Significant improvements are being made in New Zealand workplaces to better protect whistleblowers, Minister for the Public Service Chris Hipkins said today.
“The Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 replaces the Protected Disclosures Act 2000. It is more people-focused and will make the rules easier to access, understand, and use,” Chris Hipkins said.
“This Government is committed to protecting New Zealanders who speak up about serious wrongdoing in the workplace, and this will greatly improve how we protect disclosers across both the public and private sectors.
“One of New Zealand’s strengths is the high regard in which New Zealand Government and business organisations are held for their honesty and integrity.
“It’s vital that employees and workers can freely speak up when they have concerns about ethics, risks, financial impropriety and safety in the workplace – without the fear of recrimination.”
The new Protected Disclosures Act 2022 makes the disclosure process easier, extends and clarifies the grounds under which protected disclosures can be made and provides increased protection for whistleblowers.
It covers wrongdoing in, or by, any organisation, including small businesses, government agencies, and non-government associations and is relevant to anyone who has worked or volunteered for them.
The Act also provides clearer protection for people to speak up about wrongdoing, while protecting the whistleblowers themselves. It ensures confidentiality around who has made the disclosure, immunity from disciplinary action for making the disclosure, and protection from retaliation through the Employment Relations Act 2000 and the Human Rights Act 1993.
“Another key improvement to the Act means a person, from any organisation or business, can make a protected disclosure direct to an appropriate authority at any time – instead of needing to disclose to their employer first,” Chris Hipkins said.
“In the lead up to the Act’s commencement in July, we will build awareness of the new legislation – so that organisations know what they need to do, and people can better understand the protections available and feel safer raising their concerns when they do see something seriously wrong in their workplace,” Chris Hipkins said.
Are we going to be able to dob the govt in for their incompetent dmaaging performance to date?
Jabcinda & Co cannot even listen to criticism made in good faith. They traded basic human right principles when they mandated jabbing and masking and fired people from their jobs. Protected Disclosures option is to identify the rebels who does not go with their agenda than anything else. These Acts can work only a trusted environment. The poltical class and their highly paid Ministerial/departmental executives are least trusted and so this is just a gimmick.
Fancy that huh…bit of a sceptic here. Find me an organisation that will treat you fairly after you have blown the whistle. There is injustice everywhere. I doubt if you are at the bottom of the food chain that anyone will even consider what you say…you will be muted ASAP. All these policies are waste of time and money.
practise what you preach Hipkins you and your government are full of lies and deceit.
Does this mean that our doctors & nurses can now speak out about the vaccine and vaccine injuries with out fear of being deregistered ??
lol, good one. No, you can talk about a fly in the food supplied to patients, for example.
What a hypocrite
Communist tool. Doxing.