The House Standing Committee on Education and Employment is calling for submissions as it ratchets up its inquiry into workplace bullying.

 

The Committee has asked individuals and organisations to for submissions regarding the inquiry’s terms of reference:

 

  • ‘the prevalence of workplace bullying in Australia and the experience of victims of workplace bullying;
  • the role of workplace cultures in preventing and responding to bullying and the capacity for workplace-based policies and procedures to influence the incidence and seriousness of workplace bullying;
  • the adequacy of existing education and support services to prevent and respond to workplace bullying and whether there are further opportunities to raise awareness of workplace bullying such as community forums;
  • whether the scope to improve coordination between governments, regulators, health service providers and other stakeholders to address and prevent workplace bullying;
  • whether there are regulatory, administrative or cross-jurisdictional and international legal and policy gaps that should be addressed in the interests of enhancing protection against and providing an early response to workplace bullying, including through appropriate complaint mechanisms;
  • whether the existing regulatory frameworks provide a sufficient deterrent against workplace bullying;
  • the most appropriate ways of ensuring bullying culture or behaviours are not transferred from one workplace to another; and
  • possible improvements to the national evidence base on workplace bullying.’

 

The Committee ha announced it is collating evidence of bullying from all sources.

 

“Bullying has serious consequences for individuals and the wider community. Every Australian has a right to feel safe and respected at work. The Prime Minister and Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations recognise the importance of tackling this issue in referring this inquiry to the Committee,” Committee Chair Amanda Rishworth said.

 

Submissions to the inquiry can be made here This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.