Ombudsman SA issues scathing report into CFS and SAFECOM sexual harassment policies

The CFS failed to properly handle persistent allegations of sexual harassment and must overhaul their policies, a damning report has found.

The report is expected to prompt CFS and SAFECOM to change their policies. Picture: Brad Fleet

The Country Fire Service failed to properly investigate repeated allegations of sexual harassment and even “belittled” an alleged victim, the state Ombudsman has found.

In a report that is likely to have far-reaching implications for both the CFS and the South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission, SA Ombudsman Wayne Lines savaged both agencies over how they handle serious allegations of sexual misconduct.

The shortfalls were laid bare in a report that investigated their handling of a series of disturbing allegations made by a female volunteer at the Para Reserve Brigade, causing CFS Chief Officer Mark Jones to “regret” how it was dealt with.

Mr Lines made a range of recommendations, with the first being that the CFS should obtain “expert guidance” in order to review its policies on inappropriate sexual contact and sexual harassment claims.

He also recommended that the entire CFS workforce should receive training on sexual harassment claims and ethics.

Mr Jones said the CFS’s code of conduct was already being “refreshed” prior to the report and more training was planned.

A SAFECOM spokesman said they are also reviewing their own policies and guidelines, while an apology was issued to the woman.

Chief Officer Mark Jones said he “regrets” how the CFS handled a series of sexual harassment allegations between October 2017 and February 2018.

Between October 2017 and February 2018, the then 19-year-old volunteer, who The Advertiser chose not to name, was allegedly subjected to several incidents of sexual harassment by a much older, male volunteer.

His identity remains suppressed and the allegations are being investigated by SA Police. He was stood down from the CFS while the investigation continues.

In one allegation, the man was accused of pressing his arm across his colleague’s chest in an attempt to “Christian side hug” her at a training session.

In other incidents, he allegedly tried to grab her waist while playing volleyball and also stroked her foot, with his wife by his side, on a social night.

She reported the incidents to the SAFECOM’s Volunteer Services Branch in February 2018 and in April of the same year, an “informal meeting” between the two volunteers and the brigade captain took place.

“I am advised that during the meeting, the complainant and the (male volunteer) agreed to ‘act amicable’ and the CFS took the view at this point that the matter was resolved,” Mr Lines said.

But, just a week later, the alleged victim wrote that she was unhappy with the outcome.

“The impression I got was that all his actions were an accident and his hand slipped on a number of occasions, which I expressed could not have been accidental at all,” she said in an internal email.

“ … I was left wondering what it would have taken to see him at the very least suspended for a period of time.”

In the months that followed, she made several complaints to staff at both CFS and SAFECOM.

But, according to Mr Lines’s report, they fell on deaf ears, with the brigade captain still thinking that the matter was resolved.

She didn’t receive an update from SAFECOM until December 2019, after she verbally asked for one. She was then told that her complaint was still presumed to be resolved in the April 2018 meeting. Even when she rang the CFS headquarters – her complaint was not investigated further. Instead, she was told it was “inappropriate to go against procedure not to use her chain of command”.

Mr Lines said: “It concerns me that the agency appears to have shown a lack of sensitivity towards allegations of sexual misconduct. The complainant appears to have been shut down, misdirected, and at times even belittled by those involved in the matter”.

“The advice provided by SAFECOM … was entirely inappropriate and lacked an understanding of the seriousness of the issue.”

Mr Jones said: “The CFS regrets how (the volunteer’s) complaints of sexual harassment were dealt with. The CFS and SAFECOM Volunteer Services Branch failed to assess the seriousness of the allegations.”

A SAFECOM spokesman said the agency is providing “more comprehensive training” to improve officers’ understanding of the Work Health and Safety Act, Equal Opportunity Act and the Fire and Emergency Services Regulations.

“A review of policies and guidelines relevant to SAFECOM’s obligations under the FES Act is also underway.”
SAFECOM is expected to provide a progress report to the Ombudsman in February, outlining steps they have taken to change their policies.

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