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Your duty
Employers have a duty to review and, if necessary, revise the control measures in place when certain circumstances occur. This includes when an employee, or a person on their behalf, reports a psychological injury or psychosocial hazard to the employer.
For more information, see Part 3, Step 4 of the Psychological health compliance code.
Reporting of aggression or violence
Aggression or violence in the working environment is underreported. This is particularly true for industries where employees are more frequently exposed to aggression or violence.
Employees may not report aggression or violence because:
- It’s seen as ‘part of the job’ or work culture and they think nothing can be done about it.
- The reporting process is time-consuming and complicated.
- Once an event is over, they want to forget about it.
- The workplace culture is to ‘get on with it’ or reporting is discouraged.
- They don’t understand what is and isn’t reportable.
- They think reports:
- will be ignored
- won’t be taken seriously
- won’t be handled respectfully and confidentially.
- They fear they will be blamed, or that reporting may lead to more harm, discrimination or disadvantage. This may include losing their job or shifts.
- A perpetrator may have organisational power over them. For example, a manager or supervisor.
- They have previously reported the behaviour and nothing happened, or they felt victimised, so they don’t want to report it again.
- Incidents occur so frequently that only the most serious ones are reported.
Employees who identify psychosocial hazards or witness incidents of aggression or violence should be:
- encouraged to report
- provided with guidance, information and support.
Employers can encourage employees to report hazards and incidents of aggression or violence by:
- regularly discussing and communicating with employees about psychosocial hazards including aggression or violence
- giving employees a range of accessible and user-friendly reporting methods that suit the working environment
- making the system and process for reporting and responding transparent, and including information about who will be notified of the report
- responding to all reports of aggression or violence in a timely manner and taking appropriate actions to control any associated risks
- making it clear that victimising those who make reports will not be accepted
- offering multiple options for reporting
- providing training to employees in all the ways a report can be made
- providing training to supervisors and managers on how to respond appropriately to informal and formal reports of psychosocial hazards and incidents, including aggression or violence
- providing options for confidential reporting, where privacy or other concerns are raised; for example, where it is not appropriate for the employee’s manager to be involved
- documenting in policies and procedures the system of work for reporting and responding to psychosocial hazards and incidents, including aggression or violence.
Employers should provide options for reporting that:
- suit the organisation’s size and circumstances
- are proportional to the risks in the organisation. For example, where the nature of the work means employees are more likely to be exposed to aggression or violence, a formal reporting system may be required.
In a small organisation, options for reporting may include:
- raising hazards and incidents relating to aggression or violence in a team meeting or directly with a supervisor or any health and safety representatives (HSRs)
- an alternative reporting option where it is not appropriate to report directly to a supervisor, such as a locked box for making confidential reports
- external reporting options where required.
A large organisation should have a formal system for reporting psychosocial hazards and incidents, including aggression or violence. All employees should be able to access and understand how to use the system.
For more information on managing reports of psychosocial hazards and incidents, see Part 4 of the Psychological health compliance code.
Responding to reports of aggression or violence
- Assess if it is an emergency
Employers should always respond quickly and appropriately to reports of aggression or violence.
Contact police on Triple Zero (000) when:
- someone is in immediate danger
- a crime is in progress
- you need immediate police attendance.
For non-urgent incidents or to report a crime that has already occurred:
- call the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
- submit an online report at online reporting.police.vic.gov.au
- contact your nearest police station.
Referring a matter to police does not mean that employers take no internal action. Any report of aggression or violence in the working environment is an occupational health and safety (OHS) matter, whether the police are contacted or not.
- Follow your response system
Employers should have a clear system in place to respond to reports of aggression or violence. This should address:
- immediate safety issues and any ongoing risks in the working environment, including at work-related events
- preferred options for any medical treatment, where appropriate
- psychological support for all involved parties
- internal reporting and investigation
- how to apply investigation outcomes in a timely manner
- notifications required by external agencies such as:
- police
- fire
- ambulance
- Child Protection
- WorkSafe Victoria.
Employers must consult with employees and any health and safety representatives (HSRs) when developing policies and procedures to deal with incidents of aggression or violence. These should include:
- reporting procedures and investigating incidents
- guidelines on when to call the police, ambulance or other external services
- sanctions and actions against perpetrators
- testing and maintaining of communication systems and duress equipment
- employee supervision and monitoring
- guidelines for managers/supervisors on how to:
- provide options for immediate psychological support
- develop a plan and options for ongoing support
- guidelines for review of patients or clients who display aggressive or violent behaviours.
Employers should provide training for anyone who may handle a report of aggression or violence. This includes:
- managers
- supervisors
- HSRs
- union delegates
- other nominated people in the working environment, such as contact officers.
This will help to ensure that affected employees are not harmed further.
- Review or investigate
Responding to reports of aggression or violence is an important step in the risk management process.
The type of response – review or investigation – required will depend on the circumstances. When deciding on the type of intervention or investigation required, consider:
- the nature of the hazard or incident
- the level of risk involved
- the complexity of the situation
- any repeated exposure to incidents of a similar nature
- the number of employees involved or affected
- other people involved, such as clients, customers, patients or students
- for larger employers, whether an organisational response is required to manage the risk in a systematic way across multiple work sites or locations.
A response to a report of a psychosocial hazard or incident should include the following:
- identifying whether any other psychosocial hazards are present
- identifying if there is any new or additional information available about the psychosocial hazard that has been reported
- assessing associated risks, including:
- if new or additional information changes the risk
- if so, how the risk has changed
- reviewing existing risk control measures, including their effectiveness
- revising risk control measures to eliminate or reduce the risk where necessary
- monitoring the implemented risk control measures following the review or investigation
- monitoring trends in reporting data for hazards and incidents, including across multiple sites where relevant.
An investigation should also review and evaluate whether the risk controls available to employees were utilised and effective. For example:
- Were duress alarms pressed?
- Were de-escalation strategies used?
If available risk controls were not used, consider why.
Investigations should avoid placing blame on individuals and consider the reasons that behaviour may have occurred. For example, an investigation into a customer becoming aggressive towards a retail employee may reveal the:
- incident happened during the busy Christmas period
- customer was frustrated due to long wait times at the service counter
- noise levels in the store were high at the time
- service counter had insufficient numbers of employees at the time of the incident
- employees working had not been properly trained to use the IT system.
In some cases, a Human Resources (HR) team may do a separate investigation into an incident of aggression or violence. The HR and OHS teams should work closely together to:
- share information
- identify all psychosocial hazards
- control any associated risks.
- Record the review or investigation outcomes
Employers should document and communicate the outcome of an investigation to all appropriate parties. This may include:
- involved employees
- relevant supervisors or managers
- relevant representatives from HR and OHS teams.
An employer must give an HSR access to information they have about:
- relevant hazards
- the health and safety of people the HSR represents.
This does not include access to medical information.
- Refer to other agencies
An employee may wish to contact other agencies about an incident of aggression or violence. When dealing with the incident and discussing referral options, employers and other employees should respect:
- what the affected employee wants to happen
- how the affected employee would like to manage the matter.
If the affected employee wishes, it may be appropriate for them to contact:
- WorkSafe Victoria Advisory
- Victoria Police for matters that may be criminal offences.