Put a whistleblower policy in writing

A common problem is relying on a generic policy that says concerns can be reported, but does not explain who receives reports, how confidentiality is handled, or what protections apply in practice. Another issue is having policy wording that does not match the way concerns are actually escalated inside the organisation. A useful whistleblower policy should fit your reporting lines, management structure and record-handling processes. The legal position can also depend on how information is handled in practice, not just what the document says.

It will usually cover the types of wrongdoing or serious concerns that can be reported, who can make a disclosure, the available reporting channels, how anonymous or confidential reports are treated, and the organisation's approach to victimisation or retaliation. It may also explain how reports are assessed, who is responsible for receiving them, and what happens after a concern is raised. The exact wording often depends on whether reports are made to managers, a dedicated contact person, or an external reporting channel.

We usually need a practical picture of how your organisation is set up, including who may raise concerns, who should receive reports, whether you want multiple reporting options, and how sensitive information is stored or shared internally. It also helps to know whether you already have related policies, such as conduct, grievance or privacy documents, so the wording can work consistently across your documents. Privacy wording works best when it is matched to your real collection, use, storage and disclosure practices.

Generic templates can leave gaps where the commercial model, customer journey or risk profile is more specific than the precedent assumes. However, it often stays too general for real use. For example, it may not reflect your reporting structure, confidentiality processes, or the categories of people connected to your organisation who should be covered. It may also leave gaps around anonymous reporting, escalation steps or interactions with other internal policies. Tailored drafting is often more useful where your organisation has managers across different teams, handles sensitive information, or wants clearer internal accountability for receiving and assessing disclosures.

No. This service covers the legal drafting or review of the whistleblower policy itself and related comments on the document. It does not include running investigations, interviewing staff, acting as an external whistleblower officer, technical implementation, security remediation, or ongoing representation. If you need broader workplace rollout support, training sessions or advice on a live complaint, that would usually need separate work. This page is aimed at getting the core policy document in place, rather than managing the full reporting process for you.

Just submit an enquiry via this page or click the 'get started' button on our website to submit an enquiry. After you've submitted an enquiry, one of our legal consultants will review your enquiry within 1 business day and get in touch to get a better idea of exactly what you are looking for.

Then your legal consultant will send through an email with a bit more information about the services you need, along with a fixed fee quote setting out costs, scope of the service and timing. Have a read through it, and if you're happy with the scope, you can accept and sign our engagement letter online - easy!

Once you've formally accepted, we'll connect you with a specialist lawyer and they will work with you to complete your project. They will contact you by email or phone if they need to get in touch.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Whistleblower Policy service, pricing starts from $900.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We operate completely online, which means we can help you wherever you are in New Zealand. We have office spaces in Sydney, and in Melbourne, but our use of technology allows our team members to work remotely from around the world. Our legal team are mostly based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. We also have a London office for Sprintlaw UK.

Our legal team is made up of experienced lawyers, who are specialists in various areas of law and hold an Australian legal practising certificate. None of our Sprintlaw lawyers are New Zealand qualified lawyers and they do not currently hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

They provide legal services working remotely from Australia via our 'legal consultancy' model, through which (under section 6 and section 35 of the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006) our Australian legal team are permitted to provide legal services to New Zealand businesses provided they do not provide services in certain 'reserved' areas of law. You can read our FAQ page to learn a bit more about our 'legal consultancy' model.

Given the strong similarities between Australian and New Zealand law, and the areas of law in which we practice (being small business and startup law), we do not view the fact that our lawyers have not qualified in New Zealand as having any substantive impact on the quality of our service. We are committed to ensuring that we provide high quality, affordable legal services to all our New Zealand clients.

Our legal team have all trained at leading firms, but have left the traditional corporate law world to join us on our mission to create a new and better way of delivering legal services. They have specialist expertise in technology law, intellectual property law, contract drafting and review, corporate law and commercial law.