Three smiling BlueScope employees pose for a photo in front of a modern building

Ethics & compliance

Choosing to do the right thing is critical at BlueScope. It helps us to care for people, business, our communities, and the environment.

We are committed to ethical conduct and fostering a culture of speaking up

We encourage a culture of speaking up when something is not right and protecting those who do. Reports under Australia’s whistleblower laws can be made in accordance with our Policies. See the section on Business Integrity below for a copy. To make a report of suspected business misconduct access our externally-managed, confidential reporting service. Reports can be made anonymously and in multiple languages. Alternatively, you can contact us on ethics@bluescopesteel.com

Business Conduct

Our Code of Conduct, How We Work, sets out our expectations of behaviour for employees and those we do business with. Based on the guiding principles in Our Purpose & Our Bond, How We Work contains a range of key BlueScope policies relevant to all employees and is published in multiple languages.

Our employees are required to complete How We Work training at least every three years.

Our Purpose is at the heart of BlueScope. It creates strength and confidence to deliver what matters to our communities around the world, and to attract and retain the best talent. Our Bond guides how we work.

Our code of conduct outlines the principles that govern how our people should carry out business on behalf of BlueScope.

View and download in other languages:

Burmese, Chinese, Fijian, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Spanish, Tamil, Thai, Vietnamese

Business Conduct

Our Code of Conduct, How We Work, sets out our expectations of behaviour for employees and those we do business with. Based on the guiding principles in Our Purpose & Our Bond, How We Work contains a range of key BlueScope policies relevant to all employees and is published in multiple languages.

Our employees are required to complete How We Work training at least every three years.

Our commitment to human rights

BlueScope is committed to respecting and upholding human rights across our business practices and supply chains. We believe that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect, and we are working to ensure our business activities and practices are aligned with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Business integrity

We are committed to acting fairly, ethically and with integrity. We foster a culture in which people proactively work to eliminate the risks of unlawful or unethical conduct. We engage and set this expectation with our employees and business partners, including our third party and agent representatives, suppliers and contractors. We want our people, partners and communities to feel empowered to Speak Up if something is not right and be kept safe from retaliation. BlueScope has zero tolerance for any kind of retaliation.


If you have any concerns about conduct that you reasonably believe to be illegal, unethical or contrary to our Code of Conduct: How We Work you can report them 24 hours a day online, in writing or by phone to our Speak Up service. All reports are confidential and may be made anonymously. Alternatively, you can contact our Ethics & Compliance team at ethics@bluescopesteel.com

Ethics and compliance

Our Ethics & Compliance function provides support to our businesses and our people by enabling risk identification and mitigation through the development of policies, standards, procedures and guidelines; by embedding internal controls into business processes; facilitating and advising on third party due diligence; conducting training; providing bespoke advice on matters of business conduct and ethics; promoting our Speak Up service and conducting regular compliance monitoring.

We recognise that for our Speak Up process to be effective, reporters need to have confidence and trust in the reporting process. Once assigned to a matter, BlueScope investigators provide centralised, worldwide assistance on the investigation of potential breaches of our Code of Conduct, or possible legal or ethical misconduct. They also ensure that the reporter, if they have provided contact details, is kept updated on the progress of the investigation.

Our Speak Up policy reflects our commitment to encourage a workplace culture where our people, and others working with us, feel confident to speak up when something is not right, and to protect those who do.

Use the button to access our English language policy. 

Other language versions in Bislama, Chinese, Fijian, French, Indonesian, Malay, Spanish, Thai and Vietnames are available in our Speak Up Policy archive

The Speak Up Policy Additional Protections standard may apply under Australian law for misconduct concerns reported in Australia, or which relate to our Australian operations.

Ethics and compliance

Our Ethics & Compliance function provides support to our businesses and our people by enabling risk identification and mitigation through the development of policies, standards, procedures and guidelines; by embedding internal controls into business processes; facilitating and advising on third party due diligence; conducting training; providing bespoke advice on matters of business conduct and ethics; promoting our Speak Up service and conducting regular compliance monitoring.

We recognise that for our Speak Up process to be effective, reporters need to have confidence and trust in the reporting process. Once assigned to a matter, BlueScope investigators provide centralised, worldwide assistance on the investigation of potential breaches of our Code of Conduct, or possible legal or ethical misconduct. They also ensure that the reporter, if they have provided contact details, is kept updated on the progress of the investigation.

Four BlueScope employees smiling during a meeting

Competition law compliance

We are committed to full compliance with competition and antitrust laws of all countries that are applicable to our business. We prohibit directors, officers and employees from engaging in any form of anti-competitive conduct under our Code of Conduct, How We Work. Our employees whose roles involve potential competition law risks receive regular and targeted training. As our business evolves, we take steps to ensure that any competition risk is appropriately mitigated through the introduction of new, or enhancement of existing, controls or compliance measures.

Industry associations

Our Company is an active member of various industry associations, which allows us to be better informed about public policy that has the potential to affect us, to share knowledge about policy, and contribute our views and experience.

Our key memberships include: Australian Industry Group (AiGroup); Australian Industry Greenhouse Network (AIGN); Australian Steel Institute (ASI); Business Council of Australia (BCA); Energy Users’ Association of Australia (EUAA); Manufacturing Australia (MA); Australian Aluminium Council (AAC).

Our Industry Associations Governance Standard details membership principles, and processes to assess the alignment between the public policy positions of the industry association and BlueScope’s position.

BlueScope employee in an outdoor setting wearing protective gear

Political contributions

We do not endorse any political party, politician or candidate for public office. Political contributions may be made for the purpose of attending a briefing, or to have a dialogue with political figures to advance public debate of policy issues that may affect BlueScope. This includes payment to attend events organised or hosted by a political party or an organisation associated with a political party, and payment for membership to an organisation associated with a political party.

A payment of cash or in kind for no consideration, or a gift to a political party or political candidate, is prohibited. Any payment which might be considered a political contribution must be approved by BlueScope leadership, recorded in BlueScope’s accounts and, if required by law, disclosed to the relevant National, State or Territory bodies. All political contributions are reported annually to the BlueScope Board’s Risk & Sustainability Committee.