:

(i) establishing our relationship with you;

(ii) maintaining and managing our relationship with you and communicating with you in the ordinary course of that relationship;

(iii) complying with our legal obligations and to assist government and law enforcement agencies or regulators; and

(iv) analysing our business operations, services and customer needs with a view to developing new or improved operations or services.

2.4 Failure to provide information

If you do not provide us with your personal information, or the personal information you provide to us is incomplete or inaccurate, we may be unable to provide you with our goods, services or respond to your enquiries.

If you are a supporter or a donor and you choose not to provide your name or contact details, we will not be able to provide you with a tax receipt or share details about our upcoming events, campaigns and opportunities.

2.5 Internet users

If you access RFDS SA/NT’s website or any application that we release from time to time, we may collect additional information including your IP address and domain name.

Links to external sites

Our website may contain links to other websites. We cannot control and are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of linked websites and linked websites are not subject to our privacy policies.

Social networking services

We use social networking services such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube to communicate with the public about our work. When you communicate with us using these services, we may collect your personal information (including your name, handle/username and contact information). The social networking service will also handle your personal information for its own purposes in accordance with their own privacy policies and practices. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of social networking sites and social networking sites are not subject to our privacy policies and procedures.

We may also share limited personal information about you (e.g. through online identifiers) with social networking platforms for advertising and analytics purposes. You can opt out of targeted advertising through the settings available on the relevant social media platforms.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies to track site visits and improve user experience. A cookie is a small text file that the website may place on your device to store information. We may use persistent cookies (which remain on your computer after you close your browser) to store information that may speed up your use of our website for any future visits. We may also use session cookies (which no longer remain after you end your browsing session) to help manage the display and presentation of information on the website.

You may refuse to use cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser. However, please note that if you do this, you may not be able to use the full functionality of our website.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC (Google), to collect and analyse information about how users interact with our website. Google Analytics uses cookies and similar technologies to collect information such as your IP address, device and browser information, pages visited, time spent on pages, and interactions with the site. This information is used to compile statistical reports on website activity and to improve our website’s performance and user experience.

Information collected through Google Analytics may be stored and processed on servers located outside Australia, including in the United States. We do not use Google Analytics to identify individual users or to collect information that directly identifies you, and we do not allow Google to use our analytics data for its own purposes other than to provide the Google Analytics service or as required by law.

You can learn about how Google handles data collected from websites that use its services by reviewing Google’s Privacy Policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy. You can also opt-out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on. By using our website, you consent to the handling of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.

Payment security

We use third party payment card processors to facilitate card payments through our website and point of sale systems. Our online payment card processors may also use cookies for identification and anti-fraud purposes.

Certain sections of our websites (e.g. donation payments) are secured using SSL technology to encrypt data between your browser and the website. We use reasonable endeavours to make donations and transactions within our website secure and safe. However, there are inherent risks associated with the transmission of information over the internet. While reasonable efforts are made to secure information transmitted to our website, there is always a possibility that the information you submit could be observed by a third party while in transit.

3. USE AND DISCLOSURE

Generally, we use or disclose personal information about you for the reason you gave it to us. In some cases, we may also use it or disclose it for related purposes that you would reasonably expect, or where you have consented, or in an emergency or as otherwise required or authorised by law.

3.1 We may disclose personal information about you:

(a) to third parties who require the information to assist us with facilitating our internal business processes, providing you with information and services, and with establishing, maintaining, managing, or ending our relationship with you (including payment processors, insurers, IT and technology service providers, and professional advisers such as lawyers, accountants and auditors), and these service providers may not be required to comply with our privacy policy;

(b) to other third parties for the reason you gave us the information; for a related purpose that you would reasonably expect; where you have consented; or otherwise where required by or permitted by law;

(c) to other health professionals or health service providers to assist in your care;

(d) where authorised or required by law (such as in connection with mandatory reporting of certain diseases, in the event of a permitted health situation as that term is defined in the Privacy Act, instances of abuse, under warrant or subpoena, or where reasonably necessary to prevent a serious or imminent threat to life, health safety or welfare of an individual or the broader public); and

(e) to our government funders.

(f) to the Australian Taxation Office and your superannuation fund, if you are an employee.

3.2 In addition:

(a) If you are a supporter or a donor, we may share information with you about our upcoming events and other fundraising campaigns (including by mail, email and SMS/MMS). You can opt out of receiving these communications at any time by following the instructions in the communication.

(b) If you attend an RFDS event, location or tourist facility: we may use and disclose photographs or other video footage of you for promotional purposes in a variety of formats (including print, video and digital). Where it is reasonable and practical to do so, we will seek your consent before collecting or using your image. However, in some circumstances, such as where images are captured in a group or crowd setting, it may not be practical to obtain the express consent of every individual present;

(c) If you have applied for an employment opportunity: we may use and hold your application details for a reasonable period of time in case you may be suitable for similar opportunities that become available at RFDS SA/NT in the future. We will destroy any application, and no longer consider it as part of the recruitment pool, if you ask us to do so;

(d) If you are a patient:

(i) we may use or disclose your personal information in connection with formal quality review processes in relation to our health care services. Where possible, we will use de-identified information in relation to such processes, but there may be some circumstances where identifiable information is required to confirm clinical accuracy or compliance. Any such disclosure will be limited to what is necessary and we will use reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality of your information;

(ii) we may also communicate with you after your service interaction for feedback on your experience to obtain testimonials or to see if you would like to stay up to date with our activities and services. Before we publish any such feedback or testimonials, we will seek your express consent in writing;

(iii) we may use information about you (in a de-identified form) for research, statistics and public health purposes.

Sensitive information (including health information) is only used and disclosed for the purposes for which it was collected, unless your further consent is obtained or otherwise as authorised or required by law.

4. DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION OVERSEAS

We may disclose personal information about you to recipients located overseas. For instance, we are assisted by a variety of external service providers to operate our business, some of whom may be located overseas or may use infrastructure (such as back-up servers) outside of Australia. Some examples of the types of service providers include technology providers, such as Google, Oracle, Campaign Monitor and Shopify.

Where we disclose your personal information overseas, we take reasonable steps to ensure that your information is protected and handled in a manner consistent with the APPs.

5. SECURITY

We store your personal information in computer systems and databases operated either by us or our external service providers. Some information about you is recorded in paper files that we store securely.

We implement and maintain security measures to protect your personal information from interference, misuse, loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These processes and systems include:

(a) the use of access management technologies to control access to the systems on which personal information is processed and stored;

(b) deploying a range of electronic and physical security measures;

(c) educating staff on how to securely store and protect personal information;

(d) retaining personal information for the relevant period of time to meet our legal, compliance and policy requirements;

(e) disposing of information in a secure manner.

6. ACCESS AND CORRECTION

You may access the personal information we hold about you, upon making a written request. We will respond to your request within a reasonable period. We may charge you a reasonable fee for processing your request (but not for making the request for access).

We may decline a request for access to personal information if we are unable to confirm your identity or otherwise in circumstances prescribed by the Privacy Act. If we do, we will give you a written notice that sets out the reasons for the refusal (unless it would be unreasonable to provide those reasons), including details of the mechanisms available to you to make a complaint. Personal information will not be provided over the phone unless we are certain that the enquirer is the individual to whom the personal information relates, or their legal or nominated representative.

If, upon receiving access to your personal information or at any other time, you believe the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, please notify us immediately. We will take reasonable steps to correct the information so that it is accurate, complete, relevant, up to date and not misleading.

If we refuse to correct your personal information, we will give you a written notice that sets out our reasons for our refusal (unless it would be unreasonable to provide those reasons), including details of the mechanisms available to you to make a complaint.

7. DATA DELETION

While we will consider requests for deletion, there is currently no right to delete or erase personal information and sensitive information in the Privacy Act.

To make a request for the deletion of your personal information, please contact us using the details provided in the Complaints and Feedback section of this Policy. We will take reasonable steps to review the deletion request, however due to our legal obligations to retain personal information, we may not be able to delete your personal information.

Please note that in some cases, deletion may result in the loss of access to certain services or communications (e.g. newsletters, or event participation).

8. COMPLAINTS AND FEEDBACK

If you wish to make a complaint about a breach of the Privacy Act by RFDS SA/NT, please contact us using the details below and we will take reasonable steps to investigate the complaint and respond to you.

If, after this process you are not satisfied with our response, you can submit a complaint to the Office of the Information Commissioner. To lodge a complaint, visit the ‘Complaints’ section of the Information Commissioner’s website, located at http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints, to obtain the relevant complaint forms, or contact the Information Commissioner’s office.

If you have any queries or concerns about our Privacy Policy or the way we handle your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer at:

Postal address: 1 Tower Road, Adelaide Airport, SA, 5950

Email address: privacy@flyingdoctor.net

Telephone: (08) 8238 3333

For more information about privacy in general, you can visit the Office of the Information Commissioner’s website at www.oaic.gov.au.

9. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

From time to time, we may change our policy on how we handle personal information or the types of information that we hold. Any changes to our Privacy Policy will be published on our website. You may obtain a copy of our current Policy from our website or by contacting us using the contact details above.

1. PURPOSE

RFDS SA/NT is committed to promoting a culture of integrity and ethical behaviour where our decisions, actions and conduct reflect and reinforce our workplace values.

We want to encourage all eligible whistleblowers, to tell us, as soon as possible, about any concern they have about possible non-compliance, misconduct or an improper state of affairs at RFDS SA/NT.

This might include concerns about breaches of the law.

This Policy outlines:

(a) what a whistleblowing disclosure is;
(b) who can make a whistleblowing disclosure;
(c) how to make a whistleblowing disclosure in respect of RFDS SA/NT;
(d) how RFDS SA/NT will deal with your whistleblowing disclosure; and
(e) what support and protections we offer eligible whistleblowers where a protected disclosure is made.

2. SCOPE

This Policy Applies to all employees and officers of RFDS SA/NT and any eligible whistleblowers who wish to make a whistleblowing disclosure in relation to RFDS SA/NT.

This Policy is available to RFDS SA/NT's employees on Pulse. eligible whistleblowers who are not employees can access this policy via RFDS SA/NT's website from the General Policy and Compliance page.

This Policy is not (and is not intended to be) contractual in nature, but sets out useful information and explains procedures. You might need to comply with those procedures so that you can access the protections that RFDS SA/NT may make available to you.

RFDS SA/NT may vary this Policy from time to time. It may be appropriate for RFDS SA/NT to depart from this Policy in serious circumstances (such as if there is a risk to a person's life or safety).

Note: This policy does not derogate from any responsibility for reporting under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009, the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (South Australia) Act 2010, and the Health Practitioner Regulation (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2010 (HPRNL Acts). Mandatory notifications made under the HPRNL Acts are excluded from the provisions of this Policy and internal processes must be followed to raise a concern relating to alleged clinical misconduct by a health practitioner.

3. DEFINITIONS

Associate: Associate has the same meaning as provided in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act).

Dependent: A dependent of a person is a spouse or child of that person, any other person that person is in an interdependent relationship with or a person who is substantially financially dependent on that person.

Relative: Relative means the spouse, parent or remoter lineal ancestor, child or remoter issue, or brother or sister of a person.

Staff: Staff refers to employees, contractors, volunteers and officers.

4. PRINICIPLES

4.1 Who is an eligible whistleblower?

• Current and former Staff
• Suppliers of goods and services to RFDS SA/NT (including their Staff)
• Associates of RFDS SA/NT
• The Relatives and Dependants of these people and Dependents of spouses of these people - May all be eligible whistleblowers.

Once an eligible whistleblower makes a whistleblowing disclosure, that person is legally protected under relevant legislation.

4.2 What is a whistleblowing disclosure?

A whistleblowing disclosure is a disclosure:

(a) made by an eligible whistleblower
(b) of information that is protected under the Corporations Act or the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Tax Act); and
(c) to an eligible recipient (see parts 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3).

You might be able to make a whistleblowing disclosure under the Corporations Act if you have reasonable grounds to suspect that you have information that concerns misconduct or an improper state of affairs or circumstances in relation to RFDS SA/NT or a related company.

This includes information that indicates that RFDS SA/NT (or any of its employees) has engaged in conduct that:
(a) is an offence under, or contravenes, any of the following laws:

• Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001
• Banking Act 1959
• Corporations Act 2001
• Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001
• Life Insurance Act 1995
• Insurance Act 1995
• National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009
• Superannuation Industry (Supervision Act) 1993

(b) is an offence under any other Commonwealth law punishable by at least 12 months' imprisonment; and/or
(c) represents a danger to the public or the financial system.

You might also be able to make a whistleblowing disclosure under the Tax Act if:

(a) you have reasonable grounds to suspect that you have:

(i) information which indicates misconduct in relation to RFDS SA/NT's tax affairs; or

(ii) information which indicates an improper state of affairs in relation to RFDS SA/NT's tax affairs; and

(iii) you consider that the information may assist the recipient to perform functions/duties in relation to RFDS SA/NT's tax affairs.

Personal work-related grievances (see part 4.3 below) are generally NOT whistleblowing disclosures.

4.3 Personal Work-Related Grievances

A personal work-related grievance is any complaint, concern or dispute to do with your employment (or previous employment) with RFDS SA/NT which has implications for you personally. For example, a personal work-related grievance might include:

(a) a conflict between you and another member of Staff;

(b) if you think you have been discriminated against, bullied or harassed; and/or

(c) any dissatisfaction about a decision relating to your employment (such as a decision about transfer or promotion, the terms of your employment, discipline or termination).

As noted above, personal work-related grievances are generally not whistleblowing disclosures. However, a personal work-related grievance might ALSO be a whistleblowing disclosure, if it:

(a) has significant implications for RFDS SA/NT that don't relate to you; and/or

(b) is about various types of unlawful conduct or conduct that is a danger to the public or the financial system that may be the subject of a whistleblowing disclosure under the Corporations Act or the Tax Act.

If your personal work-related grievance is a whistleblowing disclosure, then it will attract whistleblower protection. Otherwise, your personal work-related grievance will be dealt with under RFDS SA/NT’s Grievance Management Policy.

5. PROCEDURE FOR WHISTLEBLOWING DISCLOSURES

5.1 Who to contact

You can make a whistleblowing disclosure under the Corporations Act or the Tax Act by contacting Stopline (RFDS SA/NT’s external independent whistleblower reporting service) or directly to one of RFDS SA/NT’s Contact Officers.

In order to address any issues as soon as possible, RFDS SA/NT encourages disclosures to be made via the Stopline service in the first instance.

The Stopline reporting service can be accessed as follows:

Telephone: 1300 30 45 50 (Australia Only)
Email: makeareport@stopline.com.au
On-line: https://makeareport.stopline.com.au/portal/landing/rfds
Mail: Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia SA/NT, c/o Stopline Pty Ltd, PO Box 403, Diamond Creek, VIC 3089

Alternatively, RFDS SA/NT’s Contact Officers are:

Name: Carissa Prescott, Executive General Manager Legal & Risk, General Counsel Email: carissa.prescott@flyingdoctor.net

Name: Laura Sarich, Executive General Manager People, Culture & Environment Email: laura.sarich@flyingdoctor.net

Or

RFDS SA/NT's auditor: Name: Paul Cenko, Partner, KPMG Email: pcenko@kpmg.com.au


5.2 How to make a disclosure

You can make a whistleblowing disclosure to Stopline or any contact officer using their contact details set out in part 5.1. You should ensure that any email or correspondence that you send is marked Strictly Confidential.

If you intend to make a whistleblowing disclosure, we ask that you please include in your statement or email/letter: I am seeking to make a whistleblowing disclosure.

While it might seem obvious, this will help RFDS SA/NT to:
(a) identify your concern as a whistleblowing disclosure;
(b) act on your disclosure promptly; and
(c) trigger the protections that are available for a whistleblowing disclosure.You should keep a file note of any correspondence or discussions (including the date and time) for future reference.

You should not make a whistleblowing disclosure to a contact officer who has been involved in the conduct or allegations you are reporting. In that case, contact Stopline or a different contact officer.


5.3 External disclosures

Disclosures to regulators If you do not want to contact RFDS SA/NT, its auditor or actuary, or Stopline, you can contact the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) or, in certain circumstances, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to make a whistleblowing disclosure under the Corporations Act, and you should refer to their policy about how the disclosure might be handled.

You can make a protected disclosure under the Tax Act to the Australian Commissioner of Taxation, in which case you should refer to their policy about how disclosures might be handled.

‘Public interest’ and ‘emergency’ disclosureIn some circumstances, you can make public interest or emergency disclosures under the Corporations Act (for example to a Member of Parliament or journalist). However, these disclosures may not be protected unless made in the specific circumstances set out in the legislation. For example, before making a public interest disclosure, you must first make a report to ASIC, APRA or another prescribed body, and you must wait at least 90 days before making the public interest disclosure. You should ensure you carefully follow the correct process, or you might lose your protections under the law.

RFDS SA/NT encourages you to speak to an independent legal practitioner at any time if you would like legal advice or representation in relation to a whistleblowing disclosure.


5.4 Anonymous disclosures

You can choose to make a whistleblowing disclosure anonymously or through a pseudonym. However, if you do choose to be anonymous, this can sometimes make it more difficult for RFDS SA/NT or an external authority to:

(a) make an assessment of and investigate the disclosure; and/or
(b) provide you with relevant protections. If you choose, instead, to identify yourself when you make the disclosure, please note that the person you contact is legally required to keep your identity strictly confidential. If RFDS SA/NT is aware of your identity, we will aim to work with you to protect your identity.

5.5 Information to include in a whistleblowing disclosure

If you make a whistleblowing disclosure, you should consider providing as many of the following details as possible, to assist RFDS SA/NT or an authority to determine the best course of action:

(a) the specific nature of the conduct or state of affairs that concerns you;
(b) the details of the person/s you think engaged or is engaging in any relevant conduct;
(c) when and where relevant events occurred (e.g. dates and times);
(d) details of anyone else aware of or involved in the conduct or events;
(e) details of anyone else who might be able to verify your disclosure;
(f) if you have done anything in response to the conduct or events;
(g) if you have any concerns about possibly being victimised, and if so by whom; and
(h) any supporting information (e.g. documents, file notes, emails, photographs). Please state expressly whether you give the contact officer permission to disclose your identity to the investigator, so the investigator can contact you to obtain further information if required.


5.6 Initial assessment of the whistleblowing disclosure

If you make an eligible disclosure to RFDS SA/NT (either directly or via Stopline), then the recipient will conduct a preliminary assessment, to determine whether your disclosure requires further investigation.

A disclosure will only warrant further investigation if there is some objective evidence of the events, conduct or situation disclosed, or a reasonable suspicion that such evidence exists and may be obtained through further investigation.

If you have identified yourself to Stopline or a contact officer, they may contact you to obtain further information.

The preliminary assessment may take approximately two weeks, but this will depend on the circumstances and nature of your disclosure.

If satisfied that an investigation is warranted, the contact officer will report the matter to the Chief Executive or if the Chief Executive is implicated in the matter, the contact officer will refer the matter instead to the Chair of the RFDS SA/NT Board.

The Chief Executive (or Chair of the RFDS SA/NT Board) will initiate an investigation.

5.7 Investigation of the whistleblowing disclosure

If RFDS SA/NT decides that a formal investigation is warranted, the law protects your identity in relation to that investigation as set out in item 6.2 below.

RFDS SA/NT also aims to maintain confidentiality about the investigation generally, as far as practicable.

A formal investigation might involve third parties such as lawyers, accountants, HR consultants or specialist forensic investigators, who may:

(a) interview relevant witnesses;
(b) collect relevant documentary evidence;
(c) make a determination based on the evidence; and
(d) document the findings. The investigator determines whether the information in the whistleblowing disclosure is proven on the balance of probabilities. The 'balance of probabilities' test requires consideration of whether it is more likely than not that the alleged conduct has occurred.

If the whistleblowing disclosures are proven, the investigator will report the outcome of the investigation to the appropriate decision-maker for further action (subject to any concerns about revealing your identity).

If the whistleblowing disclosures are not proven, but there is evidence of other inappropriate conduct, the matter might be referred to People, Culture & Environment. For example, there may be evidence of a breach of RFDS SA/NT's Code of Conduct.

If the whistleblowing disclosures are not proven, and there is no evidence of other inappropriate conduct, no further action will be taken.

Whatever the outcome, if the eligible whistleblower can be contacted, the decision maker will advise the eligible whistleblower of the outcome of the investigation.

6. PROTECTIONS FOR WHISTLEBLOWERS AND OTHERS

6.1 General

RFDS SA/NT wants to ensure that:

(a) eligible whistleblowers who make whistleblowing disclosure based on reasonable grounds do not suffer any detriment or disadvantage in retaliation or as a result; and
(b) other Staff members mentioned or involved in complaints and disclosures are treated fairly.

The protections set out below aim to achieve this. These protections may also be available to you if you make a disclosure to a legal practitioner to obtain legal advice or representation.

A whistleblowing disclosure made on reasonable grounds that turns out to be incorrect may also qualify for protection. However, protection is not available to a person who deliberately makes a false report – and RFDS SA/NT may take disciplinary action against that person (see item 6.6 below).


6.2 Protection of identity and confidentiality

As noted above, you can make a whistleblowing disclosure anonymously. It is your decision but doing so might make it more difficult for RFDS SA/NT or a relevant authority to assess and investigate your disclosure or provide you with relevant protections. If you have chosen to reveal your identity when making a whistleblowing disclosure, RFDS SA/NT may ask you to consent to RFDS SA/NT disclosing:

(a) your identity; and/or
(b) information that might lead to your identification, For example, if we consider that it would assist an investigation.

If you choose not to give consent:

(a) the person who knows your identity is permitted to disclose your identity only:
(i) to ASIC, APRA, the Australian Federal Police or (under the Tax Act) to the Commissioner of Taxation;

(ii) to a legal practitioner to obtain advice; or

(iii) in limited circumstances required by law, for example, where ordered by a court in legal proceedings;

(b) RFDS SA/NT will take reasonable steps to make all Contact Officers aware that:
(i) they cannot disclose your identity, even to another Contact Officer; and
(ii) they need to keep any notes, records or information about your whistleblowing disclosure secure, in accordance with item 6.3 below; and

(c) RFDS SA/NT may disclose any information (other than your identity) that aids its investigation, so long as it:
(i) considers that the information in question aids its investigation but does not reveal your identity; and
(ii) takes all steps it deems reasonable or helpful to reduce the risk that you will be identified as a result of disclosing that information.

6.3 Protection of files and records

RFDS SA/NT maintains record-keeping and information sharing procedures with the aim of ensuring that all records are stored and handled securely.

All files and records created from an investigation should be retained under strict security, generally in a file only accessible by the investigator and others deemed appropriate by RFDS SA/NT, in the course of the investigation, and following the investigation.

6.4 No victimisation

Victimisation is what happens if a person is subjected to any detrimental treatment as a result of:
(a) making a whistleblowing disclosure; or
(b) someone else's belief that the person has made or will make a whistleblowing disclosure.

Victimisation can include, for example, bullying and harassment, termination of employment, physical violence or threats of physical violence, or damage to reputation.Victimisation does not, however, include:
(a) administrative action that is reasonable to protect an eligible whistleblower from detriment; or
(b) reasonable management action, such as setting high performance standards, constructive feedback and legitimate advice and/or peer review.

Victimisation is strictly prohibited. You should immediately inform a Contact Officer if you are subjected to victimisation following a whistleblowing disclosure, or any threat of victimisation, so that RFDS SA/NT can take action.

The contact officer may need to work with others in order to manage the risk of victimisation, including relevant managers, the People, Culture & Environment Team, or the Board.

The contact officer is expected to take action in a timely manner to:

(a) protect you in the interim, which might include temporarily relocating you or the victimiser, or changing your reporting line;

(b) conduct a preliminary assessment of any alleged victimisation;

(c) if necessary and if you consent, refer the matter to senior management for further investigation; and

(d) if the allegation of victimisation is substantiated, and if you consent, refer the matter to a decision maker for further action.

Other Staff members mentioned or involved in complaints and disclosures also need to be treated fairly. This is partly achieved by their involvement being kept reasonably confidential in accordance with the protections set out above. It also means that no decisions should be made that cause them detriment without proper investigation.

If you raise a concern about someone victimising you and that person is not an employee, RFDS SA/NT will assess, on a case by case basis, the appropriate reasonable steps it may need to take.

6.5 Other whistleblower protections

Eligible whistleblowers who make whistleblowing disclosures on reasonable grounds have additional protections under legislation, including:
(a) Eligible whistleblowers are not subject to any civil, criminal or administrative liability (including disciplinary action) for making the disclosure;

(b) no contractual or other remedy can be enforced, and no contractual or other right can be exercised against an eligible whistleblower on the basis of the whistleblowing disclosure;

(c) if the Whistleblowing disclosure is made to ASIC, APRA or the Commissioner of Taxation, or is a public interest/emergency disclosure, then the information is not admissible in criminal proceedings or for the imposition of a penalty against an eligible whistleblower; and

(d) eligible whistleblowers may also seek compensation through the courts if they suffer loss, damage or injury because of a whistleblowing disclosure. Other remedies may be available depending on the type of detriment suffered. For example, a court may grant an injunction to stop victimisation, require an apology to be given, or to re-instate an eligible whistleblower who has been victimised by termination of employment.

6.6 Involvement in wrongdoing

RFDS SA/NT may discipline anyone found to have:

(a) unlawfully discriminated against, harassed, vilified or bullied another, or otherwise acted inappropriately;

(b) victimised an eligible whistleblower;

(c) disclosed information in breach of this Policy; or

(d) lied about a whistleblowing disclosure or made a whistleblowing disclosure maliciously, or otherwise in bad faith.

Disciplinary action can involve termination of employment or contractor arrangements.

Some of the protections under this Policy might also not be available to you if you are found to have been involved in wrongdoing that is the subject of a whistleblowing disclosure.

If you have any questions about this policy, please contact your People & Culture Business Partner.

7. RESPONSIBILITIES

7.1 All persons covered under this Policy

• Report any misconduct or wrongdoing covered by this Policy
• Comply with this policy when making a whistleblowing disclosure
• When reporting a concern under this Policy, the person must not knowingly give false information or make allegations for malicious reasons or that have no basis
• If needed to assist in an investigation of a concern raised under this policy, we expect all participants to comply with the confidentiality obligations
• Keep up to date with any changes to this Policy and the supporting documentation from time to time.

7.2 Contact Officers and the Chief Executive

• Comply with this Policy when receiving a whistleblowing disclosure.
• Conduct initial review of disclosures to determine whether the Policy applies and assess the risk of victimisation.
• Know the procedures for the escalation of concerns.
• Treat all concerns seriously, confidentially and use the appropriate procedures for investigating reports.
• Ensure victimisation does not occur.
• Communicate/correspond with the eligible whistleblower on receipt of a whistleblowing disclosure, during any investigation and in relation to any investigation finding.

7.3 People & Culture

• Distribute and regularly promote this Policy to all existing and new employees
• Assist with the investigations externally and internally when required
• Ensure that this Policy and supporting documentation complies with the legal requirements outlined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)
• Review this Policy and supporting documentation regularly in line with legislation changes and updates.

7.4 RFDS SA/NT Board

• Ensure this Policy is regularly reviewed for best practice and compliance
• Nominate the RFDS SA/NT Contact Officers for the purposes of this Policy
• Approve changes to the Policy.