Push for independent parliament complaints process

The Morrison government will consider establishing an independent complaints body to deal with serious incidents at Parliament House.

Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet deputy secretary Stephanie Foster. Picture: Gary Ramage

The Morrison government will consider establishing an independent complaints body to deal with serious incidents at Parliament House following an internal review sparked by the alleged rape of former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins.

Scott Morrison last February tasked Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet deputy secretary Stephanie Foster with investigating what support was available for political staffers making complaints about workplace matters, particularly assault or sexual assault.

Ms Foster’s review, which was provided to the Prime Minister on Monday evening, recommended development of an independent and confidential complaints agency for serious parliamentary workplace incidents, and implementation of face-to-face respect training for managers and staff.

Mr Morrison will take the final report to cabinet and the partyroom before the government works with other political parties to implement the recommendations. Coalition MPs were briefed on the report during a joint partyroom meeting on Tuesday.

Mr Morrison told parliament he had “no intention of waiting” for Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins’s report on parliament’s workplace culture before implementing the recommendation to establish an independent complaints body.

“I think we can get on with it now,” he said. “The deputy secretary has given us a very good model.”

Throughout the investigation, Ms Foster worked closely with Ms Jenkins, who is leading a separate nine-month investigation.

The review began when Ms Higgins’s allegation that she was raped by a colleague in then defence industry minister Linda Reynolds’s office in 2019 was made public.

During a Senate estimates hearing on Monday, the Department of Parliamentary Services said it had not changed any of its processes for responding to incidents at parliament since the ­alleged sexual ­assault in March 2019.