Former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick says a culture of sexual harassment in the Australian Federal Police is so "pervasive" that almost one in two females and 20% of males have experienced it in the past five years.
The Victorian Auditor-General's damning audit report on the state health sector's response to bullying and harassment has found its agencies lack even the "fundamental, underpinning foundations of effective policies and procedures" to tackle the issue.
False evidence charges for Cbus employees; Unions target rural MPs and crossbenchers on penalty rates; Surgeons' action plan aims to reduce discrimination, bullying; Victoria backs family violence education program in workplaces; and Essendon to admit supplements program breached safety laws.
Bullying complaints by NSW public sector employees appear to be falling from an "unacceptably high" level, along with associated compensation claims, while the government is in the final stages of developing an anti-bullying "dashboard", according to a new report from the state's Public Service Commission.
Workers on the Gorgon LNG project will begin voting on Wednesday on whether to take industrial action to push head contractor CB&I to offer shorter roster cycles, at the same time as parliamentary inquiries in WA and Queensland have weighed-up whether new regulations are needed for non-residential workforces.
The head of the Fair Work Commission's anti-bullying panel has highlighted the key cases in the new jurisdiction's first year, and revealed that many employers are failing to follow their own internal procedures when dealing with bullying complaints.
A senior member of the Fair Work Commission has told employers they need strong workplace conduct policies and grievance procedures and should select line managers with good interpersonal skills, to help them prevent bullying claims.
The Fair Work Commission received just 151 applications for orders to stop bullying in the jurisdiction's first three months of operation, with the majority from employees of large organisations alleging unreasonable behaviour by their managers, according to new tribunal statistics.
The FWC is expecting a "significant number" of bullying applications and inquiries next year and has released a model for dealing with them and a draft benchbook, as well as announcing Commissioner Peter Hampton's appointment as the head of its anti-bullying panel.
With Australia's new federal bullying regime set to take effect next year, the FWC has turned to the UK's national workplace tribunal for its experiences in dealing with bullying and harassment complaints.