Joanne works for a bank. If she makes a whistleblowing report to the Central Bank about the conduct of her employer, this is a protected disclosure provided: (i) the disclosure is not made anonymously; (ii) she makes the disclosure in good faith; (iii) she has reasonable grounds for believing that the bank has committed an offence under financial services legislation.

• A. Only i
• B. i and iii
• C. ii and iii
• D. i, ii and iii

Answer: (D)

Protection for whistleblowers comes from meeting three crucial conditions when reporting to a regulator about potential wrongdoing. First, the disclosure should be made to a prescribed person like the Central Bank, which qualifies the report for protection. Second, the disclosure must be made in good faith, meaning the reporter genuinely believes there is wrongdoing and is not acting with malice or for personal gain. Third, there must be reasonable grounds for believing that the bank has committed an offence under financial services legislation, so the report has a legitimate basis rather than being a baseless accusation.

All three conditions together ensure the protection applies only to credible, properly reported concerns. If any one of these isn’t met—if it’s anonymous, if it’s not in good faith, or if there aren’t reasonable grounds to believe an offence occurred—the disclosure would not be protected.

So, because Joanne’s scenario requires not being anonymous, being in good faith, and having reasonable grounds to believe an offence occurred, all three conditions are satisfied.