Abstract
Australia’s innovative national anti-bullying legislation came into effect on 1 January 2014, against a backdrop of fear and resistance on the part of some conservative politicians and other stakeholder opponents. This paper contributes to an understanding of the efficacy and value of this fledgling jurisdiction or its lack thereof. In it, we describe the beginnings of the anti-bullying regime, outline the new legislative provisions, explore whether the inaction of the first six months has continued, examine the statistics arising from the jurisdiction’s first 15 months of operation, and review the case law development over its first 18 months. We ask whether the anti-bullying jurisdiction is proving to be a paper tiger in an empty suit or iron fist in a velvet glove.
Highlights
Workplace bullying is a significant problem in Australian workplaces
Note was made of decisions in which the applicant was no longer working in the workplace in which the alleged bullying had occurred, the manner of the applicant’s separation, the types of procedural and other deficiencies which led to applications being dismissed, and of the efforts made by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to alert applicants to the procedural and other deficiencies in their applications
These included that she was subject to unreasonable behavior, that the behavior was repeated, that the unreasonable behavior occurred while she was at work, that the behavior was not reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable manner, that the behavior created a risk to health and safety, and that if anti-bullying orders were not made, there is a risk that she will continue to be bullied at work ([24], para. 17)
Summary
Workplace bullying is a significant problem in Australian workplaces. The Productivity Commission estimates the annual cost of workplace bullying to Australia’s economy at between $6–$36 billion dollars [1]. The new regime commenced on 1 January 2014, in the face of significant opposition from some employers, industry, and conservative (Coalition) politicians It gave the majority of individual Australian workers who were bullied at work a right to seek recourse via Australia’s prime national workplace relations regulator, the Fair Work Commission (FWC). We review the journey to the introduction of Australia’s new anti-bullying jurisdiction, outline the new legislative provisions, examine the statistics arising from the jurisdiction’s first 15 months of operation, and examine the case law development for the first 18 months with a view to understanding its value or lack thereof. Is it proving to be a paper tiger in an empty suit or an iron fist in a velvet glove?
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