Violence, stress, sexual harassment; Victorian public servants in crisis

Victoria’s frontline justice staff report plunging morale on the front lines amid bullying and sexual harassment from colleagues and high levels of work-related stress.

A survey of Victoria’s Department of Justice and Community Safety has uncovered a morale crisis.

Victoria’s justice department staff are suffering a morale crisis amid bullying and sexual harassment from colleagues, violence and ­aggression from the public and a “notable decline” in public servants saying they were “proud” to work for the government.

The Department of Justice and Community Safety’s 2024 staff satisfaction survey results from its southern region also detected high levels of work-related stress.

Public service sources said the morale crisis uncovered in sections of the justice department were matched by staff surveys across the public service and government agencies, suggesting cost-cutting in the midst of state budget cutbacks is impacting frontline staff.

“It’s all cut, cut, cut … and this shows what happens to staff,” one source told The Australian.

Department of Justice and Community Safety staff work across law and order services including corrections, youth justice and prosecutions. The staff survey, obtained by The Australian, covers the department’s southern region and was completed by 87 of the 325 staff in the division.

The survey reveals 14 per cent of staff reported experiencing bullying and 8 per cent were the victims of sexual harassment from colleagues, while 49 per cent suffered violence or aggression from the public.

Under a section headlined “notable decline”, the survey reveals staff have experienced significant falls in job satisfaction, pride at working for the department, high-quality advice and service, and receiving meaningful recognition for good work.

A significant 83 per cent said they had experienced work-related stress, 49 per cent reported high to severe stress and blamed staff workload, organisational change, time pressure and management for the unhappiness.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan. Picture: David Geraghty

Only 20 per cent of respondents feel improvements will be made as a result of the survey and just 25 per cent believe the promotion process is fair.

The survey did detect some positives, with 85 per cent of staff saying they believe they can achieve something important, 86 per cent saying they can work effectively with others and 87 per cent saying they can make a worthwhile contribution at work.

Responding to questions from The Australian, the DJCS said across the entire department of 9500 staff, the latest staff survey showed an “increase in staff engagement, job satisfaction, and the proportion who feel proud to work at the department”.

“We highly value the work of our staff and are always looking to ensure they are safe, valued and supported in the critical work they do,” a department spokesperson said.

“The department has a zero-tolerance approach to any form of harassment, discrimination or ­violence in the workplace. We will work with staff to ensure that everyone – no matter where they work – feels safe, supported and valued at work.”

The department’s overall survey results show 63 per cent of staff are proud to tell others that they work for the department, an increase from 2023, and 77 per cent of staff get a sense of accomplishment from their work, while 75 per cent of staff feel their manager supports them.

The department said all staff members who witness inappropriate behaviour are supported and encouraged to report it.

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