Respect: Promoting a culture free from harassment and bullying in the APS

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Commissioner’s Foreword

Australian Public Service (APS) leaders need to foster a positive workplace environment where people treat each other and the community with respect, and where harassment and bullying are unacceptable. The public service should be a good place to work for everyone.

The Public Service Act 1999 (the PS Act) sets out the Values and Code of Conduct that apply throughout the APS. The PS Act highlights the responsibility of agencies to promote and uphold the Values. The legislation also imposes obligations on all employees to treat others with respect and courtesy.

Employee surveys carried out for the annual State of the Service Report to Parliament show that the APS does well in providing constructive and positive workplace environments. The surveys also indicate relatively high job satisfaction levels and awareness of the Values.

However, the 2005–06 survey results show that around 16% of employees indicated they had been harassed or bullied in the past 12 months.

Dealing with harassment and bullying is not always easy. There is no ‘magic’ solution. We could all point to behaviour that is clearly harassment or shows a lack of respect. However, many of us have dealt with people who are upset about negative feedback, or who do not agree with a direction, and who perceive reasonable management action as harassment and bullying.

For these and many other reasons, a key management priority is to foster and promote a positive workplace culture based on respect. This is a core responsibility for public service leaders. It is also an issue for every public servant, wherever they work.

This guide is designed to foster a better understanding of respect, and includes strategies to address harassment and bullying. It also aims to help APS leaders and employees develop positive and harassment free workplaces.

The guide sets out:

the benefits of building a positive work environment
federal legislation that relates to workplace harassment and discrimination
descriptions of harassment and bullying
strategic approaches to building a respectful workplace
the role of leaders in promoting positive work environments
examples of management policies and systems that prevent and manage harassment and bullying
assurance mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the ‘health’ of an organisation.

I strongly recommend this guide as a ‘must read’ for managers across the APS.

Lynelle Briggs
Public Service Commissioner