Whistle Blower Policy

1.1 MoleMap Limited (NZBN: 9429038001628) (Company) together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries (Group) is committed to a culture where staff feel they are free to report or raise concerns regarding what they see as illegal, unacceptable, unethical or undesirable behaviour or conduct.

1.2 This policy applies to current and former officers, employees, suppliers of good or services (including contractors, dentists, consultants, and their employees), secondees, volunteers and associates of the Company. Associates in this context means directors and company secretaries of any related body corporate of the Company, and a person who is acting, or proposing to act, in concert in relation to the Company’s affairs. A relative or dependant of any of the above mentioned individuals can also make a disclosure under this Policy (collectively referred to as Personnel in this policy).

1.3 The purpose of this policy is to encourage the reporting of any Reportable Conduct and outline the procedures to be followed. 

1.4 There are protections available under this policy and under the NZ Protected Disclosures Act provided the discloser:

a. is one of the Company’s officers, employees, contractors or otherwise has a connection with the Company as described in 1.2 above;

b. has reasonable grounds for his/​her concern;

c. discloses any of the matters defined as Reportable Conduct under paragraph 2 of this policy; and

d. raises his/​her concern directly with one of the recipients set out at paragraph 5 of this policy.

In this policy:

Board means the board of directors of the Company.

Company means MoleMap Limited (NZBN: 9429038001628)

Group means the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Personnel has the meaning set out in section 1.3 of this policy.

Protected Disclosure Officer has the meaning set out in section 5.1.c) of this policy.

Protected Disclosure Act means the New Zealand Protected Disclosures Act 2000

Reportable Conduct means disclosure of information regarding conduct engaged by the Group, its officers or employees, provided the discloser has reasonable grounds to suspect such conduct constitutes:

a. misconduct in relation to the Group, such as fraud, negligence, default, breach of trust, or breach of duty in relation to the Group, including unsafe work practices or anything which may put the lives, health or wellbeing of anyone at risk;

b. improper state of affairs in relation to the Group, such as:

(i) dishonesty;
(ii) acting unethically;
(iii) conduct which may cause financial loss or be detrimental to the Group, systemic or serious breaches of any Group policies or procedures policies,
(iv) causing loss or damage to the Group’s reputation, interests, standing in the community, or financial position;
(v) destruction, alteration, mistreatment of, or removal for an improper purpose, of any Group asset, data or information, including material wastage of the Group’s resources; or
(vi) serious and systematic harassment, bullying, discrimination, or anything that unduly makes anyone feel uncomfortable, or is an abuse of authority.

c. breaches any laws relevant to the Company’s affairs

d. an offence against any other law of the Commonwealth that is punishable by 12 months imprisonment or more, including:

(i) engaging in victimisation against a person who is, or is thought to be, a discloser;
(ii) bribery or corruption, environmental damage that constitutes crime according to environmental laws in New Zealand; or
(iii) questionable accounting, tax, reporting or compliance procedures, including manipulation, concealment, falsification or knowing misstatement of records or financials.

e. danger to the public or the financial system.

3.1 This policy should not be used for complaints relating to personal work-related grievances, such as an interpersonal conflict between the discloser and another person, a decision relating to engagement, transfer or promotion of the discloser, a decision relating to the terms and conditions of engagement of the discloser, or a decision relating to suspension, termination or discipline of the discloser. These complaints should be raised with Human Resources.

4.1 Everyone associated with the Group is expected to adhere to acceptable and ethical standards, including the compliance with all laws, and this in turn helps the Group to achieve its commitment to a culture of ethical and honest behaviour.

4.2 Achieving this commitment requires all Personnel who become aware of any actual or suspected Reportable Conduct, to report what they know or suspect according to the procedures set out below.

5.1 Anyone who has reasonable grounds to suspect Reportable Conduct should report the conduct via one of the following channels:

a. officer or senior manager of the Group;
b. auditor or member of an audit team conducting an audit of the Group;
c. directly to the Protected Disclosure Officer, being Johan Vendrig, Privacy Officer, email to molemap.​privacy@​molemap.​co.​nz
d. Additional Protected Disclosure Officers may be appointed from time to time.

5.2 Also, the discloser may make a disclosure to Office of the Ombudsman, a legal practitioner for the purposes of obtaining legal advice or representation, or a member of parliament in certain limited circumstances (eg public interest disclosure and/​or emergency disclosure).

5.3 Protected Disclosure Officers are responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of this policy and Group’s whistleblower initiatives and encouraging reporting of policy breaches.

6.1 Disclosures of Reportable Conduct can be made anonymously. However to enable the Group to properly investigate and respond to disclosures that have been raised, the Group encourages disclosures to provide their name when making a disclosure.

6.2 The Group will keep confidential the identity of the individual who has raised a disclosure of Reportable Conduct (regardless of whether the disclosure was made anonymous or not), except where:

a. the discloser consents to this information being disclosed;
b. the Group needs to disclose information reasonably necessary to investigate the disclosure of Reportable Conduct, and in doing so, will take reasonable steps to reduce the risk of the discloser being identified;
c. the Group needs to obtain legal advice or representation regarding the disclosure of Reportable Conduct; or
d. is permitted by law or to prevent threats to life, health or property.

6.3 The Group may impose sanctions where an individual does not maintain confidential the identity of the discloser, which could include the cancellation of contracts, disciplinary action for employees, termination of employment or other steps or corrective action as may be appropriate in the circumstances.

6.4 The Group will keep files and records relating to disclosures confidential and store them securely.

7.1 The way the Group investigates disclosures of Reportable Conduct will depend on who makes the disclosure, the seriousness and nature of the matter, and who receives it. The objective of an investigation is to determine whether there is evidence which substantiates the disclosure.

7.2 The steps to respond to a disclosure may include:

a. determine whether the disclosure should be dealt with under this policy or another policy (for example, if it is a personal work-related grievance matter, it would be referred to Human Resources);
b. determine the appropriate person(s) to investigate the matter, which could include external investigators;
c. conduct an investigation within a reasonable period of time, which may involve speaking to witnesses, reviewing other records, analysing the information and, if possible, speaking with the individual who has made a disclosure. The investigation will be conducted thoroughly, objectively and fairly; and
d. deciding whether the disclosure is substantiated or not.

7.3 The outcome of an investigation will be reported on a confidential basis to the Chief Executive Officer, and where possible, the person who has made the disclosure may be informed that the matter has been investigated and concluded. If the investigation substantiates the disclosure, the Group is committed to addressing any wrongdoing, to the extent practicable in the circumstances.

7.4 Files and records relating to disclosures will be treated as confidential and stored securely.

8.1 The Group is absolutely committed to ensuring all persons who make a report in accordance with this policy are not subject to any detrimental, recriminatory, harassing or unfavourable treatment for lodging a report, having reasonable grounds to suspect Reportable Conduct.

8.2 Whistleblowers will not be subject to detriment or victimisation for making a disclosure of Reportable Conduct on reasonable grounds. This protection applies regardless of the findings of any investigation, as long as the whistleblower has reasonable grounds for making his/​her disclosure. Whistleblowers may however still be subject to disciplinary action for misconduct that is revealed as a result of making a disclosure.

8.3 If the whistleblower thinks the disclosure has not been dealt with sufficiently, or if his/​her identity has been disclosed in breach of this policy, or the whistleblower has been the subject of detriment or victimisation, the whistleblower may make a disclosure under this policy. Persons disclosing the identity of the whistleblower or engaging in detrimental conduct towards a whistleblower will commit an offence, and may be subject to disciplinary action including termination of their engagement or employment.

8.4 In cases of vexatious, baseless or trivial reports where there are no reasonable grounds for suspicion, the protections afforded to the whistleblower may not available.

9.1 Individuals who raise Reportable Conduct are protected from detriment and victimisation as per the provisions in the NZ Protected Disclosures Act, including but not necessary limited to protection of legal liability, confidentiality and protection from a contractual or other right to be exercised against the whistleblower for making the report. For details refer to the Act (https://​www​.leg​is​la​tion​.govt​.nz/ )

10.1 The Group’s practice is to ensure that any investigation process is confidential, fair and objective. Also, the Group will endeavour to:

a. maintain the privacy of employees mentioned in a disclosure or to whom a disclosure relates.
b. provide employees who are mentioned in a disclosure an opportunity to respond (where appropriate and subject to our requirements to maintain confidentiality).

11.1 External reviews of this policy may be undertaken at the request of the Board.

11.2 A copy of this policy (or a summary of it) will be made available on the Group’s website, and can be provided upon request to Human Resources.