Protected concerns

You can report a concern if you are:

• a member or former member of a registered organisation
• an officer or former officer of a registered organisation
• an employee or former employee of a registered organisation
• a person who has, or had, a contract for the supply of goods or services or any other transaction with the registered organisation, or one of its branches, officers or employees on its behalf
• an officer, former officer, employee or former employee of the person who has the contract or transaction.
• a lawyer acting for someone falling within one of these categories.

To be protected by the RO Act, the concern must be made to the right person and be about ‘disclosable conduct’.

Disclosable conduct

Disclosable conduct is an act (or failure to act) that indicates that someone may have: 

• breached the RO Act, Fair Work Act 2009 or Competition and Consumer Act 2010, or
• committed a criminal offence against a Commonwealth law.

Some examples of disclosable conduct are listed on pages 3-4 of our Report disclosable conduct form

Who to disclose the concern to

To be protected under the RO Act, the concern must be reported to the right person.

This includes:

• the General Manager of the Fair Work Commission
• a Fair Work Commission staff member
• a Fair Work Commission tribunal member
• a Fair Work Ombudsman staff member
• an administrator appointed under RO Act in relation to the Construction and General Division of the CFMEU and its branches.

If you report disclosable conduct directly to the registered organisation but the conduct could have been reported to one of the recipients listed above, you may still be protected if reprisals are taken against you.

• Internal investigation by the registered organisation
• Report a concern to the Commission
• What the Commission can and can’t investigate

You can also call us on 1300 341 665 or email us at regorgs@fwc.gov.au.