MBA402: Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability - NAB Code of Conduct

This report presents a comprehensive Code of Conduct for National Australia Bank, addressing key areas such as discrimination, exploitation, corruption, dishonest and fraudulent behavior, whistleblower protections, and enforcement. The report begins with an introduction to the code's purpose and relevance to NAB's ethical and professional standards, followed by an overview of the bank's operations. Each section delves into specific aspects of the code, defining and outlining the bank's stance on each issue, referencing relevant laws and regulations, and providing examples of prohibited behaviors. The report emphasizes the importance of maintaining a disciplined and positive work environment, promoting ethical conduct, and protecting employees and stakeholders. It concludes by highlighting the significance of compliance and the consequences of violating the code. The report is well-structured, providing clear definitions, examples, and references to support the guidelines outlined in the Code of Conduct.

Running head: REPORT 1
Governance, Ethics and Sustainability
Student details:
4/27/2019

REPORT 2
Code of Conduct
Contents

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Introduction.................................................................................................................................................4
Overview of National Australia Bank..........................................................................................................4
Discrimination.............................................................................................................................................5
Exploitation.................................................................................................................................................6
Corruption...................................................................................................................................................7
Dishonest and Fraudulent Behavior.............................................................................................................8
Whistle blower protections..........................................................................................................................9
Enforcement................................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................10
References.................................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
The code of conduct is framed for a purpose to make sure the faithfulness to the ethical and
professional standards in the course of the conduct of the business of National Australia Bank.
Additionally, the objective is to make sure the legal compliance of the Corporations Act, 2001,
IFRS, Australian Accounting Standards, ASE and all the related rules, regulations and laws in
respect of the services relate to banking. The Code of Conduct of National Australia Bank
describes the standards of accountability and the moral conduct, which are expected of all the
workers (temporary workers as well as permanent workers) of National Australia Bank and the
contractors, managers and advisors. It is believed by this bank that all the workers and clients
must be given respect and should be treated with dignity (Watson, et. al, 2015). National
Australia Bank also ensures that the workers to act morally and sensibly in according the Code
and to grow proper business conduct across company. The code of conduct of this organisation is
applicable to workers, BOD and all the members of company. In the following parts, code of
conduct of National Australia Bank id discussed by addressing discrimination, corruption,
enforcement, dishonest and fraudulent behaviour and exploitation.
Overview of National Australia Bank
National Australia Bank Limited is a group related to the financial services, which renders the
inclusive and incorporated range of financial services and banking services involving the wealth
management all through New Zealand and Australia, along with branches placed in UK, Asia
and USA. National Australia Bank Limited also allows savings account, transaction account,
term deposits, deposit account and specialized account, like foreign currencies, interest,
community free saver, legal faith and accounts of farm administration. This organization also

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renders the home loan, agriculture business loan, personal loans, business marketplace loan and
equipment and vehicle loan (Jayanti, 2018).
Discrimination
The organisation has knowledge about the accountability of making the working atmosphere
over pillars of professionalism, honesty and self-esteem, as has been described in the Fair Work
Act 2009 (Cth), federal anti-discrimination laws and as well as state anti-discrimination laws.
The unlawful discrimination means the favourable conduct or behaviour at workstation due to
the characteristic secured by the laws. The discrimination may occur in the organisation at
different levels and the stages. It may happen during the hiring procedure in a way where the
interviews are made and proposing the inequitable term and condition of a service. Additionally,
the unjustifiable or favourable choices for trainings, transfers and rejection for the
encouragement and inequitable retrenchment, removal from company and demotion also come in
a type of illegal discrimination (Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission,
2018).
Further, certain instances of discrimination at workstation are rejection to promotion due to the
pregnancy, rejecting the worker due to sickness, preferences of promotions on the basis of
civilization. The main objective of National Australia Bank is to attempt to keep the disciplined,
strong and positive working atmosphere, and wherever the conflict is solved in the proper and
effective way. The director of company are required to make sure that the numerous facts of the
employment relationships are free from the individual biasness and are depended on personal
performance, merits and objectivities (Policy and Policy, 2017). National Australia Bank is
devoted to the security of those creating real and proper disclosures, and would not bear

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victimization and negative consequences like discrimination or other unfavorable and poor
treatment in reprisal regarding proper disclosures (Reamer, 2013).
Exploitation
The exploitation means a common term that includes different difficult conduct and attitude like
psychological harassment and bodily harassment. National Australia Bank never bears employee
exploitation oppression, illegal opinions, difficulties or other improper and illegal behaviour. The
organisation makes secured work environment by helping and conducting functions with
teamwork, ensuring that the organisation does not support exploitation against employees, and
rendering secured working conditions. It also ensures that organisation does not harass the staff
or others at workplace. The organisation makes decision regarding the employment as per the
presentation. Further, the workers of National Australia Bank are required to report the problem
related to the safety, to adopt the policies about alcohol and drugs, to take the stand for process
regarding protection and not to smoke at the workplace (Cubbage and Brooks, 2016).
Additionally, this organisation has zero tolerance policy for unlawful ownership of drug and its
consumption, and illegal use of directed drugs, at workstation whether in premise of
organisation, when running a business on behalf of National Australia Bank or at organisations-
sponsored roles. These methods are very helpful for the employees to not be oppressed. The
organisation is committed to a creation of equalised and positive work environment, and as a
result the activities involving any of the above mentioned unlawful behaviour would be treated
as the breach of the general conditions of an employment, which would further lead to
disciplinary actions regarding the fines, relegations, closure of services and others (Vickers,
2014).

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Corruption
National Australia Bank works on the line of the ZTP for corruption and bribery. The activities
related to the corruption or the fraud include purposeful falsifications, robbery of cash,
information or the properties of the organisation, suppression or the demolition of the document
of data in the system related to the information technology of an organisation; and involve the
actions of bribery. In the addition of this, the bribe means the action of affecting the act and
decision of person to get or retain the benefits of business and is encouraged by anything of
value provided or proposed, committed, accepted or validated to accept either in direct manner or
in indirect manner, whether in financial term or not (Austlii, 2018).
Furthermore, the workers and managers are not required to take gift, amusement, any type of
incentives from the present clients and prospective clients or the dealers if permission is not
granted to them for this according to the guideline related to business gifts. The managers and
workers of the organisation must be permitted to do this only with a permission of the top level
administration (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2018). In addition to this, the workers
should not render the services or goods to the customer if this is assumed or alertness of the facts
that the proceeds of the similar will be used in direct or indirect way in the criminal or prohibited
actions. This is considered as the duty of the workers and managers for reporting to the leader or
the proper officials regarding the suspected frauds or the activities related to the corruption
taking place in the organisation. It will be in an addition to a persuasive behaviour by the clients
or the staff quit from the policies of anti-corruption or policies related to the anti-bribery or
methods of an organisation. The collapse to do so will itself be considered as the fraudulent itself
(Zgheib, 2014).

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Dishonest and Fraudulent Behavior
According to the code of conduct of National Australia Bank, this organisation never tolerates or
sustains the fraudulent behaviour and dishonest behaviour. The dishonest and fraudulent conduct
destroys the organisation’s reputation. These kinds of actions stop the development of
organisation and can weaken the economical reliability, political constancy and a protection. It
can also convey the legal cost and criminal cost for the people involved and an organisation itself
(Linn, Smith-Gander and Barrington, 2015).
The important approaches and resources to stop dishonest conduct and fraudulent behaviour are
for managing alternative and motivating the positive ethical culture at the organisation and to
implement the policies, procedures and separation of the duties or roles. For the examples,
ethical behaviour to set the standards of conducts, policies of interest conflict to state the dollar
inception and prior approval required for the gifts surpassing appropriate values. The other
examples are the process regarding whistle-blower for encouraging dishonest and fraudulent
incidents reporting and approaches related to the account and expenses that administer the claim.
Further, National Australia Bank describe that the employees of organisation may have main
part to stop the dishonest and fraudulent behaviour and help to decrease the conducts related to
fraud in the organisation. It is required by the employees of organisation to have proper
understanding in respect of the cost of dishonest and fraudulent behaviour. It is also required by
the workers and stakeholders of the organisation to be careful of the liability. It is also essential
that the employees should be clear in the attitude in against of the morally wrong conduct and the
approaches. The workers of organisation are always required to act in the organisation’s interest.
They should never misuse their post in an organisation. The workers of the company should be
attentive for the dishonest conduct and fraudulent behaviour.

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Whistle blower protections
The code of conduct of company expressly restricts the directly or indirectly involvement in
illegal exploitation, discrimination, on a line of bullying, the dishonest conduct or fraudulent
behaviour and the activities related to corruption. The matter can be in the form of violation of
various lawful or administrative needs, procedures or directions of the company. The workers,
directors, consultants or the other people, who wish to or attempt for reporting in relation with
illegal exploitation, discrimination, on a line of bullying, the dishonest conduct or fraudulent
behaviour and the activities related to corruption, whether namelessly or not, is considered as the
whistleblower. This is significant that there is easy and open response in a form of raising the
concerned cases, which are of severe significances.
Further, the code of conduct specifically will give the security expressly against punishment for
having created the said reporting of misconduct. This is a duty of the top level manager to
contact with the whistleblower and give proper help to them, in a case where they desire to talk
about the matters. On the other hand, the whistleblowers can select to report the misconduct,
secretly if chosen. The reporting may be done by calls, posts or the emails of the whistle blowers
or the investigation committees (Brown, Lewis, Moberly and Vandekerckhove, 2014).
Enforcement
The enforcement of the code of conduct of organisation is very compulsory on the going concern
basis and the board of company has given the powers to have compulsory actions regarding the
breaches, if any. Wrong or the immoral conduct can result in the cooperating of image of the
organisation. The exploitation of the authorities and the situation in direct or indirect manner to

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the benefits of self or connections or the associates will be considered critically. Therefore, the
workers, executives, managers, clients, dealers and the third people should instantly report these
problems to the different people according to a process laid down in the whistleblower security
section of a code of conduct of organisation (Dakhelalla, 2014).
Additionally, the contravention of code of conduct or any of the directions stated within will
result in disciplinary actions and the workers will be accountable to the one or more various fines
regarding the violation of code of conduct of organisation. These fines may include warning;
Withholding of promotion, closure of services, decline to the low grade of service and pay’s
revision or maintenance of pay. Also, the organisation may recover from a salary for loss caused
to a company because of negligence violation of the code of conduct and the relevant directions
and approaches.
Conclusion
As per the above analysis, it can be concluded that every head of department and the senior
executives are required to confirm the compliance with the code of conduct of the organisation.
The confirmation would be given in the prescribed form on the website of National Australia
Bank.

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References
Austlii. (2018) Sex Discrimination Act 1984. [online] Available
from:http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/sda1984209/index.html[Accessed on
27/04/19].
Australian Human Rights Commission. (2018) Workplace discrimination, harassment and
bullying. [online] Available from: https://www.humanrights.gov.au/employers/good-practice-
good-business-factsheets/workplace-discrimination-harassment-and-bullying [Accessed on
27/04/19].
Brown, A.J., Lewis, D., Moberly, R. and Vandekerckhove, W. eds., (2014)International
handbook on whistleblowing research.UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Cubbage, C. J., and Brooks, D. J. (2016) Corporate Security in the Asia-Pacific Region: Crisis,
Crime, Fraud, and Misconduct. United States: CRC Press.
Dakhelalla, R.F. (2014) The impact of corporate governance principles on board characteristics:
an Australian study. USA: Springer
Jayanti, R.K. (2018) SUSTAINABILITY BASED CORPORATE IDENTITY: A STUDY OF
CORPORATE WEBSITES. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 22(3), pp.1-16.
Linn, B., Smith-Gander, D., and Barrington, J. (2015) The debate: The year ahead. Company
Director, 31(11), p.18.

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Policy, A. B. and Policy, P. (2017) Code of conduct. Part One of ‘Keeping Children Safe in.
Oxford: Oxford University press
Reamer, F. G. (2013) Social work values and ethics. United States: Columbia University Press.
Vickers, M. H. (2014) Towards reducing the harm: Workplace bullying as workplace corruption
—A critical review. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 26(2), pp. 95-113.
Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission. (2018) Discrimination – Workplace.
[online] Available from:
https://www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/the-workplace/workplace-discrimination
[Accessed on 27/04/19].
Watson, G.J., Murray, J.M., Schaefer, M. and Bonner, A. (2015) Successful local marine
conservation requires appropriate educational methods and adequate enforcement. Marine
Policy, 52, pp. 59-67.
Zgheib, P. W. ed., (2014)Business ethics and diversity in the modern workplace. United States:
IGI Global.

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