Make a protected disclosure
Find out how you can make a protected disclosure if you believe there's been serious wrongdoing in or by an organisation that involves a registered teacher.
Overview
If you believe there has been serious wrongdoing in or by an organisation that involves a registered teacher, you can make a protected disclosure to the Teaching Council under the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022.
You must work (or have worked) for the organisation you are making a disclosure about. Under the Act, workers include contractors, homeworkers, volunteers, and people seconded to the organisation.
Before making a protected disclosure to the Teaching Council, please read the following information to ensure you meet the criteria.
What is a protected disclosure?
The purpose of the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act is to encourage people to report serious wrongdoing in their workplace by providing protection for employees who want to “blow the whistle”.
A disclosure of information is a protected disclosure if the discloser:
- believes on reasonable grounds that there is, or has been, serious wrongdoing in or by the discloser’s organisation; and
- discloses information about that in accordance with the Act; and
- does not disclose it in bad faith.
A disclosure is only protected if it is made to the discloser’s organisation or an appropriate authority. Disclosures made to the media or on social media are not protected under the Act.
Is the matter serious wrongdoing?
Under the Act, serious wrongdoing means:
- An offence.
- A serious risk to public health, public safety, the health or safety of an individual, or the environment.
- A serious risk to the maintenance of the law (including the prevention, investigation, and detection of offences, or the right to a fair trial).
- An unlawful, corrupt, or an irregular use of public funds or public resources.
- An act that is oppressive, unlawfully discriminatory, or grossly negligent, or that is gross mismanagement, and is done by an employee of the organisation or a person performing a function or duty on behalf of the organisation.
If the matter does not meet the above criteria for serious wrongdoing but you still want to raise a concern, please consider doing so via our complaints process. More information is available here: Reporting a concern : Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand.
When and how will I be protected?
If you meet the criteria and make a protected disclosure to the Teaching Council, you are entitled to certain protections under the Act:
- Information that identifies you will be kept confidential, unless you consent to it being disclosed or disclosure is essential to:
- investigating the disclosure effectively
- preventing a serious risk to public health, public safety, someone’s health and safety, or the environment
- natural justice
- investigating for the purposes of enforcing the law.
- You are immune from civil, criminal, or disciplinary proceedings in relation to making the protected disclosure. However, you are not protected from action being taken against you for any involvement in the wrongdoing.
- Your employer cannot retaliate against you and no person may treat you less favourably because you made the disclosure.
If anybody breaches your right to protection, you can take action under the relevant legislation, for example by claiming a breach of the Privacy Act, making a complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman, or taking action under the anti-victimisation part of the Human Rights Act.
You are not entitled to protection under the Act if:
What sort of protected disclosures can be made to the Teaching Council?
The Teaching Council only has jurisdiction over current and previously registered teachers and holders of a Limited Authority to Teach (LAT). The Teaching Council does not have jurisdiction over schools, kura, or ECE centres as organisations, or other staff working in an educational setting that are not registered or authorised teachers.
The Teaching Council is the appropriate authority for disclosures regarding serious wrongdoing by a registered teacher or LAT holder.
The Ministry of Education and Education Review Office are appropriate authorities for protected disclosures relating to education services. The Teaching Council works with both agencies to ensure that protected disclosures are received by the correct authority and will communicate with you if your disclosure needs to be transferred to a different agency.
What will the Teaching Council do with my protected disclosure?
The Teaching Council’s role as an appropriate authority is to consider, check, and deal with disclosures of serious wrongdoing in or by the discloser’s organisation.
When we receive a protected disclosure, the Teaching Council will:
- Check whether it meets the requirements to be a protected disclosure. We will communicate with you if we do not think your disclosure meets the requirements and advise you of the other options available.
- Check with you whether you have made the disclosure to anyone else, and if so, what the outcome was (if you haven’t already told us).
- Consider the disclosure and whether it warrants investigation.
- Deal with the matter by doing one or more of the following:
- Investigating the disclosure.
- Addressing any serious wrongdoing by acting or recommending action.
- Referring the disclosure to the organisation your disclosure relates to or to another appropriate authority (we will consult with you and the other authority before doing so).
- Deciding that no action is required.
- Let you know what we have done (or are doing) to deal with the matter, and the reasons for our decision.
Where can I get more information?
For more information on protected disclosures, see:
How to make a protected disclosure
If after reading the information above you want to make a protected disclosure about serious wrongdoing by a registered teacher or LAT holder, please send details of your disclosure to protecteddisclosures@teachingcouncil.nz along with any supporting information.
To make an anonymous disclosure, send a written complaint marked ‘Private and Confidential’ to Lead Advisor – Privacy, Government & Information at PO Box 5326, Wellington 6140, New Zealand. Please note that if a disclosure is made anonymously there may be a limit on the extent to which the disclosure can be fairly investigated.