A speech by John Price, Commissioner, Australian Securities and Investments Commission at the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia Whistleblowing Seminar (Sydney, Australia), 2 December 2016
Thank you for that introduction and for the opportunity to speak here today.
Today's session is very timely indeed. Community interest in whistleblowers has never been higher. Today I would like to talk to you about:
- various proposals to help improve the position of whistleblowers
- ASIC’s previous suggestions on whistleblower laws that we administer
- some important issues that might come up as Parliament considers these matters more broadly.
Let me start by saying that ASIC considers transparent and effective whistleblower policies and processes as essential elements of good corporate culture. Whistleblowing plays an important role in uncovering misconduct.
With that in mind it should be no surprise that there have been a number of recent initiatives to promote whistleblowers.