CITY of Rockingham chief executive officer Andrew Hammond has called on the Australian Services Union to end its campaign against alleged bullying at the council, saying the claims were damaging staff morale and the City’s upstanding reputation. The ASU’s claim leans on a survey completed by 78 of the council’s employees that found just under […]

"Do you even have a university degree," a former boss asked me a while ago. "Really, do you even have a university degree?" Dejected by yet another round of bullying by my boss, I replied: "Yes." "Oh," he paused. "Well, university degrees don’t even mean anything. Even a homeless person can get a university degree." […]

BRODIE Panlock’s parents will be in Parliament today to watch a law being passed that could see bullies jailed for up to 10 years. The bill, to be passed in the Upper House this afternoon, has been dubbed “Brodie’s Law” in memory of the bullied Hawthorn waitress whose death prompted the change. Brodie’s father Damian […]

The parents of a teenage boy who killed himself after being bullied on the internet say a ruling on compensation restores dignity to their son’s memory. Seventeen-year-old Allem Halkic received threatening text messages for several months before committing suicide. Last month a Victorian magistrate ruled that his suicide was the result of bullying. The perpetrator […]

AAP A Melbourne policewoman who discovered she was pregnant shortly after accepting a detective job was called a “black widow” by her colleagues and told she was useless, a jury has heard. Karen Aden Willett, 38, was told by her sergeant that he would be “stuck” with her unless she quit her job. She was […]

Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, today launched Australia’s Human Rights Framework which outlines key measures to further protect and promote human rights in Australia. The Framework acts on the key recommendations of the National Human Rights Consultation Committee and complements a number of actions the Government is already taking to encourage greater inclusion and participation in our […]

WORKPLACE and cyber bullies face up to 10 years in jail under proposed changes to South Australian laws. The State Government yesterday said it would consider replicating sweeping new Victorian laws aimed at tackling bullying, including abuse levelled through social media websites and on mobile phones. Independent MP Bob Such will take legislation to Parliament […]

ALI MOORE: Workplace bullies in Victoria will face up to 10 years in jail under changes to stalking laws. The criminalisation of bullying was prompted by the death of 19-year-old Brodie Panlock in 2009. Brodie took her life after being relentlessly bullied at the cafe in which she worked. Both employers and unions have welcomed […]

SafeWork SA executive director Michele Patterson has warned the state’s businesses that bullying could result in fines of as much as $600,000. Employers have a legal duty to ensure that, so far as is reasonably practicable, employees are safe from injury and risk to health while at work – which includes psychological harm from bullying,” […]

More than 40,000 Victorian workplaces will be subject to a blitz on workplace bullying following the suicide death of cafe worker Brodie Panlock. Announcing the Respect At Work initiative, Premier John Brumby told the Herald Sun newspaper workplace bullying was “cowardly” and “low”. Under the initiative, WorkSafe inspectors will conduct snap inspections on workplaces, lift […]