Code of Conduct

This is the Blackbird Community Code of Conduct (Code). Its purpose is to set clear expectations of behaviour and standards of interaction for everyone engaging with Blackbird and each other in certain settings, and to provide a clear mechanism for reporting unacceptable behaviour to us. 

Blackbird continually strives to develop and maintain a respectful, inclusive and healthy working culture. We apply high standards internally and expect the same of those in our Community. In all of our Community Settings, we aim to create and foster an environment that is welcoming, respectful, inclusive, supportive, and safe for all participants.

Blackbird engages with a vast network of people throughout our start-up ecosystem. This includes our employees, officers, contractors, founders, investors, any individual attending a Blackbird event, conference or meeting, and all mentors and participants in our programs. Together, we define this group as our Community. 

This Code applies to our Community in any setting associated with Blackbird, including at our offices, events or social outings that we host, programs that we run, conferences or meetings with us (whether in person or online), social media channels or other online communications managed by us, or that our Community participate in on behalf of Blackbird. Together, we define these settings as our Community Settings.

Blackbird does not condone or tolerate the following types of unacceptable behaviours from members of our Community in any Community Setting: 

• Bullying, which means behaviour that is hostile, aggressive, belittling, threatening, coercive, or otherwise likely to harm, intimidate, humiliate, or cause an individual to feel uncomfortable or unsafe;
• Discrimination, which means treating someone unfairly, disadvantaging them, or excluding them on the grounds of race, colour, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, marital or relationship status, family or carer’s responsibilities, pregnancy, religion, political opinion or, social origin;
• Sexual harassment, which means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that a reasonable person would anticipate could make someone feel offended, humiliated, intimidated or unsafe. This may include touching, physical contact, staring, inappropriate comments or jokes of a sexual nature, intrusive questions about someone’s personal life, requests for sexual favours, sharing explicit images without consent, invitations to spend time alone, or other conduct creating a sexualised environment;
• Sex-based harassment, which means unwelcome conduct that is not necessarily sexual in nature but is directed at a person because of their sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, which a reasonable person would expect to offend, humiliate, or intimidate. It may include treating someone less favourably, excluding them, reinforcing harmful stereotypes, offensive remarks, assumptions, or actions that undermine their dignity, or limit equal participation, on the basis of the aforementioned characteristics;
• Related acts of victimisation, which means retaliating against or disadvantaging someone because they have raised, supported, or are believed to have raised or supported a concern, complaint, or report regarding any unacceptable behaviour;
• Fraud or other breaches of the law, including deceitful or dishonest conduct intended to gain unfair advantage, or cause harm or loss;
• Advocating for or supporting any of the above unacceptable behaviours;
• Threatening, rewarding or otherwise coercing someone to not report any of the above unacceptable behaviours; and
• Deliberately making a false report

(collectively, ‘Unacceptable Behaviours’).

We strongly encourage everyone in our Community to report any Unacceptable Behaviours that occur in our Community Settings, whether you have directly experienced them or observed them happening to someone else. You can do this through RespectX, a safe, secure and anonymous reporting and response platform available to everyone in our Community. The RespectX website allows you to submit anonymous, informal reports or formal, identifiable reports:

Make a report through RespectX

If you witness any Unacceptable Behaviour, we recommend that you anonymise the recipient's identity in the report, unless you have their express consent to reveal it. 

The recipients of RespectX reports from our Community include Blackbird’s General Counsel, Head of Investment Programs, Chief People Officer, and People and Culture Associate. All reports will be handled confidentially.

Please note that if you are not a Blackbird employee and your report involves conduct that may be covered by applicable whistleblowing or protected disclosure laws in your jurisdiction, we may not qualify as a designated channel or eligible recipient under those regimes. This may affect the statutory protections available to you. Nevertheless, we will treat your report with the same level of confidentiality as all other types of reports.

We aim to acknowledge reports within 2 business days, and to complete handling a report within a reasonable period of time, depending on the nature and complexity of the report. Actions we may take in response to a report, directed toward the offender, will depend on the particular circumstances and may include:

• Nothing;
• Verbal warning;
• Temporary ban from Community Settings;
• Permanent ban from Community Settings;
• Removal of responsibilities;
• Termination of employment;
• Notification of the offender’s employer; or
• Report to legal authorities.

If you submit a report, you will be informed of its status and, to the extent legally permissible, any resulting actions that we take.