When the anti-bullying jurisdiction in the FW Act commenced,
there were fears of a wave of applications.
We look at some key outcomes in the first two years of operation
of the jurisdiction and ask what it has meant in practice for
employers.
Applications to date
In the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2015, only 11
anti-bullying orders were made by the Fair Work Commission, despite
the Commission receiving 1,052 applications.
Of those applications, only 27 were recorded as relating to
Commonwealth Government employment.
As with any industrial litigation, many applications are
resolved by the parties without the need for an order.
In addition, a review of the reported cases indicated that
changed circumstances in the workplace can reduce the risk of the
Commission making orders.
