Information for whistleblowers

If you are concerned about serious wrongdoing at your workplace, you can raise your concerns privately and be protected under New Zealand law by the Protected Disclosures Act.

The Protected Disclosures Act exists to help whistleblowers by giving them legal protection, and it applies to all organisations in New Zealand.

You can make a protected disclosure, or request advice about protected disclosures, using our online form.

Serious wrongdoing

When we talk about serious wrongdoing in the workplace, we mean anything that is one or more of the following:

• a crime that is punishable by a fine, community daetention or imprisonment
• something that could be a serious danger to people or to the environment if nothing is done about it
• interfering with a criminal investigation or a court case
• using money or resources from the government in a way that is not authorised or legally allowed.

In the public sector or government, serious wrongdoing can also be something that is oppressive, discriminatory, grossly negligent, or gross mismanagement.

Raising serious wrongdoing

If you believe that serious wrongdoing is happening in your workplace, you can report that to:

• the head of your organisation
• a person identified in your organisation’s policy or process, or
• an appropriate person or agency outside of your organisation. 

This is called a protected disclosure.

Under New Zealand law, you’ll be entitled to legal protections. These protections include:

• the person you inform must do what they can to keep your identity confidential
• no one can retaliate against you for blowing the whistle. 

After you make a protected disclosure, the receiver will decide if they should:

• investigate it
• take action to address any serious wrongdoing, or
• refer it to another organisation that can deal with it.

They can decide that no action is required if:

• they think that the concerns are not about serious wrongdoing, or
• if they think your concerns can be dealt with under a different process or another piece of law, like the Employment Relations Act 2003.

Things not covered by the Protected Disclosures Act

The Protected Disclosures Act does not cover all types of potential workplace misconduct.

If your concerns are about your own employment or treatment at work, you should raise a personal grievance instead. 

Personal grievances (Employment New Zealand) opens page in this tab

If you are concerned that your organisation hasn’t followed the law check the law to see if it an offence. An offence can also be called an infringement, and must be punishable by a fine, community detention, or imprisonment. 

If your concerns are about a decision that your organisation or your boss has made that you personally do not agree with, it might not be covered by the Protected Disclosures Act.

You cannot make a disclosure of information that is protected by legal professional privilege.

If you’re not sure whether the thing you’re concerned about is covered by the Protected Disclosures Act, you can contact us.  

Protections for whistleblowers

If you make a protected disclosure, you are entitled to special legal protection. This includes:

• Confidentiality  - the person you inform must do what they can to avoid identifying you. If they do, they might have violated the Privacy Act and you can make a complaint about this to the Privacy Commissioner opens page in this tab. There are some exceptions –  see page 6 of our guidance for more information, or contact us.
• Non-retaliation – your employer cannot punish you for blowing the whistle. If they do, you can raise a personal grievance opens page in this tab against them.
• Non-victimisation – no one can treat you unfairly because they think you have blown the whistle. If someone does, they might have breached the Human Rights Act and you can make a complaint about them to the Human Rights Commission opens page in this tab.

See our guidance or contact us for more information about these protections, or other protections like:

• Immunity from civil, criminal, or disciplinary proceedings for making a disclosure; and 
• no contracting-out – which means that a discloser is able to make a protected disclosure even if it appears that an agreement, contract or internal procedure appears to stop you from doing so.

Raising serious wrongdoing with us

You can raise serious wrongdoing with us, but we can only investigate protected disclosures about the public sector.

If you made a protected disclosure to a public sector organisation and aren’t happy with the process they followed, you should complain to the Chief Executive of the organisation. If you’ve made a complaint to Chief Executive and aren’t satisfied with their response, we may be able to investigate.

We cannot investigate:

• Ministers
• MPs
• court decisions
• lawyers advising the Government
• trustees of a trust
• disclosures about certain concerns (such as concerns about Police or intelligence agencies).

If we can’t investigate your case, we might be able to refer it to someone who can, or help you find the right people to talk to.

If you want to make a protected disclosure to us, you can do so using our online form.

Get help with serious wrongdoing in your workplace

For other ways to get in touch, go to our Contact page.

Guides

These guides provide more in-depth information about protected disclosures.

Overview of the Protected Disclosures Act

This guide provides information and guidance for disclosers including the terms used in the Act, the protections available for people who make protected disclosures, and what to expect after making a protected disclosure

Making a protected disclosure

Information and guidance on how to make a disclosure about serious wrongdoing in your workplace.

Checklist – Am I ready to make a protected disclosure?

This checklist will assist if you are considering making a protected disclosure about serious wrongdoing in your workplace, or wondering whether you need more information and guidance.

Meaning of ‘appropriate authority’

This guide provides information and guidance for disclosers about the meaning of an ‘appropriate authority’ and who a protected disclosure may be made to.