Protecting whistle-blowers – addressing misconduct and inappropriate behaviour in the workplace
Shane Entriken A * and Vince Hughes AA Crime Stoppers Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
The APPEA Journal 63 S57-S59 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ22126
Accepted: 1 March 2023 Published: 11 May 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.
Abstract
In June 2022, the final report titled Enough is Enough from the WA Parliamentary Inquiry into sexual harassment against women in the fly-in fly-out (FIFO) mining industry uncovered appalling behaviour in the industry. The inquiry called on companies in the resources sector to remove the barriers that deter some workers from making complaints by using anonymous reporting platforms – such as Crime Stoppers WA’s ‘Safe2Say’. This paper, delivered by Shane Entriken, Partner of Piper Alderman and Board Member of Crime Stoppers WA, and Dr Vince Hughes, CEO of Crime Stoppers WA, will briefly touch upon the current laws and requirements on whistle-blower protections, and employer duties to workers and addressing misconduct and inappropriate behaviour. It will then describe how the anonymous two-way integrity reporting platform Safe2Say, enables companies to ensure compliance with these laws and regulations, and build trust. This innovative and not-for-profit platform has been developed by leveraging off Crime Stoppers WA 25 years of experience and expertise. It is a tool that enhances organisational culture, reputation and worker well-being by providing a safe, external, independent, trusted platform to report misconduct or inappropriate workplace behaviour, such as sexual assault, aggression, bullying, harassment. Safe2Say is unique in that it provides a two-way chat facility and guaranteed anonymity to the person making a complaint. It is unique as the reporter cannot be traced.
Keywords: anonymous, confidential, Crime Stoppers, misconduct, officer duty, PCBU duty, reporting, Safe2Say, whistle-blowing.
Shane Entriken, Partner, Piper Alderman; Director, Crime Stoppers WA Ltd. Shane designed and taught Legal Strategy in Organisations at Murdoch University and is the co-author of a book on the management of FIFO operations. He started his legal career with Freehills and held senior roles with Downer and BHP with a remit across global operations and expansion projects including the petroleum business. Shane is a nationally recognised leader in employment, industrial relations and workplace health and safety law. He is skilled in commercial and governance law, and acts as a General Counsel for some clients. Shane regularly deals with complex industrial relations strategy and bargaining matters, having led some substantial industrial reform projects. He leads a workplace health and safety law team nationally with a deep capability and experience, and has acted for regulators in prosecutions. |
Dr Vince Hughes, CEO, Crime Stoppers WA Ltd; Chair, Crime Stoppers Australia; Director, Crime Stoppers International. Dr Vince Hughes has held senior public sector roles at the Public Sector Commission, WA Police, Corruption and Crime Commission and the National Crime Authority. Prior to this he was a police officer in the Republic of Ireland. Vince commenced as CEO of Crime Stoppers WA in 2017 and was appointed Chair of Crime Stoppers Australia in November 2021. He is a director on the board of Crime Stoppers International and a Certified Cyber Risk Officer with the International Cyber Threat Task Force. As a former Adjunct Associate Professor with the University of Western Australia, Edith Cowan University, and the University of New England he has lectured and supervised Master and Doctorate students. He has published papers in knowledge management and intelligence. |
