Ex-MacKillop Family Services Geelong worker criticises ‘unsafe’ workplace

A Geelong woman who says a child punched her in the stomach and threatened to kill her unborn baby while she worked in residential care has launched legal action against her former employer.

Another woman has she faced dangerous situations work in residential care after falling pregnant. File Picture: Brad Fleet

 

An ex-residential care worker who says she was chased by knife-wielding kids, stalked to the point of selling her home and punched in the stomach while pregnant has launched legal action against her former employer.

Anna, not her real name, said she worked for seven years in “unsafe” conditions in MacKillop Family Services residential homes for children in state care in Geelong, and has now been on WorkCover, unable to work, for close to five years.

Anna said she experienced multiple incidents of abuse and “normalised” violence from the children in care, with very little in place to protect workers from the traumatised, violent kids.

“I was chased around with knives, pushed, physically assaulted — there were many incident reports filed,” she said.

“We’d go to management and say ‘we feel unsafe’ but nothing happened.

“We were just reminded the kids had trauma.”

Anna said she had been told while pregnant she would have extra staff members with her for support — but it didn’t happen.

At 13 weeks pregnant, Anna said had been called to pick up a child who was being aggressive at school.

“He was threatening violence,” she said.

“Then he leant over and punched me twice in my pregnant belly and he said to me, ‘I hope that f--king killed your baby and if it didn’t I will kill it.’

“They couldn’t fill my shift so I had to keep working (that day).”

Afterwards she said she hid in the office and locked the door while the child tried to get in.

She said the incident “broke her”.

“The next day, they were expecting I would turn up to work, no one checked in on me,” she said.

She said she still had dreams about the threats he made that day.

Anna said MacKillop Family Services told her she could take her maternity leave at 13 weeks’ pregnant if she felt unsafe – but this meant she would not have any when the baby arrived.

She alleges the child who threatened her kept stalking her and even found her home address.

“I used to sit inside with all my doors locked,” she said.

“Me and my partner just sold the house.”

She gave birth eight weeks early.

Slater and Gordon lawyer Audrey Gunn, who has been assisting Anna in taking legal action against MacKillop Family Services Geelong, said she was managing multiple similar cases.

“There’s a pattern in the industry,” she said.

“Police, security guards, prison guards – they all get workplace defence training.

“But then you’ve got similar risk factors in these residential care environments but they’ve got no support.”

MacKillop director Brandon Howard said it prioritised the safety of residential care staff and the young people, with a comprehensive system of support, safety planning and training which was well-regarded by regulatory oversight bodies.

He said a range of supports were available to staff including special leave, access to therapy and the opportunity to relocate to another home or undertake administrative duties.

Anna contacted the Geelong Advertiser after this masthead reported another woman claimed she had been kicked in the stomach at working at MacKillop while pregnant, and then unfairly dismissed.

“It was a carbon copy (to my story),” she said.

The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology, then edited and approved for publication by an editor.

Originally published as Ex-MacKillop Family Services Geelong worker criticises ‘unsafe’ workplace