Under Section 21, employers have a duty under the
Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act (2004) to provide and maintain for employees, as far as practicable,
a working environment that is safe and without risks to health.
While the duty of care of employers under the 2004 OHS Act are more or less the same as what they were under the 1985 Act, the definition of health was amended. The new definition is as follows:
"health" includes psychological health
This means that the employer must address workplace hazards such as bullying, stress and fatigue.
In 2009, WorkSafe Victoria issued a guide, Preventing and responding to bullying at work. For more information from the regulator, go to the WorkSafe Victoria webpage on Bullying.
Injury or ill-health due to workplace bullying may become the subject of WorkCover claims or common law actions.
Loss of employment (whether dismissal or being forced to resign - effective dismissal) and victimisation may be covered by Workplace Relations legislation.
The bullying may also be a breach of sexual harassment and anti-discrimination legislation. Some forms of bullying may constitute assault and be an offence under the Crimes Act.
Employers and/or the bully may find themselves facing fines, compensation and possibly a jail sentence.