VFBV

By: Lucinda Nolan

Our workplace must be one free from bullying, harassment and discrimination.

And if you do experience any of these types of unreasonable behaviour, we want you to feel safe to report it.

If you believe you are experiencing bullying or harassment, you can now report this through our dedicated and independent hotline.

The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It will be managed by an independent external team.

The hotline number is 1800 795 075.

All callers will be treated with dignity and respect – there will be no judgement about the information they are providing. Each call will be managed confidentially, with the consent of the caller helping to determine the way the report is best managed.

These complaints will then be referred to an external consultant who is a specialist in complaint and issues resolution. They will follow up with the caller within 72 hours of the initial complaint, and will assist in managing the case until a resolution is reached. The type of resolution chosen will vary depending on the nature of the complaint.

Complaints can also continue to be made directly to your direct manager.

This hotline is in addition to the range of support services and resources already available to help members manage their mental health and deal with difficulties when they arise. Information about these services can be found here.

We made the commitment to introduce the hotline following the release of the independent Fire Services Review.

In the past 12 months, 24 complaints of harassment and bullying in CFA have been formally lodged.

This is a relatively small number in an organisation of 57,000 but we are concerned that there may be under reporting of these issues.

As I have said before, I don’t believe harassment and bullying are widespread in CFA, but any type of this behaviour will not be tolerated.

I want to reiterate again that changing our culture will not be solved alone by initiatives and strategies. We all need to do our part.