Matt Smith (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Commonwealth Workplace Protection Orders Bill 2025. This bill will establish a new act, the Commonwealth Workplace Protection Orders Act, which will introduce the Commonwealth Workplace Protection Orders scheme.

You might wonder why this bill is necessary. It's needed because everyone has the right to feel safe at work, and that right must extend to federal government workers. Sadly, this has not always been the case. Between July 2023 and June 2024, as we've heard multiple times, there were 1,694 serious incidents across Services Australia's face-to-face service channel. Recently, in May this year, two Australian Border Force contractors were assaulted with a bladed weapon whilst on the job. Any violence towards a Commonwealth worker, or anybody, is completely unacceptable. Any violence against Public Service workers is unacceptable. Violence against anybody, especially if they just happen to be at work, should be completely eradicated from our society.

Clearly, many people who deal with frontline government workers are in very stressful or distressing situations. You're not in there because things have gone well. Those dealing with Centrelink might be facing severe financial hardship. Those dealing with Medicare, or their loved ones, might be in the middle of exhausting medical treatment. Those dealing with Home Affairs are wanting to bring loved ones to this country. I empathise with the stress and frustration that can occur during these times, but the person on the other side of the desk does not deserve to be treated poorly or in an abusive or violent manner. Those on the other side of the desk at places like Services Australia are people. They have families and friends, and they're just trying to make their way in the world. They are people from our communities. They run the local footy club and volunteer at the P&C. They are people who are trying to help.

Importantly, these people are just following the rules of the laws passed here, in this place. They're not the ones who make the rules around access to the age pension or disability support or JobSeeker. That is done here, by the members of this place and the other place. If you want someone to change the rules about how the government operates, come and talk to one of the 150 members from here or one of the 76 from the other place. Come and talk to us calmly, respectfully and with an open mind, because, at the end of the day, we are here to represent you.

My point is that yelling at poor Sue or Robbo at Centrelink won't change the rules they have to follow. Sue and Robbo, and other Commonwealth employees like them, do not deserve danger or anger. And, quite frankly, they don't have the time; they're busy. They're in Centrelink helping people access social security payments. They're in Medicare helping people get affordable health care. They're in Border Force keeping our country safe. They're in the department of agriculture keeping biosecurity threats out of our country, and they're in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade keeping our country connected with our global partners and allies.

As someone whose electorate is home to many Commonwealth employees, I want them to know I value their work and their safety because, ultimately, they really want to help. Every public servant I know gets up and works with great pride delivering services. They love the communities they work in, and the key is in the title—'public servant'. They wear that tag with pride. They know that every day they can make someone's life that little bit better and easier. I promise you that that is what they are trying to do. That's why this bill is so important.

This bill will provide legal protection for Commonwealth workplaces and workers and will deter acts of violence and other harmful behaviours from some members of the public—a very small minority, as the member for Riverina pointed out. It came about as a response to the 44 recommendations of the 2023 Services Australia Security Risk Management Review, the Ashton review, conducted by Mr Graham Ashton. This review itself was sparked after a serious assault with a bladed weapon on a Services Australia member. This bill implements recommendation 17 of the review, which called for current ACT workplace protection order provisions to be adapted for use by the entire Commonwealth as a staff protection mechanism nationwide.

The bill will enable an authorised person from the Commonwealth entity to apply to select courts for a workplace protection order on behalf of the Commonwealth worker or a workplace where personal violence against a worker or a workplace has arisen out of or in direct connection with their official functions or duties and there is a real risk it will occur again if an order is not made. It gives them protection. It gives them an avenue to find safety and legal recourse should things go wrong. The bill would only allow the court to make a workplace protection order where they are satisfied that the respondent has engaged in personal violence in relation to a Commonwealth worker or Commonwealth workplace and there is a real risk the respondent will further engage in personal violence if the order is not made. It gives people a chance to respond. It is a fair and just position to ensure the safety of our workforce.

The bill's definition of 'personal violence' is designed to include acts of violence, harassment, intimidation, threats of harm and other harmful non-physical violence, such as verbal abuse or abuse by phone or email. We know that you can harm somebody with more than just violence. Email abuse can really have a long and psychological harming effect on people.

On application, a Commonwealth, state or territory court could be able to make an interim consent or final order. In time-critical circumstances, an urgent order can be applied for by telephone or electronic means. It works fast. It gets it done. In making the workplace protection order the court could be empowered to impose a range of conditions on a respondent they consider necessary or desirable to protect the safety of the Commonwealth worker or workplace. It gives the people involved and the court direct responsibility and the ability to keep that individual person or workforce safe.

Keeping in mind that services like Centrelink can deal with many of the most vulnerable in the community, this bill considers how best to approach circumstances where a respondent might have impaired decision-making for one reason or another. It takes into account people's personal circumstances. It is not a catch-all brush. When considering whether to make a consent order, if the court considers a party to have impaired decision-making ability, it must not make a consent order unless it is satisfied that the person has appropriate representation. The court may adjourn proceedings until the respondent is represented.

The principles of natural justice still apply. Workplace protection orders can also be made against anyone under the age of 14. People under the age of 14 do not have criminal responsibility is what they're saying there.

The proposed workplace protection order scheme will be available to most Commonwealth workplaces, extending to anywhere a Commonwealth worker is conducting official Commonwealth work. This includes workplaces such as mobile services and pop-up shops in shopping centres, Commonwealth vehicles or Commonwealth workers' residences when working from home. It extends further than just the office. It allows people to be safe wherever they happen to be working on that day.

To balance out the rights of everyone involved, fundamentally the imposition of a workplace protection order will not prevent a person from accessing necessary Commonwealth services as required or exercising their right to political communication. Your right to free speech exists. Your right to protest exists. The services will still be available to you. If proposing conditions that would limit the respondent's ability to access or obtain Commonwealth benefits or services or engage in political communication, the applicant is required to provide the court with information about alternative procedures or arrangements for how a respondent may access or obtain these benefits or engage in political communication while subject to a workplace protection order. There's always going to be a workaround. We're going to make sure that people get the help and services they need.

Either party can apply to the court to vary or revoke a workplace protection order. Additionally, either party may appeal a decision of the court relating to the final order. The ability to appeal still exists. It's not necessarily final. Contravention of a workplace protection order may constitute an offence that carries a penalty of 120 penalty unit or two years imprisonment or both. There are consequences to threatening, harassing or injuring Public Service workers.

To ensure the scheme is working, the bill also includes a statutory review of the operation of the scheme three years after commencement. It gives us the opportunity to go back to make sure it's working as intended and there are no unintended consequences. I commend the ministers and the departments involved in the drafting of this bill. I also commend the many advocates for workplace safety in our Commonwealth workplaces, especially the Community and Public Sector Union. This bill is an important step towards creating safer Commonwealth workplaces and sends a strong message that the Albanese government values workers who provide critical government services and that violence and aggression towards those workers is always unacceptable. I commend this bill to the House.

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