Whistleblower Policy

Purpose

The Real Estate Institute of Queensland Limited (REIQ) is committed to ensuring corporate compliance and promoting ethical corporate culture by observing the highest standards of fair dealing, honesty and integrity in our business activities.

The REIQ encourages the reporting of any instances of suspected unethical, illegal, corrupt, fraudulent or undesirable conduct against the interests of the REIQ, law or public policy (Misconduct) and provides protections and measures to individuals who make a disclosure in relation to such conduct without fear of victimisation or reprisal.

The purpose of this policy is to ensure any concerns raised regarding Reportable Conduct (as defined below) and conduct that constitutes misconduct or improper state of affairs, are dealt with effectively, securely, appropriately, and in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (the Act).

Below is an outline of how we approach, support, manage and protect individuals making these disclosures.

Scope

Reportable conduct

You may make a report or disclosure under this policy if you have reasonable grounds to believe that a director, officer, employee, contractor, supplier, consultant or other person who has business dealings with the REIQ has engaged in conduct (Reportable Conduct) which is:

• Dishonest, fraudulent or corrupt;
• Illegal (such as theft, dealing in or use of illicit drugs, violence or threatened violence and criminal damage to property);
• Unethical including any breach of the Company’s policies such as the Code of Conduct;
• Oppressive or grossly negligent;
• Conduct relating to business behaviours and practices that may cause consumer harm;
• Failure to comply with, or breach of, any legal or regulatory obligations, such as statutory accounting and reporting requirements;
• Misconduct or an improper state of affairs;
• A danger, or represents a danger to the public or financial system; and/or
• Harassment, discrimination, victimisation or bullying.

Any disclosures that do not fall within the definition of Reportable Conduct, will not qualify for protection under the Act or this policy. It will be at the REIQ’s discretion whether it considers there is a reasonable suspicion that the Reportable Conduct is occurring and/or whether the conduct constitutes “misconduct or improper state of affairs” under the Act.

For the avoidance of doubt, Reportable Conduct does not include personal work-related grievances. A personal work-related grievance is a grievance about any matter in relation to a staff member’s current or former employment, having implications (or tending to have implications) for that person personally and that do not have broader implications for the REIQ. Examples of personal work-related grievances are as follows:

• An interpersonal conflict between the staff member and another employee;
• A decision relating to the engagement, transfer or promotion of the staff member;
• A decision relating to the terms and conditions of engagement of the staff member; and
• A decision to suspend or terminate the engagement of the staff member, or otherwise to discipline the staff member.

Personal work-related grievances should be reported to your manager or in accordance with the REIQ’s Grievance Handling Policy.

Making a disclosure

Where you do not feel comfortable making an internal report, or where you have made an internal report, but no action has been taken within a reasonable time, you may disclose any Reportable Conduct directly to regulatory bodies, or other external parties, about a disclosable matter and qualify for protection under the Corporations Act without making a prior disclosure to the REIQ. Eligible Recipients include:

• a legal practitioner for the purposes of obtaining legal advice or legal representation in relation to the operation of the whistleblower provisions in the Corporations Act;
• ASIC, APRA or another Commonwealth body prescribed by regulation and qualify for protection under the Corporations Act; and
• a journalist or parliamentarian, under certain circumstances where the disclosure is related to a public interest disclosure.

Public Interest and Emergency Disclosure

In certain situations, the conduct or wrongdoing may be of such gravity and urgency that disclosure to the media or a parliamentarian is necessary. It is recommended that you contact an independent legal adviser prior to making any public interest or emergency disclosure. Certain public interest and emergency disclosures are protected under the Act (Protected Public Interest Disclosure and Protected Emergency Disclosures).

To qualify for protection under the Act, a Public Interest Disclosure and Emergency Disclosure needs to be made to:

• a journalist, defined to mean a person who is working in a professional capacity as a journalist for a newspaper, magazine, or radio or television broadcasting service; or
• a Member of the Parliament of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory parliament.

A Protected Public Interest Disclosure qualifies for protection if:

• you have previously disclosed the information to ASIC or APRA;
• at least 90 days has passed since the previous disclosure was made;
• you have reasonable grounds to believe that action is not being taken to address the matters which you have disclosed;
• you have reasonable grounds to believe that making a further disclosure to a journalist or member of parliament would be in the public interest;
• you have given written notification, including sufficient information to identify the previous disclosure to the authority to which the previous disclosure was made that you intend on making a public interest disclosure; and
• the extent of information disclosed is no greater than is necessary to inform the recipient of the misconduct, an improper state of affairs or circumstances, or a breach of the law.

Handling and investigating a disclosure

The REIQ will investigate all matters reported under this policy as soon as practicable after the matter has been reported. Investigation processes and timeframes may vary depending on the precise nature of the conduct being investigated.

 The purpose of the investigation is to determine whether or not the concerns are substantiated, with a view to the REIQ then rectifying any wrongdoing uncovered to the extent that this is practicable in all circumstances.If the REIQ determines that we will need to investigate a disclosure, we will determine:

• the nature and scope of the investigation;
• the individuals within and/or outside the entity that should lead the investigation;
• the nature of any technical, financial, or legal advice that may be required to support the investigation; and
• the timeframe for the investigation.

If the report is not anonymous, the REIQ or external investigator will contact you, by your preferred method of communication to discuss the investigation process and any other matters that are relevant to the investigation.

Where you have chosen to remain anonymous, your identity will not be disclosed to the investigator or to any other person and the REIQ will conduct the investigation based on the information provided to it.

The likelihood of a successful outcome to any investigation will be increased if, when making a disclosure, you make your identity known. Nonetheless, you can make a disclosure anonymously to an Eligible Recipient and still qualify for protection under the Act.

If you disclose anonymously you will need to provide sufficient information for the matter to be investigated, as it may not be possible for us to come back to you for clarification or to request more information from you, and it may not be possible for us to keep you informed on the progress made in investigating your disclosure. You may refuse to answer any questions that could reveal your identity, though doing so may reduce the Eligible Recipients and/or investigator’s ability to investigate your disclosure. You are encouraged to provide a means for ongoing two-way communication with the person/entity you notified.

Where possible, the REIQ will provide you with feedback on the progress and expected timeframes of the investigation. The person against whom any allegations have been made will also be informed of the concerns and will be provided with an opportunity to respond (unless there are any restrictions or other reasonable bases for not doing so).

To the extent permitted by law, the REIQ may inform you and/or a person against whom allegations have been made of the findings. The REIQ will document the findings in a report however any report will remain the property of the Company and will only be shared with you or any person against whom the allegations have been made if the REIQ deems it appropriate.

The REIQ may not be able to undertake an investigation if unable to contact the Discloser (e.g., if a disclosure is made anonymously and the Discloser has refused to provide, or has not provided, a means of contacting them).

The REIQ discourages deliberate false reporting. Should an investigation into a disclosure show that the complaint was unfair, untrue, vexatious, malicious or discriminatory, this will be followed up with the individual who made the disclosure and dealt with in accordance with the Performance Management Policy. There may be resulting disciplinary actions taken that could include termination of employment.

Whistleblower protection

Protection of Confidentiality

All information received from you will be treated confidentially and sensitively.

You will not be required to provide your name when making a disclosure. To make a disclosure on an anonymous basis, it is recommended that you use a pseudonym and contact the REIQ in the manner outlined above.

If you report on an anonymous basis, you will still qualify for the protections in this policy.

If you make a disclosure under this policy, your identity (or any information which would likely to identify you) will only be shared if:

• You give your consent to share that information; or
• The disclosure is allowed or required by law (for example where the concern is raised with a lawyer for the purposes of obtaining legal advice); or
• The concern is reported to the ASIC, APRA, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

Where it is necessary to disclose information for the effective investigation of the matter, and this is likely to lead to your identification, all reasonable steps will be taken to reduce the risk that you will be identified. For example, all personal information or reference to you witnessing an event will be redacted from any report, you will be referred to in a gender-neutral context, where possible you will be contacted to help identify certain aspects of your disclosure that could inadvertently identify you.

If you are concerned that your identity has been disclosed in relation to a disclosure, and without your consent, you should inform an Eligible Recipient immediately.

Ensuring fair treatment of individuals mentioned in a disclosure

Ensuring this policy is easily accessible

The following methods may be used for making the policy available to the entity’s officers and employees (where applicable):

• holding staff briefing sessions and/or smaller team meetings,
• posting the policy on our HR Information System or other communication platform;
• referencing or setting out the policy in the employee handbook; and
• incorporating the policy in employee induction information packs and training for new starters.

Responsibility and breaches

All team members have a responsibility as part of their engagement to adhere to this policy. If you feel this policy has been breached, you should report your concern to your manager.

A breach of this policy will be managed in accordance with the Discipline & Termination Policy.