Workplace Bullying & Harassment:What It Is, What It Isn't, And What Comes Next
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
If you are walking into work with a sense of dread - if you are being publicly humiliated, isolated from your team, set impossible tasks, or quietly managed toward the door - you are not imagining it, and you are not alone. Workplace bullying is one of the most common and least-reported problems in Australian employment, and the gap between what workers experience and what they actually do about it is enormous. Most people do nothing, not because nothing can be done, but because they don't know where to start. This article is that starting point.
1 in 2 Australian workers report experiencing bullying or harassment
62% Of cases involve a manager or supervisor as the bully
$36B Estimated annual cost to Australian organisations
The Legal Definition - and Why It Matters
Fair Work Act 2009 - Section 789FD
A worker is bullied at work when an individual or group repeatedly behaves unreasonably towards them, and that behaviour creates a risk to health and safety. Both elements must be present.
Two words in that definition do most of the work: repeatedly and unreasonable. A single incident - however upsetting - does not meet the legal threshold for bullying under the Fair Work Act, though it may still constitute harassment, discrimination, or a breach of work health and safety law. It is the pattern of behaviour, repeated over time, that the law is specifically designed to address.
Behaviour that courts and the Fair Work Commission have found to meet that threshold includes: deliberately excluding someone from meetings, communications, or work-related social events; setting workloads that are designed to produce failure; making belittling or humiliating comments in front of colleagues; issuing contradictory instructions and then holding someone accountable for the resulting confusion; and withdrawing resources or information a person needs to do their job.
What does not count as bullying
Reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable way is not bullying.
An employer can issue a warning, conduct a performance review, manage someone's attendance, redirect their duties, or make a redundancy decision - and none of that is bullying, provided it is done reasonably and in good faith. The critical question in contested cases is almost always whether the action was genuinely reasonable or whether it was a vehicle for something else entirely.
The distinction that changes everything
"My manager gave me difficult feedback in a performance review" is management. "My manager conducts performance reviews to publicly demean me, sets targets no one could meet, and excludes me from information my role requires" - that is a pattern worth taking seriously, and worth getting proper advice on.
What Bullying Actually Looks Like in Practice
Bullying is rarely as obvious as shouting or physical intimidation. The forms of workplace bullying that cause the most lasting harm are often quieter, more sustained, and harder to name. Recognising them for what they are is the first step to doing something about them.
Being left off emails, meeting invitations, or decisions that your role requires you to be part of
Having your contributions ignored, dismissed, or attributed to someone else
Receiving deliberately vague briefs followed by disproportionate blame when things go wrong
Being subjected to micromanagement or scrutiny that is clearly not applied to comparable colleagues
Having flexible work requests, leave, or reasonable adjustments refused without explanation
Experiencing shifts in your duties, status, or team relationships after raising a complaint
Being made to feel that your continued employment depends on tolerating treatment that is unreasonable
The physical and psychological effects are also telling. Persistent anxiety before work, disrupted sleep, difficulty concentrating, social withdrawal, and a steady erosion of confidence are all consistent with sustained exposure to a hostile workplace environment. These are not personal weaknesses. They are normal responses to an abnormal situation.
Your Options - A Practical Sequence
The most important thing to understand is that your options exist on a spectrum - from informal to formal, from internal to external, from low-stakes to legally significant. Where you start on that spectrum depends on your specific situation. This is why getting guidance before you act matters so much.
1. Document everything, starting today.
Write down each incident in plain language: what was said or done, when, where, and who was present. Note the impact it had on you. Keep this record somewhere private - not on a work device or work-managed account. This contemporaneous record is the foundation of any formal process that may follow.
2. Locate and read your employer's internal policies.
Most employers are legally required to have a workplace bullying and harassment policy. Find it. Understand what the internal complaint process looks like and what timelines it involves. This matters even if you ultimately decide not to use it.
3. Raise it internally - but understand the limits.
If it is safe to do so, raising a complaint internally is the recommended first step. If the person bullying you is your direct manager, escalate to their manager or to HR. "We here at David Versus" can attend meetings with you and advocate on your behalf can attend meetings with you and advocate on your behalf. Be aware: internal processes do not always produce fair outcomes, and how you participate in them can affect later proceedings.
4. Get guidance before you escalate externally.
The Fair Work Commission process is a legal process. What you say in your application, what evidence you include, and how you frame your claim has real consequences. Getting advice at this stage - before you file anything -dramatically improves outcomes.
5. Consider a formal application to the Fair Work Commission.
Under Part 6-4B of the Fair Work Act, most Australian workers can apply for an order to stop bullying. The Commission aims to contact parties within two weeks of an application and resolve most matters within 16 weeks, typically through conciliation rather than a formal hearing.
When Does This Become a Matter for a Specialist Lawyer?
Not every workplace bullying situation requires a lawyer from the outset. But some absolutely do - and identifying which situation you are in early is critical.
If your employment has been terminated, or you are under active threat of termination, strict time limits apply. Unfair dismissal and general protections applications must be filed within 21 days of dismissal. Missing that window can permanently extinguish an otherwise strong claim.
If the treatment you have experienced is connected to a protected characteristic - your sex, race, age, disability, pregnancy, religion, or union membership - you may have grounds under discrimination legislation in addition to, or instead of, the bullying provisions. These are different legal pathways with different processes, different bodies, and different remedies, and they require specialist knowledge to navigate properly.
If you are uncertain which category you fall into, that uncertainty is itself a reason to talk to someone who can assess your situation clearly. That is what we are here to do.
