Ms ROSOL – Just following on with some more questions about Community Corrections. How many workers in Community Corrections made workers compensation claims both in 2023-24 and 2024-25, and how many of those claims are currently open?
Mr BARNETT – Thank you for the question. I’ll just see if the secretary of the department can assist the member on that specific question.
We’re more than happy to take that on notice, with the ambition to respond before the close of this session, in light of the specificity of the question.
Ms ROSOL – Thank you. How many grievances have been lodged by workers in community corrections in 2024‑2025? Can you step me through the process for how you’ve responded to those and how many remain unresolved?
Mr BARNETT – I will pass to the secretary. Again, a very specific question related to the operational matters of the service, but I will see if the secretary can assist the honourable member or whether we need to take it on notice. The secretary can speak to the process and take on notice the specificity of the numbers and get back to the committee as soon as possible. I will pass back to the secretary.
Ms BOURNE – Thanks, Deputy Premier, through you. The department has fairly well‑established grievance management policies in place and has recently looked at those to make sure it’s fit for purpose. Ordinarily, as members would know, it involves a concern or some personal distress that a staff member wants to elevate to their manager or relevant personnel from human resources.
Generally speaking, the agreed process is that ideally, you raise it with your manager informally, consider what options are available to you to resolve that, and sometimes that can be escalated to a grievance coordinator, who can support the employee in that process. In some ways, I see it as related to a bit of a restorative justice‑type process. I think each grievance turns on the particular facts, and my preference is for employees to have say in how they would like that resolved.
The process, once it’s followed through, is ordinarily reviewed in consultation with HR, and the primary outcome is to make sure the impacted employee is satisfied with the result. If the employee is not satisfied with the outcome of the matter, again, that can be reviewed or put to the grievance manager for further action.
Then there’s a process following the resolution to make sure that the behavioural situation that led to the grievance doesn’t happen again. We provide the guidance to the detail of how employees can go about first meeting with their manager, around detailing the specifics of their grievance. If they’re not comfortable reporting to their manager, does it need to be made in writing? All those sorts of things. Noting that sometimes grievances can blur the line between a grievance and more serious conduct, and our human resources team is always available to provide advice about where a complaint or a particular matter should be raised or elevated, if need be.
In summary, there’s a very dedicated process and we encourage staff to talk to their direct manager or engage with HR in the first instance, if they need further support.
