Fair Work Commission

Based on your answers to the questions, it appears you are not eligible to make an application for an order to stop bullying at work.

If you are not a worker, you are not eligible to make an application for an order to stop bullying at work. The term worker is defined in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

(Note: Members of the Australian Defence Force are excluded.)

Only people who are considered to be workers can apply for an order to stop bullying at work.

A worker can be:

• an employee
• a contractor or subcontractor
• a person employed by a labour hire company who is working at a particular business or organisation
• an outworker
• an apprentice or a trainee
• a work experience student
• a volunteer.

The Fair Work Commission will only be able to make an order to stop bullying at work where there is a risk that bullying will continue. Accordingly, orders cannot be made where the worker is no longer engaged in connection with the workplace where they alleged the bullying conduct occurred, or for some other reason is no longer exposed to the bullying by the individual or group at work.

Based on your answers to the questions, it appears you are not eligible to make an application for an order to stop bullying at work.

If you are not covered by the national anti-bullying laws, you are not eligible to make an application for an order to stop workplace bullying at the Fair Work Commission.

However, you might like to contact the workplace health and safety body in your state or territory. They can tell you what options you have under state and territory law. Contact details for the workplace health and safety body in your state or territory can be found at Safework Australia.

A worker can only make an application for a workplace bullying order if they are covered by the national workplace bullying laws.

Workers are covered by the anti-bullying jurisdiction if they are bullied at work in a constitutionally covered business. A constitutionally covered business is one where a person conducts business or undertaking within the meaning of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, and is either:

• a business that is a constitutional corporation –  for example, a Pty Ltd company. (This includes foreign corporations and trading or financial corporations formed within the limits of the Commonwealth. Sole traders and partnerships are generally not constitutional corporations)
• the Commonwealth – for example, a federal government department (members of the Defence force are not covered)
• a Commonwealth authority – for example, a federal court or the federal police
• a body corporate incorporated in a territory, or
• a business or organisation conducted principally in a territory or Commonwealth place.

If you're not sure whether the business that employed or engaged you falls into one of these categories:

• check your payslip – it may tell you whether the business is Pty Ltd
• visit ABN Lookup – you might find the ABN of the business or organisation on your payslip, or on their website or company letterhead. Enter the ABN into the ABN Lookup search. The ABN search should show you whether the business is Pty Ltd and/or a company (which probably means you're covered by the national workplace bullying laws) or a sole trader or partnership (which probably means you're not covered by the national laws)
• ask the finance or payroll person at the business
• ask your accountant or financial advisor
• seek legal advice – you can find out about what services are available on the Where to get legal advice page.

If you are not covered by the national workplace bullying laws, you might like to contact the workplace health and safety body in your state or territory. They can tell you what options you have under state and territory law. Contact details for the workplace health and safety body in your state or territory can be found at Safework Australia.

Based on your answers to the questions, it appears you are not eligible to make an application for an order to stop bullying at work.

If what is happening is not considered to be bullying at work, you are not eligible to make an application to the Fair Work Commission for an order to stop bullying at work.

Bullying occurs when:

• a person or a group of people repeatedly behaves unreasonably towards a worker or a group of workers at work 
• AND
• the behaviour creates a risk to health and safety.

Bullying does not include reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable manner.

Bullying behaviour can involve any of the following types of behaviour:

• aggressive or intimidating behaviour
• belittling or humiliating comments
• spreading malicious rumours
• teasing, practical jokes or 'initiation ceremonies'
• exclusion from work-related events
• unreasonable work expectations, including too much or too little work, or work below or beyond a worker's skill level
• displaying offensive material
• pressure to behave in an inappropriate manner

However, this behaviour must be repeated and unreasonable and must create a risk to health and safety in order for it to be bullying.

Reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable manner is not bullying.

Reasonable management action may include:

• performance management processes
• disciplinary action for misconduct
• informing a worker about unsatisfactory work performance or inappropriate work behaviour
• asking a worker to perform reasonable duties in keeping with their job
• maintaining reasonable workplace goals and standards.

However, these actions must be conducted in a reasonable manner. If they aren't, they could still be bullying.

Based on your answers to the questions, it appears you are not eligible to make an application for an order to stop bullying at work.

The Fair Work Commission cannot make an order to stop bullying if the bullying is not happening repeatedly.

Based on your answers to the questions, it appears you may be eligible to make an application for an order to stop bullying at work.

Find out how to make an application

• Go to the Forms and fees page. This page provides details of applicable fees and how to lodge a completed application using the below Form F72 - Application for an order to stop workplace bullying.
• For information about what happens when a workplace bullying application has been lodged, go to What is the process? 
• Application forms can be lodged by email, facsimile, telephone, post or in person at one of our Commission offices 

Note: The Fair Work Commission is a tribunal and cannot help you decide whether or not to make an application.

The Fair Work Commission will only be able to make an order to stop bullying at work where there is a risk that bullying will continue. Accordingly, orders cannot be made where the worker is no longer engaged in connection with the workplace where they alleged the bullying conduct occurred, or for some other reason is no longer exposed to the bullying by the individual or group at work.