NZ Whistleblowing Is Surging. Is Your Organisation Ready?

Four years ago, the Chief Ombudsman received just 71 protected disclosure enquiries over a 12-month period. Last year, that number was 278. That’s not a blip in NZ whistleblowing, it’s a pattern — and it’s accelerating.

In 2022/23, disclosures rose 80%. The following year, another 58%. In 2024/25, a further 37%. New Zealand employees are speaking up in greater numbers than at any point on record. The question for organisations isn’t whether this trend will continue. It’s whether they’re equipped to handle it.

How are People Reporting — And Why Does That Matter?

Here’s what the numbers don’t say directly, but strongly imply: a significant and growing volume of disclosures is reaching the Ombudsman’s office rather than being resolved internally.

That should concern every compliance manager and HR director in the country.

When surveyed, 84% of New Zealanders say they would report serious wrongdoing to their employer first. The intent is there. But the Ombudsman’s inbox tells a different story. Employees are bypassing internal channels — not because they don’t want to report, but because they don’t trust what will happen when they do.

The evidence supports that conclusion. Among the most common categories of disclosure received by the Ombudsman’s office are complaints where sexual harassment was reported internally and the employer failed to act — and cases where administrative efforts to cover up wrongdoing were themselves the primary concern. When internal systems fail, employees don’t stay silent. They go elsewhere.

The NZ Whistleblowing Infrastructure Gap

Part of the problem is structural. Despite growing volumes and strengthened legal obligations under the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022, many organisations still lack the infrastructure to handle disclosures effectively.

Research from Transparency International NZ highlights wide variation in the maturity of controls across organisations — with many prioritising detection after misconduct occurs rather than building the prevention and reporting systems that catch issues early. Internal fraud, the research notes, is almost certainly under-reported as a result.

Perhaps the most telling data point: only 48% of New Zealanders believe they would be safe if they reported serious wrongdoing. Fewer than half. In a country where whistleblowing volumes are at record levels, the majority of people still don’t feel protected.

That gap — between willingness to report and confidence in doing so safely — is exactly where organisations are falling short.

What This Means for Your Organisation

The Protected Disclosures Act 2022 significantly broadened the landscape. Employees can now report directly to an appropriate authority — including the Ombudsman — without first going through internal channels. For organisations that haven’t invested in robust, trusted internal reporting systems, that means issues that could have been identified and resolved early are instead becoming external complaints, investigations, and — in some cases — headlines.

The ACFE consistently finds that 43% of occupational fraud is detected through tip-offs. Internal reporting channels, when they work, are among the most effective risk management tools available. When they don’t work, that intelligence goes elsewhere — or disappears entirely.

The organisations most exposed are those relying on internal systems where reporters lack genuine confidence in independence, anonymity, and fair handling. When the person you’re reporting about has influence over the process — or is the process — the system fails before it starts.

An Independent Channel Changes the Equation

An independent, third-party reporting platform removes the structural conflicts that undermine internal channels. Reporters know their disclosure won’t land on the desk of the person they’re reporting, won’t be filtered by a manager with competing interests, and won’t be buried under institutional pressure to protect reputation over integrity.

That’s the foundation EthicsPro® is built on. Since 2007, Report It Now™ has provided New Zealand organisations with a genuinely independent reporting channel — secure, anonymous, and managed entirely outside the internal hierarchy. Cases are handled by a neutral third party, reporters can track their disclosure confidentially, and organisations receive the early warning intelligence they need to act before issues escalate.

The trend in the Ombudsman’s data isn’t going to reverse. New Zealanders are increasingly willing to speak up — and increasingly aware of their legal right to do so. The organisations that will manage this well are those that have already built reporting environments their people trust.

Is yours one of them?

Talk to Report It Now™ about EthicsPro® — get in touch today