Reporting workplace breaches: Fair Work’s Anonymous Report tool

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has launched a tool offering members of the community the opportunity to provide anonymous information on unlawful practices in workplaces across Australia.

Since the launch of its Anonymous Report tool, the regulator has received more than 20,000 tip-offs alleging potential workplace breaches.

Ten thousand anonymous reports were made via the tool in its first 11 months of operation and this figure has doubled in just a further eight months – showing increasing take up of the function by members of the public.

Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said the anonymous reporting tool provides workers the ability to report potential workplace breaches without the risk of backlash from employers.

“We always urge employees to come forward if they have concerns in the workplace, but we appreciate that it can be a hard thing to do,” said James.

“With our anonymous report tool, workers can come to us and tell us what is happening now without the risk of being identified.”

The service was updated in July to allow workers to report to the Fair Work Ombudsman in 16 languages. Check out the Anonymous Report page here.

There’s no workplace that’s perfect and mistakes happen, even in the best places. As an employer, you’d like to hope your employees will approach you about any mistakes before they’d consider approaching an external party like the FWO or a lawyer. But the evidence above suggests there’s at least 20,000 workplaces where employees don’t feel this way. Is yours one of the 20,000?

Whether you have a specific concern about workplace compliance or you’d just like to ensure you have the best HR structure to manage your risk and get the best from your people, Bare Bones Consulting can help. Call us for a chat and a coffee. At the very least you’ll walk away with an understanding of your must haves, should haves and nice to haves around HR and employment. And that’s a smart investment of your time.