The University is committed to the highest standards of ethics and integrity in our organisation and in the delivery of our mission, including in our research, teaching and administration activities. We understand this is crucial to our continued success and reputation.

The University’s Whistleblower Protection Policy is an important instrument in detecting corrupt, illegal or other undesirable conduct at the University, including but not limited to, theft, fraud, bribery, collusion, conflicts of interest, victimisation, misuse of systems or university resources, and serious systemic breaches of University policy. The University strongly encourages you to speak up if you suspect or witness any matters of concern.

The Whistleblower Protection Policy explains who can report conduct under the policy, the protections available to whistleblowers, what matters are reportable, how you can report your concern without fear of victimisation or detriment, and how the University will support and protect you. You can report a matter anonymously.

Reports can be made to the University’s confidential and secure Whistleblowing Portal You can also report whistleblowing matters directly to a select number of senior leaders in the organisation and the Whistleblower Disclosure Coordinator. Please refer to the Whistleblower Protection Policy for more details about who can receive a report.

External Disclosures

While the University encourages individuals to make disclosures under the Whistleblower Protection Policy, a person may also choose to report directly to a regulator. In Australia, the ATO (Australian Tax Office), ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) and APRA (Australian Prudential Regulation Authority) can receive whistleblower disclosures.

Additionally, anyone can make a disclosure about the University directly to IBAC (Independent Broad Based Anti-Corruption Commission). Information about what can be reported, what happens if you make a report to IBAC and what protections may be available is available from the IBAC website. You may wish to obtain independent legal advice on the requirements for these types of disclosures.

For more information, you can access the policy in full: Whistleblower Protection Policy.

Whistleblowing is the act of a disclosing or exposing potentially non-compliant, fraudulent, corrupt, unethical, or illegal activity about an organisation or its employees under whistleblowing protection laws. To determine if you are eligible to make a whistleblower disclosure to the University, please refer to the Whistleblower Protection Policy. If after reviewing the policy you are unsure of your eligibility, you can submit your disclosure to the University via the confidential Whistleblower Portal Please refer to ‘How to make a whistleblower disclosure’ below.

All Whistleblower reports received by the University are handled in accordance with the University's Whistleblower Protection Policy. The University's Protection of Information and Investigation Procedure outlines in further detail how whistleblower reports are handled and investigated.

Please refer to the Privacy Collection Notice for the Whistleblower Portal for further detail on how your personal information is handled and protected in making a whistleblower report.

The University has a secure, confidential third-party portal to support eligible disclosures in the University community to make a disclosure.

The Whistleblower Portal is supported by Elker, a third-party platform. It offers benefits including the option to be anonymous or identifiable as a discloser, selection of a preferred University whistleblower contact, and a two-way encrypted chat function. The portal is an opportunity for the University to provide more robust support to those who wish to make a whistleblower disclosure under the University’s Whistleblower Protection Policy and Commonwealth legislation.

Before making a disclosure, you are encouraged to familiarise yourself with the Whistleblower Protection Policy, appropriate legislative framework, eligibility, and frequently asked questions available on this information page.

Make a disclosure to the University

If you are unsure of your eligibility to make a whistleblowing disclosure, you can still submit a disclosure to the University via the secure and confidential Whistleblower Portal. The University will be able to provide guidance and advice of your options and possible next steps via the portal based on the information provided in your disclosure.

Students can make a complaint or grievance via the University’s Complaints and Grievances channels.

Students seeking protection as a whistleblower may not be entitled to legislative protection under Commonwealth law. However, you may be entitled to legislative protection under Victorian law.  To investigate your eligibility status and to seek further guidance, contact the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC).

To make a disclosure, select Make a Disclosure to the University. It will take you to the Whistleblower Portal, the secure, confidential, third-party platform powered by Elker.  It will guide you through the steps of making a disclosure. You do not require your University login credentials to submit a disclosure in the Whistleblower Portal.

After you have submitted your disclosure, you will be prompted to create an alphanumeric log in key. As prompted within the Whistleblower Portal, it is strongly recommended that you make note of this log in key. This key is non-identifiable and unique to you and is separate from your University log in credentials.   Your log in key will allow you to access your disclosure after submission, check its status, and use the two-way encrypted chat function if you wish to speak with your whistleblower contact.

Please refer to the Elker User Guide in the portal to learn how to make a disclosure and to create your log in key.

Yes. Data privacy is and will remain a priority of the University, including for disclosures using the Whistleblower Portal, powered by Elker.

Information about data security protocols on the Elker platform is available from the Elker website.

If you make a disclosure, your identity (or information that could identify you) will only be shared where:

(a) you provide consent (you can opt out of anonymity at any time during the whistleblowing process via Whistleblower Portal); or

(b) the University is permitted, or otherwise required by law.

Please refer to the Whistleblowing Protection Policy for further information.

While strict privacy protocols, and University policies and legislation, are in place to protect the identity of disclosures, you may have a personal preference to take additional measures by making your disclosure from a personal device or switching off the Cisco VPN on your University device.

Yes. It is important that you feel comfortable and confident with support you are receiving throughout your disclosure process.

Prior to reviewing your disclosure before submission, you will be prompted to select a senior executive University staff member to respond to your disclosure. These staff members are referred to as Eligible Recipients under the University’s Whistleblowing Protection Policy. You will be able to see their name, photo, pronouns, and University role title.

Each disclosure received via the Whistleblower Portal goes through a rigorous review process in accordance with the University’s Whistleblowing Protection Policy and relevant legislative framework. If after this process your disclosure is deemed to be ineligible under whistleblowing protections, you will be advised of your available options via the two-way encrypted chat within the Whistleblower Portal.

For technical support, please call the Service Centre on +61 3 8344 0888. Normally, you’ll be asked to provide identifying details when making a support enquiry. However, in this instance, you may wish to refrain. Remember, you have the option to block the number from which you are calling if it would make you feel more comfortable. You can discuss your specific Whistleblower Portal technical issue with the Service Centre staff without providing your identity.

The University offers a suite of support services to staff and students, including the Safer Communities Program, Counselling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Your disclosure will be received by the University whistleblower contact you selected when you submitted your disclosure. They will contact you through the two-way encrypted chat in the Whistleblower Portal within two business days of disclosure submission . Your disclosure will then be referred to a Professional Partner for investigation. The University whistleblower contact will remain your primary contact and guide you through the entire process.

You will remain anonymous throughout the entire process, or you may choose to reveal your identity in the Whistleblower Portal at any time should you feel comfortable doing so.

Using your log in key, you can access your secure dashboard in the Whistleblower Portal to view the status of your disclosure at any time. From your secure dashboard, you can click on your disclosure to review the timestamped action history, and the two-way encrypted messages between you and the person(s) helping you with your disclosure

You can expect to receive a response/acknowledgement status update within two business days . The status of your disclosure can be viewed on your Whistleblower Portal dashboard. You may also receive a comment or question to your disclosure via the two-way encrypted chat in the Whistleblower Portal. To access your dashboard and the chat function, please login to the Whistleblower Portal using your “Elker login key”.

The Whistleblower Portal offers an opt-in anonymity feature for disclosers who wish to remain anonymous. Disclosers can elect to opt out of anonymity at any time. Those responding to your disclosure cannot change your anonymity status for you.

If you make a disclosure, your identity (or information that could identify you) will only be shared where:

(a) you provide consent; or

(b) the University is permitted, or otherwise required by law.

Please refer to the Whistleblowing Protection Policy for further information.