A WA parliamentary question addresses bullying of female staff within the Department of Justice, specifically referencing a report on Bunbury Regional Prison and inquiring about relevant policies and procedures. The Minister confirms the existence of a policy and outlines the process for addressing intimidation.

AnsweredQoN 74Legislative Assembly
Asked
21 June 2005
Portfolio
Justice

QuestionView source ↗

(1) Does the Department of Justice have a written policy in regard to bullying in the workplace?
(2) If so, has this policy been displayed in Regional Prisons for staff familiarisation?
(3) I refer to report number 16 titled ‘Report of an announced inspection of Bunbury Regional Prison December 2002’ compiled by Professor Harding and printed in June 2003 which contains a statement of intimidation of female staff and ask -
(a) is it correct that the Department of Justice, in response, delegated the responsibility for this to local management;
(b) was this response supported by advice contained in the Code of Practice ‘Workplace Violence’ compiled by the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection; and
(c) will the Minister advise the correct procedure to address intimidation of female staff within the Department of Justice as outlined in the policy?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
16 August 2005
Responded by
Minister for Justice
Response time
56 days
(b) was this response supported by advice contained in the Code of Practice ‘Workplace Violence’ compiled by the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection; and (c) will the Minister advise the correct procedure to address intimidation of female staff within the Department of Justice as outlined in the policy?
(c) will the Minister advise the correct procedure to address intimidation of female staff within the Department of Justice as outlined in the policy?
(2) While the Department has had a well established Code of Conduct which specifies standards of behaviour and where staff are subject to intimidation or bullying they can pursue the matter through the Grievance Resolution Policy & Procedure, the specific bullying in the workplace policy is relatively new and currently being disseminated. As part of the dissemination process all staff will be informed of the policy and procedures. (3) (a) Yes. It is good human resource practice to have these matters dealt with at a local level, however, if resolution cannot be achieved the matters are referred to Head Office. (b) Yes (c) The Department of Justice advises that the Bullying in the Workplace Policy sets out the procedure. Managers and supervisors are required to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to eliminate bullying in the workplace and to intervene in situations where bullying behaviours occur. .
(3) (a) Yes. It is good human resource practice to have these matters dealt with at a local level, however, if resolution cannot be achieved the matters are referred to Head Office. (b) Yes (c) The Department of Justice advises that the Bullying in the Workplace Policy sets out the procedure. Managers and supervisors are required to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to eliminate bullying in the workplace and to intervene in situations where bullying behaviours occur. .
(b) Yes (c) The Department of Justice advises that the Bullying in the Workplace Policy sets out the procedure. Managers and supervisors are required to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to eliminate bullying in the workplace and to intervene in situations where bullying behaviours occur. .
(c) The Department of Justice advises that the Bullying in the Workplace Policy sets out the procedure. Managers and supervisors are required to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to eliminate bullying in the workplace and to intervene in situations where bullying behaviours occur. .
.

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more