Whistleblower at NSW government department concerned by internal survey results, as staff member dies by suicide

Staff at this Australian workplace were asked to fill out a simple questionnaire. The leaked results are catastrophic.

EXCLUSIVE

A whistleblower has raised the alarm on a crucial state government department after an employee recently took their own life, as dire results from a staff survey have been leaked.

More than half the workers at the Building Commission NSW are looking for a new job while 70 per cent are burnt out, according to an internal questionnaire obtained by news.com.au.

It comes as a man who worked there is understood to have died by suicide just before Christmas.

The Building Commission NSW regulates the state’s building sector, which provides struggling homeowners with payouts if their homes are defective or if their builder goes bust.

It hasn’t been around for long, only established in late 2023, but already staff are leaving in droves, owing to a culture of overwork and toxicity, exacerbated by bullies, staff allege.

“It’s appalling, it’s pretty terrible,” Amanda*, who recently resigned from the Commission and didn’t want to share her real name, told news.com.au.

A Building NSW spokesperson didn’t directly respond to questions about the cause of the man’s death, and said the organisation has delivered “significant change” to improve its culture over the past several months.

Building Commission staff were upset to learn one of their own had tragically taken his life.

Investigations into the employee believed to have died by suicide are ongoing. His family declined to comment.

“It’s just absolutely tragic really,” Amanda said.

At the end of November last year, staff received an email informing them of “the passing of a valued BCNSW team member”.

“I am deeply saddened to let you know that our colleague … has sadly passed away,” the email read.

“This is very unexpected news and I know this will have a profound impact on (their) immediate team across the organisation.”

Amanda said the Building Commission rolled out new training afterwards in the wake of the worker’s death, coaching employees on how to spot distressed colleagues.

A Building NSW spokesperson told news.com.au said they offered their “sincere condolences” to those affected by the employee’s death.

His “family, friends and work colleagues were offered support at the time of his passing and regular check-ins continue to be carried out”, the spokesperson added.

Do you know more? Get in touch | [e-mail]

Staff say the results from the BCNSW’s annual survey shows morale is at an all-time low.

MORE: 5 signs your workplace is toxic – and what to do about it

The organisation’s recent annual staff survey, completed in September last year by 405 workers, also paints a dire picture of the troubled government department.

In response to a question asking “I feel burned out by my work”, only 30 per cent of staff disagreed.

Only 51 per cent said that the organisation “meets the needs of the communities, people and/or businesses of NSW”, a 41 per cent drop from the previous year.

Meanwhile, just 37 per cent of respondents agreed that “The processes in my organisation are designed to support the best experience for customers”.

“My organisation inspires me to do the best in my job” garnered only a 39 per cent positive response rate, 42 per cent less than the year before.

In fact, every single category and question scored worse than the year before, except for one.

Less than half – 46 per cent – of survey participants said the amount of stress was manageable.

The survey concluded that 24 per cent of respondents experienced all three dimensions of burnout – exhaustion, cynicism and reduced professional efficacy.

When asked to respond to the statement “My organisation shows a commitment to ethical behaviours”, 62 per cent agreed. That marked a 27 per cent decline compared to the year earlier.

The survey also revealed that 53 per cent of workers are thinking about, or currently are, looking for a new job.

A whistleblower has raised the alarm.

As a worker, Amanda was not surprised by the survey’s results, seeing the effects on morale first-hand.

“Multiple people are away on long term leave or sick leave,” she said.

“The turnover is ongoing and constant. The work environment was toxic.

“Everyone has a huge workload. That’s why everyone’s leaving.”

Amanda has also recently handed in her resignation.

“So many complaints have been made,” she added.

“People are really distressed, it’s that bad.”

Building NSW said that a new Building Commissioner was appointed in December, after the worker’s death, and since then there has been “significant change” to “strengthen the culture” within the organisation, including “including improvements to policies and standard operating procedures and work to ensure better collaboration between teams”.

“New Building Commissioner James Sherrard began with a clear mandate to build a strong, positive workplace culture in Building Commission NSW, which includes addressing any issues raised in the annual NSW public sector survey,” the spokesperson said.

More than half of staff want to quit.

There were strong signs of burnout across the more than 400 staff who completed the survey.

It comes as news.com.au exposed last year that staff at the Queensland equivalent, the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC), were being worked to the bone, pushing some to the brink of mental breakdowns and prompting concerns about suicide.

Meanwhile, a staff member at the Victorian regulator, the Victorian Building Authority (VBA), took his own life in May 2022.

Rob Karkut, 55, a building inspector, killed himself because he felt overwhelmed with pressure to meet ambitious targets, according to his family.

The VBA’s board was dissolved last year in response, his suicide led to two independent inquiries into the toxic workplace and the regulator was also charged with recklessly engaging in conduct that placed another person at a workplace in danger of serious injury.

The VBA’s court hearing, with a committal hearing listed on Friday.

*Name withheld over privacy concerns

[e-mail]