More victims come forward with allegations of bullying at Victoria’s emergency agency

THE state’s emergency response agency has been hit with more than a dozen more allegations of bullying, following revelations one former employee received a $70,000 payout.

THE state’s emergency response agency has been hit with more allegations of bullying, following revelations one former employee received a $70,000 payout.

More than a dozen former staff told the Herald Sun of a culture of fear and intimidation in Emergency Management Victoria.

Many said they were victims as well as having witnessed attacks on colleagues.

Both women and men were among the whistleblowers and said the inappropriate behaviour included being belittled and screamed at in the office, and it was carried out by staff at all levels of management.

Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley.

The latest claims come after the Herald Sun revealed one victim received $70,000 in taxpayer-funded compensation from the Department of Justice and Regulation after being bullied out of the organisation.

Internal culture surveys from 2017, seen by the Herald Sun, show damning results for the organisation.

In some business areas — which cannot be named to protect whistleblowers — more than 40 per cent of staff disagreed when asked if bullying was not tolerated.

Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley apologised to bullied staff last year after the $70,000 payout was made public.