27 November 2018

Francis Review launched to examine bullying and harassment at Parliament

The Speaker of the House Rt Hon Trevor Mallard has today announced that an independent external review into bullying and harassment of staff at Parliament will take place over the coming months.

The review will look to establish whether bullying and harassment has occurred and, if it has, the nature and extent of this towards staff employed or engaged since the 51st Parliament (since October 2014). This includes staff from the Parliamentary Service, the Office of the Clerk, Ministerial and Secretariat Services/DIA, contract staff and former staff who no longer work in the Parliamentary workplace.

The review will be carried out by independent external reviewer, Debbie Francis, who has previously worked on reviews of a similar nature with other organisations such as the New Zealand Defence Force.

Rt Hon Trevor Mallard said today “Bullying and harassment are unacceptable in any workplace, including at Parliament. All the agencies involved want their staff to feel safe and supported. We want to proactively find out what we can do to improve the Parliamentary workplace.”

Debbie Francis said today that “It is vital that that staff feel they can contribute their experiences to this review safely. That is why we are ensuring that all data is securely held, and will be destroyed at the review’s conclusion. All information will be kept confidential and no one will be identified, or identifiable, in the final report resulting from the Review.”

There are a number of ways that staff will be able to participate in the Review:

• Secure online survey

• 1 on 1 interviews with Debbie (via phone or face to face)

• Focus groups

• In writing via email or letter to a PO Box

The findings of the review will be published once the review has concluded. The review will examine any trends or patterns that emerge and make recommendations on how these could be addressed for the future.

There will be additional supports put in place for those participating in the review during this process, including a phone line to connect with trained counsellors.

ENDS

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