Whistleblower Reporting

Sunshine Coast Financial and its Board of Directors are committed to promoting honesty, integrity and maintaining the highest ethical standards in all activities. Consistent with these values, Sunshine Coast Financial does not tolerate any illegal or unethical behaviour, including fraud, criminal acts, regulatory violations, manipulation of accounting and auditing records, or any breach of its internal code of conduct or any policies, procedures, or practices established by Sunshine Coast Financial (and its subsidiaries and affiliates, as applicable).

If you have concerns about wrongdoing or behaviour that could put Sunshine Coast Financial's integrity or reputation at risk, you can report the matter to Sunshine Coast Financial by submitting a confidential and anonymous Whistleblower Report.

What to report

Whistleblower Reporting should be used to report concerns of wrongdoing regarding ethics, integrity and compliance, such as:

• Concerns or suspected wrongdoing related to accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters
• Any breach of laws or regulations, internal controls or policies by employees or other agents of Sunshine Coast Financial
• Any act of dishonesty, or other activity that may be an indication of fraud
• Unauthorized disclosure of confidential information about Sunshine Coast Financial, its members or suppliers
• Any other conduct or activity that appears suspicious or unethical, or endangers any individual’s health and safety

What (generally) not to report

Whistleblower Reporting does not replace the other methods already in place to communicate concerns to Sunshine Coast Financial. Members and others are encouraged to resolve matters relating to customer service at the branch level or with the Member Service Centre where possible, and through our Complaint Resolution Process. For any reason, if you are uncomfortable using these reporting channels, or if you prefer to report your concern through Whistleblower Reporting, you can use Whistleblower Reporting.

How to report

Whistleblower Reporting is a confidential online service operated by an independent company, outside of Sunshine Coast Financial, which will alert us to your report. When filing a report, you have the option of choosing to remain anonymous in order to provide vital information to our team regarding a concern.

What you should know

Anonymous reporting can limit our ability to investigate if insufficient information is provided to support taking action. Sunshine Coast Financial encourages those using the reporting tool to consider providing contact information if possible, and to record their case number and log-in information as the case investigator may communicate with you as required.

Reporting externally

You also have additional options to report externally to applicable regulators, governmental agencies, law enforcement agencies, or self-regulatory authorities in your jurisdiction. In Canada, this includes the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.

Protection from retaliation

Sunshine Coast Financial's Whistleblower Policy protects against any form of retaliation against any individual who makes a good-faith report under the Policy.