When employees consider speaking up about misconduct, the first question they ask themselves is: “Will I be safe?”
For the Human Rights Law Centre (the Centre), which runs Australia’s only dedicated whistleblower legal service, ensuring that answer is yes has been essential. Since launching its Whistleblower Project in 2023, the Centre has received around 450 enquiries from potential whistleblowers nationwide. More than 400 of those came through one channel: Rely.
“We use Rely as a secure platform so that members of the public can contact us in a way where they feel like their enquiries will be treated confidentially and securely,” says the Centre lawyer Anneliese Cooper. “It also means we can manage a high volume of enquiries in a very effective and triaged way.”
Why Rely Matters
The Centre intentionally directs most enquiries through Rely. Their intake form collects key details and helps the legal team assess how best to support each whistleblower. By funnelling enquiries into a single, secure hub, they can respond faster and reduce the administrative load on a small, resource-limited team.
As Cooper puts it: “We try to keep our enquiries all coming in through one spot so that it’s easier for us to triage and to talk to clients at the initial stage.”
Whistleblowers Prefer Rely
While some clients eventually switch to email for convenience, many prefer to stay on the platform.
“Often clients will say, ‘No, I want to keep messaging on Rely because that feels more secure,’” explains the Centre lawyer Madeleine Howle. “They perceive it as the more secure option.”
This preference highlights a truth HR and compliance leaders should note: a trusted, anonymous, and easy-to-use system makes people more likely to speak up — and keep engaging.
Scale and Efficiency in Action
The Centre averages around four new enquiries a week, ranging from early-stage “Should I blow the whistle?” questions through to high-stakes legal dilemmas. Without a platform like Rely, managing that flow would be far more complex.
As Nathan Luker, CEO of Your Call (co-founder of Rely), reflected: “It’s about being highly secure, but also personable and easy to use. Those fundamentals encourage engagement.”
Lessons for Employers
The Centre’s experience provides a clear case study: secure, digital reporting channels are no longer optional — they’re the backbone of effective whistleblowing programs.
For executives and HR leaders, the takeaway is simple: if Australia’s leading whistleblower legal service depends on Rely to build trust, triage cases, and manage risk, your organisation can too.
Rely is a Employee Relations platform that helps employers better manage their workforce, and, prevent, mitigate, respond to and report on workplace issues, and meet your obligations under WHS laws. Book a demo to find out more.
