The Prime Minister and the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations today announced a review into bullying in the workplace.
The aim of the review is to look at the nature, causes and extent of workplace bullying and consider proposals to prevent bullying cultures developing in the workplace and help individuals who have been affected by bullying to return to work.
Workplace bullying can cause serious psychological injury and great distress to victims and their families. It also affects the broader community, causing lost work time, reducing productivity and contributing to increased workers' compensation claims and associated costs.
The Productivity Commission estimates the total cost of workplace bullying in Australia at between $6 billion and $36 billion annually.
The terms of reference of the review will focus on:
* 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 Review will be undertaken by the House Standing Committee on Education and Employment, comprising members from both major parties. It will consult extensively with the community and will report by 30 November 2012.
The Australian Government is already working with state and territory governments, as well as employer and employee representatives, to harmonise work health and safety laws in Australia. Safe Work Australia is working on a Code of Practice to provide guidance to workplaces on how to prevent bullying becoming a health and safety risk in the workplace.
In addition, some states have passed legislation to deal with bullying - such as Brodie's law.
The review will complement the work being undertaken by Safe Work Australia and State and Territory governments.