Judges will receive group training in how to behave at work

The High Court of Australia has published its workplace conduct policy for the first time, detailing how its judges should behave.

High Court Chief Justice Susan Kiefel. The new policy is part of protecting and supporting employees of the court. Picture: Kym Smith

High Court of Australia judges will undergo annual group training in how to behave at work, a new policy published on the court’s website reveals.

It is the first time such a guide has been made public.

There will also be an annual anonymous survey of officers, employees, contractors and service providers of the court to gauge how well the policy is working, and this will inform the justices’ own yearly review.

The Justices’ Policy on Workplace Conduct is a revised version of an internal document called the Supplementary Chambers Policy, written after an independent investigation by Vivienne Thom found in 2020 that former High Court judge Dyson Heydon had sexually harassed six associates.

At the time the court, led by Chief Justice Susan Kiefel, apologised to the women and accepted the six recommendations of Dr Thom’s report, which included developing a supplementary human resources policy.

The new guide was developed to define clear standards of appropriate conduct by judges, ensure that any complaint or concern could be raised using a “safe and secure method” and explain how it would be addressed.

It stipulates that: “At least once each calendar year, the justices will together participate in an externally facilitated training session on appropriate workplace practices”.

It outlaws bullying; harassment – including sexual harassment; discrimination on grounds of race, sex, disability or age; and retaliation against anyone who “has or is suspected of having raised a concern or made a complaint about inappropriate conduct by a justice”. The policy says: “An example of unfair treatment amounting to retaliation might be refusing to give a reference or giving an unfair reference.”

It also spells out directions in two areas that were of previous concern.

“No Justice will require any person to participate in any social occasion” and “No Justice will require any person to share any private transport with the Justice”, it says.

It promises that anyone who complains or raises a concern will be “taken seriously and treated with respect and courtesy” and offered the chance to participate in the process of addressing the matter they have raised.

They would also be kept informed about progress in their case, and offered support including external counselling.

If needed they will be able to “remove themselves from ongoing contact with the Justice about whose conduct the concern has been raised or complaint has been made, including where appropriate by movement to a position of equivalent status within the court”.

Any formal investigation required will be conducted by an independent external adviser and the federal attorney-general will be notified both of the investigation and its outcome.

“The Chief Justice and the senior puisne Justice will participate in the induction of all new associates to ensure that they understand this policy and the Justices’ commitment to it,” the policy says.