The Social Ventures Australia Whistleblower Hotline

 The Social Ventures Australia Whistleblower Hotline is an independent service run by Stopline that gives you the opportunity to report Wrongdoing, that is, actual or suspected misconduct or an inappropriate state of affairs or circumstances – anonymously if you wish. Under whistle-blowing laws, this expressly includes SVA or an officer or employee of SVA engaging in conduct that:

1. is an offence under various Commonwealth legislation and/or is punishable by imprisonment for a period of 12 months or more;
2. represents a danger to the public;
3. represents a danger to the financial system (for example, in the case of impact investing); or
4. is set-out in regulations enacted under the whistle-blowing laws.

The concept of ‘misconduct or an improper state of affairs’ is broad and is not limited by the list of conduct in the legislation. Below are further examples of conduct that may meet the definition of Wrongdoing under this Policy:

• illegal conduct;
• fraud or corruption or abuse of public trust;
• harassment, discrimination, bullying or victimisation;
• unethical conduct (e.g. altering company records, engaging in questionable accounting practices, misuse of company information); or
• serious breach of an SVA code of conduct, policy or procedure.

A person making a report of an actual or suspected wrongdoing must have reasonable grounds to believe that it is true.
The service includes:

• Dedicated hotline number, website, fax, mail and email address for employees, contractors and other stakeholders to report suspected incidents of improper conduct.
• Expert forensic investigators taking the calls and analysing disclosures.
• Timely reporting of incidents to dedicated representatives within Social Ventures Australia.

Stopline has been at the forefront of disclosure management services for over a decade and has partnered with some of Australia’s most iconic companies to assist them in demonstrating their commitment to supporting staff, contractors and other stakeholders with demonstrable best practice corporate governance initiatives.