Harassment and bullying
The Australian Public Service Employee Census measures employee perceptions of harassment and bullying. Responses to the question ‘During the last 12 months, have you been subjected to harassment or bullying in your current workplace?’ are summarised here.
For the purposes of the 2023 APS Employee Census, these definitions were used:
Harassment ꟷ Workplace harassment entails offensive, belittling or threatening behaviour directed at an individual or group. The behaviour is unwelcome, unsolicited, usually unreciprocated and usually, but not always, repeated. Reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable way is not workplace harassment.
Bullying ꟷ A worker is bullied at work if, while at work, an individual or group of individuals repeatedly behaves unreasonably towards the worker, or group of workers of which the worker is a member, and that behaviour creates a risk to health and safety. To avoid doubt, this does not apply to reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable way.
Tables 9.7 to 9.12 present Census results, broken down by agency size, for APS respondents.
Table 9.7: Perceptions of harassment and bullying for all agencies, by agency size
| Agency size | % of respondents who perceived harassment or bullying in their current workplace |
|---|---|
| Overall APS | 10.4 |
| Extra-large (10,000+ employees) | 11.0 |
| Large (1,001 to 10,000 employees) | 9.6 |
| Medium (251 to 1,000 employees) | 9.5 |
| Small (101 to 250 employees) | 11.4 |
| Extra-small (20 to 100 employees) | 9.3 |
Table 9.8: Perceptions of harassment and bulling for extra-large agencies (10,000+ employees)
| Agency | % of respondents who perceived harassment or bullying in their current workplace |
|---|---|
| Extra-largeagencies overall | 11.0 |
| Australian Taxation Office | 8.3 |
| Department of Defence | 10.8 |
| Services Australia | 11.9 |
| Department of Home Affairs | 13.0 |
Table 9.9: Perceptions of harassment and bullying for large agencies (1,001 to 10,000 employees)
| Agency | % of respondents who perceived harassment or bullying in their current workplace |
|---|---|
| Large agencies overall | 9.6 |
| Australian Competition and Consumer Commission | 5.6 |
| Australian Bureau of Statistics | 5.8 |
| IP Australia | 6.1 |
| Bureau of Meteorology | 7.3 |
| Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet | 7.4 |
| Department of Education | 7.6 |
| Department of the Treasury | 7.7 |
| Australian Trade and Investment Commission | 7.7 |
| Attorney-General's Department | 7.9 |
| Department of Health and Aged Care | 8.0 |
| Department of Finance | 8.8 |
| Department of Employment and Workplace Relations | 9.2 |
| Department of Industry, Science and Resources | 9.7 |
| Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water | 10.1 |
| Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts | 10.6 |
| National Disability Insurance Agency | 10.7 |
| Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry | 10.8 |
| Federal Court of Australia | 11.7 |
| Department of Social Services | 11.7 |
| Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade | 12.7 |
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | 12.8 |
| National Indigenous Australians Agency | 13.1 |
Table 9.10: Perceptions of harassment and bullying for medium agencies (251 to 1,000 employees)
| Agency | % of respondents who perceived harassment or bullying in their current workplace |
|---|---|
| Medium agencies overall | 9.5 |
| Fair Work Ombudsman | 2.9 |
| Australian Institute of Health and Welfare | 5.0 |
| Fair Work Commission | 5.0 |
| Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre | 5.5 |
| Future Fund Management Agency | 6.2 |
| Murray–Darling Basin Authority | 6.9 |
| National Library of Australia | 7.2 |
| Australian Public Service Commission | 7.2 |
| Australian National Audit Office | 7.4 |
| Comcare | 7.5 |
| Digital Transformation Agency | 8.3 |
| Australian Communications and Media Authority | 8.3 |
| Geoscience Australia | 8.4 |
| Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission | 8.6 |
| Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions | 8.8 |
| Defence Housing Australia | 8.9 |
| Clean Energy Regulator | 8.9 |
| Australian Electoral Commission | 10.1 |
| Australian Financial Security Authority | 10.4 |
| Administrative Appeals Tribunal | 11.3 |
| Australian Digital Health Agency | 13.7 |
| Australian War Memorial | 14.0 |
| National Archives of Australia | 14.5 |
| Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission | 15.3 |
| National Emergency Management Agency | 18.5 |
| National Disability Insurance Scheme Quality and Safeguards Commission | 20.3 |
| Aboriginal Hostels Limited | 23.2 |
Table 9.11: Perceptions of harassment and bullying for small agencies (101 to 250 employees)
| Agency | % of respondents who perceived harassment or bullying in their current workplace |
|---|---|
| Small agencies ꟷoverall | 11.4 |
| Office of the Special Investigator | 0.0 |
| Safe Work Australia | 2.3 |
| Office of the Australian Information Commissioner | 2.8 |
| Productivity Commission | 3.5 |
| Office of Parliamentary Counsel | 7.1 |
| Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity | 7.1 |
| Australian Human Rights Commission | 7.2 |
| Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman | 7.5 |
| Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission | 9.1 |
| National Health and Medical Research Council | 9.1 |
| Australian Research Council | 9.2 |
| Australian Fisheries Management Authority | 10.7 |
| Australian Transport Safety Bureau | 11.6 |
| Australian Skills Quality Authority | 11.8 |
| Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency | 12.0 |
| Food Standards Australia New Zealand | 12.6 |
| Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency | 13.4 |
| Sport Integrity Australia | 13.5 |
| Royal Australian Mint | 13.5 |
| National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority | 14.7 |
| Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority | 14.9 |
| National Museum of Australia | 15.1 |
| Torres Strait Regional Authority | 15.5 |
| Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority | 15.8 |
| National Film and Sound Archive of Australia | 16.4 |
| Australian National Maritime Museum | 19.7 |
| Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies | 21.7 |
Table 9.12: Perceptions of harassment and bullying for extra-small agencies (20 to 100 employees)
| Agency | % of respondents who perceived harassment or bullying in their current workplace |
|---|---|
| Extra-smallagencies ꟷ overall | 9.3 |
| Climate Change Authority | 0.0 |
| Organ and Tissue Authority | 0.0 |
| Commonwealth Grants Commission | 2.9 |
| Cancer Australia | 3.0 |
| Professional Services Review | 4.2 |
| Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security | 5.3 |
| Australian Office of Financial Management | 5.6 |
| Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman | 5.6 |
| Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House | 5.6 |
| National Health Funding Body | 6.3 |
| Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority | 8.3 |
| Australian Institute of Family Studies | 8.5 |
| Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care | 11.0 |
| Workplace Gender Equality Agency | 11.6 |
| National Portrait Gallery | 14.6 |
| National Blood Authority | 14.8 |
| National Capital Authority | 15.3 |
| Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research | 15.8 |
| National Mental Health Commission | 22.2 |
See also
Integrity – Respectful and ethical workplaces, State of the Service Report 2022–23.