Dear Mr Murphy

Thank you for your letter of 23 May 2011 concerning the school and workplace bullying petition recently submitted for the consideration of the Standing Committee on Petitions. My response will only address matters relating to the issue of workplace bullying. I understand that the Hon Peter Garrett AM MP, Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth is providing a response to the petition regarding matters within his portfolio. I apologise for the delay in responding.

The Australian Government considers that workplace bullying and a workplace culture that allows harassment and bullying to occur is unacceptable and should not be tolerated in any Australian workplace. As well as affecting the individual employee and other workers and their families, it can result in other undesirable outcomes such as absenteeism, increased staff turnover and loss of productivity.

Although most current work health and safety laws do not specifically address workplace bullying, all occupational health and safety (OHS) Acts impose legal responsibilities on both employers and employees. For example, under section 16 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991 (Cth) employers must take all reasonably practicable steps to protect the health and safety of the employer's employees. This duty of care requires employers to take proactive steps to identify those hazards with the potential to affect the health and safety of their employees and to implement measures to eliminate or control the risks arising from those hazards. The duty extends to psychosocial hazards in the workplace including bullying behaviours.

In terms of future workplace safety laws, the harmonisation of Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws is a priority area of regulatory reform. All governments have committed to adopt uniform WHS laws by 1 January 2012, complemented by nationally consistent approaches to compliance and enforcement.

Safe Work Australia, an independent body representing each jurisdiction, unions and industry, was established to drive the development and implementation of these model WHS laws (comprising of a model act, supported by model WHS regulations and model codes of practice). The model WHS Act will cover bullying under its general provisions, and criminal penalties will apply for certain offences under the Act.

Safe Work Australia is currently working on a package of draft model regulations and draft priority codes of practice to support the agreed model Act. Safe Work Australia have indicated to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations that it is currently in the process of drafting a code of practice on the subject of workplace bullying, including a section on violence in the workplace.

All codes will be available for public comment in the future prior to implementation. These codes form part of the model WHS laws which jurisdictions have committed to implement.

The model codes of practice aim to provide practical guidance to duty holders on how to meet the requirements under WHS legislation. Once implemented, these codes of practice will be approved under each jurisdiction ' s WHS Act. Approved codes of practice are admissible in court proceedings under the WHS Act and regulations. Courts may regard a code of practice as evidence of what is known about a hazard, risk or control and may rely on the code in determining what is reasonably practicable in the circumstances to which the code relates. This means that a code of practice relating to workplace bullying would be able to be used as evidence in proceedings for an offence under the WHS Acts in all Australian jurisdictions. This reflects the Government's commitment to ensuring that workers across Australia have the same WHS protections wherever they reside.

I appreciate you bringing this petition to my attention and trust this information is of assistance to the Committee and petitioners.

from the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations, Senator Evans

Dear Mr Murphy

Thank you for your letter of 23 May 2011 concerning the school and workplace bullying petition recently submitted for the consideration of the Standing Committee on Petitions. My response addresses matters raised in the petition relating to the School Education, Early Childhood and Youth portfolio. Your petition has also been forwarded to Senator Chris Evans, Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations, to respond to matters relating to bullying in the workplace.

The Australian Government takes issues of bullying seriously and believes student and workplace wellbeing and safety are essential for education and career success. All Australians should be able to learn and work in safe and supportive environments. The Government is committed to ensuring the wellbeing and resilience of all schoolchildren. Planning is underway to begin work to develop a national approach to building student resilience and wellbeing. This work recognises that schools play a vital role in promoting the intellectual, physical, social, emotional, moral, spiritual and aesthetic development and wellbeing of young Australians, and in ensuring the nation's ongoing economic prosperity and social cohesion.

You would be aware that state and territory governments have responsibility for the provision of education in their respective jurisdictions. Whilst the Government provides funding to state and territory governments for the provision of education, the Government does not currently legislate for the day to day operation of individual schools. The introduction of legislation to deal with school bullying may be better addressed by seeking the agreement of state and territory governments to amending their existing education legislation.

Quite separately, there are state, territory and Australian Government laws in place that deal with industrial relations, occupational health and safety, and discrimination.

As noted in the petition, there is often a direct link between bullying and sexual harassment. I am pleased to note that amendments introduced by the Attorney-General which strengthen the protections against sexual harassment for students in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 were passed by Parliament on 24 May 2011. They will enter into force upon receiving Royal Assent.

The changes will extend the prohibition on sexual harassment in schools to protect students under the age of 16 from harassment by adult students. They will also provide for the first time protection for students from harassment by adult students and staff from other institutions during inter-school events such as sports carnivals and school formals.

Importantly, this means that all students will be better protected from sexual harassment, whether it occurs in the schoolyard, online or through covert forms of bullying, such as text messaging.

As part of a national approach to supporting schools to build, safe school communities, the Government has collaborated with state and territory education authorities to review and launch the revised National Safe Schools Framework.

The revised Framework was endorsed by all ministers for education through the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs in December 2010. The Framework provides Australian schools with a vision and a set of guiding principles to assist whole school communities to develop positive and practical student safety and wellbeing policies. The vision includes creating learning environments which are free from all forms of bullying, harassment, aggression and violence.

The Framework's whole of school approach to creating safe and supportive learning and teaching communities acknowledges the strong interconnections between student safety, student wellbeing and learning. It emphasises the need for teachers to have appropriate training in positive student management and the need for schools to respond to incidents as they occur. It also acknowledges the role of parents and carers and includes ways for them to become involved with their child's school and continuously promote a safe school environment. By involving this important group of people, a whole school community approach to promoting safe schools can be established.

I proudly launched the revised Framework on 18 March 2011 on the inaugural National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence. On this day, the Framework and the online supporting resource manual were made available to all Australian schools. Further information about the National Safe Schools Framework is available at: www.safeschools.deewr.gov.au.

As part of the National Day of Action, an online social networking campaign, Take a Stand Together, went live at www.takeastandtogether.gov.au. This campaign focuses on bystander behaviour and raises awareness of how students can take positive action against bullying.

The Government has also worked with state and territory education authorities to develop the Bullying. No Way! website at www.bullyingnoway.com.au. This interactive website provides valuable information for parents, students and teachers on strategies to address bullying, harassment and violence.

The Government continues to work closely with the states and territories and non-government education authorities through the Australian Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs Senior Officials Committee (AEEYSOC) Safe and Supportive School Communities working group to continue to develop clear and agreed national objectives to address bullying and violence in schools, and more broadly, approaches to student resilience and wellbeing.

I appreciate you bringing the petition to my attention.

from the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth, Mr Garrett