This section introduces a power to enable the Department to make regulations requiring a person prescribed for the purposes of Article 67F of the ERO 1996 to produce an annual report on disclosures of information made to the person by workers. The purpose of the annual reporting requirement is to ensure more systematic processes across all prescribed persons in the way public interest disclosures are handled, thereby working towards a consistent standard of best practice for disclosures. It will also provide greater assurance to the whistleblower that action is being taken by the prescribed person, thereby increasing confidence in their role.
The content of the report is to be prescribed by regulations, which will also determine how the report is published and its timing. Reports may not include content that would reveal the identity of the individual who has made the disclosure or the employer or organisation to which the disclosure relates.