7309

2010-2011-2012

 

The Parliament of the

Commonwealth of Australia

 

THE SENATE

 

 

 

 

Fair Work Amendment Bill 2012

 

 

(Amendment to be moved by the Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Milne, in committee of the whole)

( 1 )     Schedule 5 , page 34 (after line 9) , at the end of the Schedule, add:

Part 3—Protection for whistleblowers

Fair Work Act 2009

4  Section 12

Insert:

public interest disclosure : see subsection 351A(2).

5  After section 351

Insert:

351A  Public interest disclosures

             (1)  A person (the first person ) must not take adverse action against, threaten or harass another person because the first person believes that the other person made, or was going to make, a public interest disclosure.

Note:          This section is a civil remedy provision (See Part 4-1).

             (2)  A public interest disclosure means a disclosure covered by subsection (3) if it is made in the circumstances covered by subsection (4), but does not include a disclosure of information by a person if the person knows that the information, or part of the information, is false or misleading.

             (3)  This subsection covers disclosures by a person about any of the following kinds of conduct that the person reasonably believes an employer, employee or an independent contractor has engaged in, or intends to engage in:

                     (a)  an act or omission that would constitute a crime against the laws of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory;

                     (b)  a misappropriation of money or property belonging to another;

                     (c)  a misuse or concealment of information that relates to, or has been obtained because of, a person’s employment, where the misuse or concealment is made for personal benefit or is detrimental to the public interest;

                     (d)  an act or omission that presents a significant risk to:

                              (i)  a person’s safety; or

                             (ii)  public health; or

                            (iii)  the environment;

                     (e)  an act or omission that has, or is likely to cause, an unjust or unacceptable impact on a person.

             (4)  A disclosure by a person is made in the circumstances covered by this subsection if:

                     (a)  either:

                              (i)  the person has made the disclosure to his or her employer and the employer has failed to properly respond in a reasonable time; or

                             (ii)  it is not appropriate for the person to make the disclosure to his or her employer; and

                     (b)  it is reasonably necessary for the person to make the disclosure to a person other than his or her employer.

             (5)  No action or proceeding, whether criminal or civil, lies against a person for or in relation to a public interest disclosure made by the person in accordance with this section.

6  Subsection 539(2) (column 1 of item 11 of the table)

After “351(1)”, insert “351A(1)”.

[protection for public interest disclosures]