Workplace bullying presents significant legal, health and operational risks for employers and employees alike. This article outlines the legal definition of bullying, the role of the Fair Work Commission in resolving disputes, and practical considerations for employers in preventing and managing bullying complaints.
What is bullying?
A worker is bullied at work if, while the worker is at work in a constitutionally covered business, an individual or a group of individuals repeatedly behaves unreasonably towards the worker (or a group of workers of which the worker is a member) and the behaviour creates a risk to health and safety.1
For a worker to be covered by the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) stop bullying jurisdiction, the alleged bullying must have been at work and can include performance of work at any time and location,2 as well as activities engaged in by the worker that are authorised or permitted by the employer.3
Bullying can take many forms including:
- behaving aggressively towards another person in the workplace
- teasing or playing practical jokes
- engaging in gossiping about another worker
- excluding a worker from work-related events
- excluding information from a worker who requires the information to perform their employment duties
- under-utilising a worker, and
- unreasonable work demands.
Bullying can also involve the use of technology, emails and social media.
However, not all behaviour that makes a worker upset is bullying. Bullying does not include reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable way.4 Reasonable management action can include employers:
- making decisions about a worker’s poor performance
- taking disciplinary action against a worker, and
- directing the way a worker’s employment duties are carried out.
Management action that is not carried out in a reasonable way may however be considered bullying.
Psychosocial risks and the commercial impact of workplace bullying
Bullying at work can seriously impact a person’s health and affect their ability to carry out their employment duties. Workers subjected to bullying can suffer:
- anxiety
- depression
- low self-esteem
- altered behaviour
- nausea
- musculoskeletal complaints, and
- disturbed sleep.
Bullying detrimentally impacts employers through the breakdown of the employment relationship, low worker morale and the commercial consequences of reduced productivity. There is also the commercial impact to employers of the time required to investigate and address bullying complaints (including the impact of the dismissal of workers and retraining and onboarding of replacement workers).
Application to the FWC for a stop bullying order
Where bullying disputes cannot be resolved internally within the workplace, certain workers can apply to the FWC for an order to stop workplace bullying under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the FW Act).5
FWC conciliated outcomes
The FWC will start to deal with a bullying application promptly (within 14 days of the application being made).6 This will likely include a process of conciliation that the parties to the dispute participate in.
An outcome to resolve the dispute can be negotiated at the conciliation and the outcomes may include:
- an apology being provided
- changes in work arrangements (and reporting lines)
- having the employer commit to investigate a bullying complaint or engage an external investigator to conduct an investigation into the bullying complaint
- the employer reviewing (and amending if required) their existing workplace behaviours and anti-bullying policy
- the employer providing workers training on workplace behaviours, workplace safety and bullying, and
- the worker withdrawing their application.
Powers of the FWC – stop bullying order
Where a bullying dispute is unable to be resolved by way of conciliation, the FWC may determine the bullying dispute and make an order.
The FWC can make an order it considers appropriate to stop bullying at work (but not an order requiring payment of money) and only if the FWC is satisfied that a worker has been bullied and that there is a risk that the worker will continue to be bullied.7 In considering the terms of an order, the FWC takes into account matters such as:
- outcomes arising out of an investigation into the matter
- procedures available to the worker to resolve grievances or disputes
- outcomes arising out of any procedure available to the worker to resolve grievances or disputes, and
- any matters that the FWC considers relevant.8
The FWC may make orders such as:
- the employer to regularly monitor behaviour
- stopping specified behaviour of one or more individuals
- making changes to work arrangements
- the employer to establish and implement appropriate workplace behaviours and anti-bullying policies, procedures and training9
- the employer to comply with their workplace behaviours and anti-bullying policy
- the employer to review their workplace behaviours and anti-bullying policy, and
- additional training for workers.
The FW Act does not limit the persons to whom the FWC can make orders against. The FWC may make orders against individuals found to have engaged in workplace bullying as well as the employer.
The important takeaway is that the laws to stop bullying focus on the resolution of the bullying dispute and the prevention of future bullying at work. The FW Act is not focused on the punishment of bad behaviour or compensating victims of bullying. Where a worker no longer works for the employer, stop bullying orders are unable to be made given the aim of such orders is to prevent future bullying conduct at work.
An employer or individual to whom an order to stop bullying applies must not contravene a stop bullying order.10 Contravening a stop bullying order opens up the employer or individual to being liable to a civil penalty.
Alternative orders made in a recent application for a FWC order to stop bullying
In a recent FWC matter, Application by Mr Suresh Upadhyay,11 Mr Upadhyay, the head priest of a Hindu temple (his employer being, Shree Sanatan Dharm Sabha of NSW Inc who run Sydney’s Shree Ram Krishna Mandir temple) made a FWC application for a stop bullying order against his employer and its president, Mr Ajay Singh. Mr Upadhyay alleges that he was bullied by Mr Singh. The bullying allegations were denied and the respondents maintained that they engaged in reasonable management action towards Mr Upadhyay.
In the decision, FWC Deputy President Slevin confirmed that the FWC could only make anti-bullying orders (interim or final) where it is found that an applicant has been subjected to bullying, and that there is a risk the bullying conduct will continue. The Deputy President was not satisfied regarding those requisite factors and accordingly did not make (an interim) stop bullying order.12 However, the Deputy President did make an interim decision and consent interim orders (as sought by the parties at the day of the hearing) under section 589(2) of the FW Act (Procedural and interim decisions). The interim orders (for a period of nine months) included the employer to clarify Mr Upadhyay’s duties in writing, protecting Mr Upadhyay from victimisation, putting rostering protocols in place, and the parties limiting their communications to work-related matters.13 The Deputy President considered that making the interim orders under section 589(2) of the FW Act at that stage of the proceedings (and in effect, adjourn the proceedings for nine months to allow the matters in the application to be addressed) 'will facilitate the effective and efficient exercise of the Commission’s power to make bullying orders.'14
Considerations for employers
Having clear internal workplace behaviours and anti-bullying processes and procedures will assist employers to address workplace bullying disputes and may mitigate the consequence of disputes escalating to the FWC. Timely, respectful and objective communications to workers (including documenting those communications) will also promote the prospects of managing a heated situation.
Reaching an early resolution to a bullying dispute is beneficial to employers. Potential changes to work arrangements should be carefully considered having regard to reasonableness and impact of the potential changes, resourcing and the employer’s operational requirements.
Where a bullying dispute escalates to the FWC and a conciliated outcome cannot be reached, a wide range of orders may be made by the FWC to eliminate the risk of the bullying continuing (where bullying conduct is found to have occurred).
1 Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) s.789FD
2 Bowker and Others v DP World Melbourne Limited T/A DP World and Others [2014] FWCFB 9227 (Ross J, Hatcher VP, Gostencnik DP, Hampton C, Johns C, 19 December 2014) at [48]
3 Ibid. at [51]
4 See for example: Application by Meagher
[2024] FWC 3569 (23 December 2024) at [67]
5 FW Act s.789FC
6 Ibid. s.789FE
7 Ibid. s.789FF(1)
8 Ibid. s 789FF(2)
9 See Re Ms LP [2015] FWC 6602 (Hampton C, 4 November 2015) at [194]
10 FW Act s.789FG
11 Application by Mr Suresh Upadhyay [2026] FWC 67 (12 January 2026)
12 Ibid. at [6]
13 Ibid. at [3]
14 Ibid. at [8]
