Asbestos
Asbestos - in the workplace
Asbestos - in the home
Asbestos Management Review
National Asbestos Summit 2: September 2012
National Asbestos Summit: June 2010
Dust in the Air in 1950s Victoria
Latrobe Valley Report 2004
"KILLER COMPANY - JAMES HARDIE EXPOSED"
Asthma
Asthma - what is it?
Asthma Action Plan for Reps
Legal Standards for Asthma
Substances causing/worsening asthma
Asthma - sources of information
Biological Hazards
Biological Agents
Mould
Crippled by damp classroom
Anthrax
Bullying and Violence
Bullying - what is it?
Bullying - how much of a problem is it?
Bullying - Legal Standards
Bullying - Action plan for reps
Inquiry into workplace bullying
Bullying: More info
Violence at Work
Violence: More information
Zero Tolerance: the ANF Approach
Violence - Ambulance Officers' Union Guidance
Working alone – is it legal, is it safe?
Rep Quest: Bullying
Call Centres
Call Centres - the problems
Call Centres - monitoring
Call Centres - legal standards
Call Centres Action Plan for OHS Reps
Call Centres: What Kind of Future Workplaces?
Call Centres - More information
Offices - what OHS legislation applies?
Breaks for computer/VDU users?
Offices: Temperature and humidity - what are the 'rules'?
Offices - computers and eyesight
Office Hazards: Computers and VDUs - what are the guidelines?
Office hazards: Photocopiers, printers etc
Sedentary work
Chemicals
Welding - what are the issues?
Exhaust fumes - how dangerous are they?
Hazardous Substances (Chemicals)
Arsenic
Carbon Monoxide
Cytotoxic drugs
Diesel - declared carcinogen
Environmental Tobacco Smoke
Latex
Lead
Silica
Solvents
Dangerous Goods
Hazardous Substances - An introduction to Legislation
Dangerous or Hazardous? What's the difference?
Chemicals management in workplaces
Material Safety Data Sheets
Exposure Standards for Chemicals
Chemicals - Useful websites
Cancer - what causes it?
Occupational cancer and Workers’ Memorial Day
Chemicals and contact lenses
Dust masks - how effective are they?
Dermatitis & other skin conditions
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
Perfumes and scents: chemicals too!
Exposure Standards - what are they?
Glutaraldehyde
Formaldehyde
Fatigue, Impairment & Shift-work
Shiftwork - health effects
Shift-work and extended hours of work
Work-Life Balance
Working standing up
Driving - maximum kms or hours?
The Eight Hour Day - where has it gone?
Alcohol and work
Workplace alcohol policies
Fatigue, Impairment and Shift-work: More info
Rest/meal breaks - what am I entitled to?
Gendered Violence and Sexual Harassment
Infectious Diseases
General information on Infectious Diseases
Needlestick Injuries
Air Conditioning & Legionnaires Disease
Legionnaires disease
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis C
Human Immunodeficiency Virus/HIV
Tuberculosis
Staphylococcus - the 'superbug'
Infectious Diseases: More information
Presenteeism - what is it?
Influenza
Coronavirus Disease
COVID-19: masks and face coverings
COVID-19 Victorian Situation
COVID-19 Vaccines
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology - a new hazard
Nanotechnology - proposed legislation
Nanotechnology - further reading and references
Noise
Why is noise a problem?
Is noise a problem in your workplace
Noise Exposure Standard
More information on Noise
Plant
Machine Guarding
Licences
Radiation
General Information on Radiation
Ionising Radiation
Non-ionising Radiation
Sunlight - Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation
Mobile Phones
Phone Towers
Lasers
Radiation - websites
Slips, Trips and Falls
Slips, trips and falls - general information
Ladders - What are the Rules and Regulations?
Stepladders
Working from Heights - what are the regulations?
Stress
What is Work-Related Stress?
Legal Standards for Stress
Stress Action Plan for Reps
Stress information & websites
Job stress in the Victorian public sector
Workload and stress
Sprains and Strains - Manual Handling
General Information on Sprains and strains
Weight limits - what are the legal limits for lifting?
Back braces and lifting belts
Backaches - what can be done to prevent them?
Job rotation - what is it, and can it be useful?
Workstations and seating
RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) - What is it?
Sprains and Strains - more information
Vibration
Causes of Vibration
Effects of Vibration
Legal Standards for Vibration
Vibration - Action plan
More information on Vibration
Workplace Conditions
Heat
Cold
Confined Spaces & Poorly Ventilated Areas
Fire & Emergency Evacuation
Air Quality
Psychosocial Hazards
OHS Reps
  • About
  • Ask Renata
  • Hazards (current)
  • OHS Training
  • Law & Rights
    Law & Rights Law Rights
  • HSR Support
    HSR Support Tool Kit Union Contact List Contact OHS Unit HSR Conference 2020 - Risks to Psychological Health EBA Clause Library Your industry
  • Campaigns
  • SafetyNet
    SafetyNet Journal Articles Current Issue SafetyNet Archive
  • FAQ
    FAQ Asbestos FAQs Electrical Safety Workplace and amenities FAQs for OHS Reps FAQs for Workers Other
  • Join Us
Asbestos
Asbestos - in the workplace
Asbestos - in the home
Asbestos Management Review
National Asbestos Summit 2: September 2012
National Asbestos Summit: June 2010
Dust in the Air in 1950s Victoria
Latrobe Valley Report 2004
"KILLER COMPANY - JAMES HARDIE EXPOSED"
Asthma
Asthma - what is it?
Asthma Action Plan for Reps
Legal Standards for Asthma
Substances causing/worsening asthma
Asthma - sources of information
Biological Hazards
Biological Agents
Mould
Crippled by damp classroom
Anthrax
Bullying and Violence
Bullying - what is it?
Bullying - how much of a problem is it?
Bullying - Legal Standards
Bullying - Action plan for reps
Inquiry into workplace bullying
Bullying: More info
Violence at Work
Violence: More information
Zero Tolerance: the ANF Approach
Violence - Ambulance Officers' Union Guidance
Working alone – is it legal, is it safe?
Rep Quest: Bullying
Call Centres
Call Centres - the problems
Call Centres - monitoring
Call Centres - legal standards
Call Centres Action Plan for OHS Reps
Call Centres: What Kind of Future Workplaces?
Call Centres - More information
Offices - what OHS legislation applies?
Breaks for computer/VDU users?
Offices: Temperature and humidity - what are the 'rules'?
Offices - computers and eyesight
Office Hazards: Computers and VDUs - what are the guidelines?
Office hazards: Photocopiers, printers etc
Sedentary work
Chemicals
Welding - what are the issues?
Exhaust fumes - how dangerous are they?
Hazardous Substances (Chemicals)
Arsenic
Carbon Monoxide
Cytotoxic drugs
Diesel - declared carcinogen
Environmental Tobacco Smoke
Latex
Lead
Silica
Solvents
Dangerous Goods
Hazardous Substances - An introduction to Legislation
Dangerous or Hazardous? What's the difference?
Chemicals management in workplaces
Material Safety Data Sheets
Exposure Standards for Chemicals
Chemicals - Useful websites
Cancer - what causes it?
Occupational cancer and Workers’ Memorial Day
Chemicals and contact lenses
Dust masks - how effective are they?
Dermatitis & other skin conditions
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
Perfumes and scents: chemicals too!
Exposure Standards - what are they?
Glutaraldehyde
Formaldehyde
Fatigue, Impairment & Shift-work
Shiftwork - health effects
Shift-work and extended hours of work
Work-Life Balance
Working standing up
Driving - maximum kms or hours?
The Eight Hour Day - where has it gone?
Alcohol and work
Workplace alcohol policies
Fatigue, Impairment and Shift-work: More info
Rest/meal breaks - what am I entitled to?
Gendered Violence and Sexual Harassment
Infectious Diseases
General information on Infectious Diseases
Needlestick Injuries
Air Conditioning & Legionnaires Disease
Legionnaires disease
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis C
Human Immunodeficiency Virus/HIV
Tuberculosis
Staphylococcus - the 'superbug'
Infectious Diseases: More information
Presenteeism - what is it?
Influenza
Coronavirus Disease
COVID-19: masks and face coverings
COVID-19 Victorian Situation
COVID-19 Vaccines
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology - a new hazard
Nanotechnology - proposed legislation
Nanotechnology - further reading and references
Noise
Why is noise a problem?
Is noise a problem in your workplace
Noise Exposure Standard
More information on Noise
Plant
Machine Guarding
Licences
Radiation
General Information on Radiation
Ionising Radiation
Non-ionising Radiation
Sunlight - Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation
Mobile Phones
Phone Towers
Lasers
Radiation - websites
Slips, Trips and Falls
Slips, trips and falls - general information
Ladders - What are the Rules and Regulations?
Stepladders
Working from Heights - what are the regulations?
Stress
What is Work-Related Stress?
Legal Standards for Stress
Stress Action Plan for Reps
Stress information & websites
Job stress in the Victorian public sector
Workload and stress
Sprains and Strains - Manual Handling
General Information on Sprains and strains
Weight limits - what are the legal limits for lifting?
Back braces and lifting belts
Backaches - what can be done to prevent them?
Job rotation - what is it, and can it be useful?
Workstations and seating
RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) - What is it?
Sprains and Strains - more information
Vibration
Causes of Vibration
Effects of Vibration
Legal Standards for Vibration
Vibration - Action plan
More information on Vibration
Workplace Conditions
Heat
Cold
Confined Spaces & Poorly Ventilated Areas
Fire & Emergency Evacuation
Air Quality
Psychosocial Hazards
  1. Home
  2. Hazards
  3. Bullying and Violence
  4. Bullying - Legal Standards

Occupational health and safety law 

There is nospecific occupational health and safety regulations which covers bullying, or makes it specifically illegal for bullying to occur. Bullying is not specifically addressed in either the OHS regulations or codes. However, under Section 21 of the Victorian

Occupational Health and Safety Act (2004), employers have a general duty care 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 is more or less the same as what it was under the 1985 Act, the definition of health was amended. The definition of 'health' is now as follows:

"health" includes psychological health

This means that the employer must address workplace hazards such as bullying, stress and fatigue. So while there are no regulations, WorkSafe Victoria has guidance on bullying, which is an acknowledged, and serious, hazard in workplaces. In 2020, WorkSafe Victoria replaced its previous guide, Preventing and responding to bullying at work with a slimmer publication: Workplace Bullying: a Guide for Employers. For more information from the regulator,  go to the WorkSafe Victoria webpage on Workplace Bullying. 

WorkSafe has a special unit, the psychosocial practice unit, which has inspectors who investigate claims of bullying.

Other law

In Victoria:

In addition, injury or ill-health due to workplace bullying may become the subject of WorkCover claims or common law actions.

Some forms of bullying may constitute assault and be an offence under the Crimes Act; and in legislation which extends the criminal offence of stalking (known as 'Brodie's Law') introduced in June 2011 bullying may be a crime.  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.

Employers and/or the bully may find themselves facing fines, compensation and possibly a jail sentence.

Federal law:

Since 1 January 2014, if a worker is being bullied at work, he or she has been able to apply to the national industrial commission (the Fair Work Commission) for an 'order' to stop that bullying. The changes to the legislation mean that the Commission must respond to such an application two weeks after it is received. Orders may be anything from directing the bullying behaviour to stop, to ensuring that all staff undergo anti-bullying training. If the person who is the bully does not follow they orders, they face very significant fines.  The changes are designed to make sure workers who are bullied have access to fair, fast and effective mechanisms that will resolve the situation.

In November 2013, the Fair Work Commission released draft anti-bullying Case Management Model [pdf] which outlines the procedures and functions of the anti-bullying jurisdiction and has now released its Anti-Bullying Benchbook designed to assist parties to lodge or respond to anti-bullying applications, for public comment. 

The Case Management Model does not appear to have been updated, but the Anti-Bullying Benchbook was updated in May 2015. The Commission says the Benchbook has been designed to assist parties lodging or responding to anti-bullying applications under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Fair Work Act). In particular, information is provided to parties to assist in the preparation of material for matters before the Commission.

This benchbook has been designed as an interactive website and works best in this form. However, it is possible to download a pdf copy from the website.

  • Fair Work Commission Anti-Bullying site
  • FWC Anti-Bullying Research.

Last amended November 2020

SafetyNet

Please complete the form below to subscribe to the SafetyNET Journal email newsletter.


Ask Renata

Please send in your occupational health and safety questions to Renata. We will respond within a few days.
Ask a question

OHS Training at Victorian Trades Hall Council

The Victorian Trades Hall Council's OHS Training Unit is one of the most experienced training providers in Victoria. We provide training in multiple locations around Melbourne's suburbs as well as across regional Victoria.
OHS training

YES! I’LL FIGHT FOR
HEALTH AND SAFETY!


Copyright 2015 Victorian Trades Hall Council|Authorised by Luke Hilakari, Secretary,
Victorian Trades Hall Council 54 Victoria Street South Carlton 3053.

Contact | Sitemap | Privacy Statement

Created by Code Nation using NationBuilder