Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to speak on the Commonwealth Workplace Protection Orders Bill 2024. It mimics similar legislation in my home state of Queensland—for example the Peace and Good Behaviour Act 1982, which gives people the right to peace and quiet and to be undisturbed by threats to their quality of life and wellbeing. Orders can be made in a Magistrates Court keeping peace and good behaviour on application—a person can be a complainant there—and for a duration of years. The second piece of legislation that's not dissimilar to this particular legislation is the Queensland Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012, which protects a person against violence committed or threatened by someone else if there's a relevant relationship existing between the parties. There's similar legislation in the various states and territories. This legislation that's before the Chamber is the kind of legislation that will protect Commonwealth workers but also allow judges and magistrates to have access to similar jurisprudence and look at the kinds of orders and judgements that have been dealt with in similar circumstances.

I want to say at the very beginning that every Australian deserves to be safe at work. In recent times, we've seen Commonwealth workers increasingly subjected to acts of violence and aggression from members of the public. It's simply unacceptable, and that's why the Albanese Labor government's introducing this bill. We want to make those workplaces safer for our Commonwealth public servants, the workers that serve the Australian community. The legislation strengthens the Commonwealth's ability to protect Commonwealth employees, particularly those on the front line who are the very people that are often dealing with some really difficult circumstances with someone that may not be getting what they want and may be frustrated with the particular circumstances in which they're living. Violence and aggression can have a devastating impact on frontline workers and their families as well on the broader safety and operation of Commonwealth workplaces. We're acting on advice here, and the bill builds on extensive work that we've undertaken.

There was a horrific stabbing attack on an Airport West Services Australia officer in May 2023, and that was a devastating reminder that we need to do more to protect workers. In response, the former minister for government services and the NDIS commissioned a review into the safety of frontline public service workers—the Services Australia Security Risk Management Review—which was conducted in 2023 by the former Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police Graham Ashton. This comprehensive review recommended 44 changes, and they are to deter acts of aggression against workers and increase safety in workplaces. As a government, we have committed to implementing every one of those recommendations of the Ashton review.

Commonwealth frontline workers help the Australian community, and there are a whole range of areas we can think of: Centrelink, the Australian Taxation Office, passport offices, airports and the Australian Electoral Commission. They staff service centres and call centres across the country for the Australian government, and they're the first persons that a member of the community can interact with. They often deal with emergencies and natural disasters. Unfortunately, Commonwealth workers and workplaces continue to face an increasing risk of violence. Between July 2023 and July 2024—that whole year—Services Australia staff experienced nearly 1,700 serious instances of violence and aggression. The bill responds to this unacceptable situation.

The implementation of recommendation 17 of the Ashton review creates the Commonwealth workplace protection order—or WPO—scheme, and progresses the government's commitment to implement all 44 recommendations. The recommendation of the review states:

The current ACTWorkplace ProtectionOrder provisions should be adopted for use by the Commonwealth as a staff protection mechanism nationwide.

The bill establishes a framework to enable an authorised person within a Commonwealth entity to apply to a state or territory magistrate or local court, the Federal Court of Australia or the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia to issue a Commonwealth WPO in order to protect a Commonwealth worker or workplace from threats of harm and actual harm. Effectively this means a person who causes harm or threatens to cause harm to a Commonwealth worker or workplace can be subjected to a WPO. It establishes a new principal act and it introduces the scheme, which is crucial to mitigating some of the serious harm.

Ultimately a WPO is aimed at preventing future violence from happening. These orders aim to stop a person from accessing a particular Commonwealth workplace or from contacting a specific worker if they have been violent or aggressive in the past. The bill will make Commonwealth workplaces safe for members of the public who visit them to gain access to critical Commonwealth benefits and services. This bill will provide legal protections for Commonwealth workplaces and workers and deter acts of violence and other harmful behaviours by members of the public. The scheme will be available to most Commonwealth workplaces, extending to anywhere a Commonwealth worker is conducting official Commonwealth work. I mentioned emergency services and natural disasters. Someone from Services Australia might be at a community centre, for example, and delivering services for those much-needed financial supports that are given by the Commonwealth during those times. Commonwealth workplaces include pop-up service centres in shopping centres, Commonwealth service delivery vehicles and Commonwealth workers' residences away from home—so the WPO includes someone's home. It protects workers who are working on behalf of the Commonwealth regardless of where they are.

The bill enables an authorised person from a Commonwealth entity to apply to a court for a WPO on behalf of a Commonwealth worker or workplace where personal violence against a worker or workplace has taken place, is connected to the worker's official duties and where there is a risk it will occur again if an order is not made. The bill's definition of 'personal violence' is very similar to domestic and family violence legislation in Queensland that is mimicked throughout the states and territories. The Peace and Good Behaviour Act in Queensland includes acts of violence, harassment, intimidation, threats of harm and other harmful, non-physical violence such as verbal abuse over the phone or via email. On application, a Commonwealth, state or territory court can make an interim or a final WPO. In circumstances where urgent protection is required, the Commonwealth entity can write to the court to issue an urgent interim WPO to ensure protections are in place as quickly as possible. It can be done by telephonic or electronic means before a future court date considers a final order, which is a very sensible approach. If the court's satisfied that there's been personal violence under the definition, if there's a risk that the respondent will engage in personal violence if an order's not made or if the order is necessary or desirable, an order can be made. In making that order, the court has the power to impose a range of conditions. The conditions can include no contact with the Commonwealth worker or no attendance at that workplace.

The definition of 'Commonwealth worker' covers a whole range of people, and I alluded to it before. As to which particular Commonwealth entities are covered, that is defined, of course, by the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act, but they include, as I mentioned, Services Australia, Australian Taxation Office, Veterans' Affairs, Australia Post and electorate and ministerial offices as well. It also includes contractors, which I think is a good idea. The hardworking security guards, cleaners and other external staff are covered. While the safety of Commonwealth workers comes first, we want to make sure anyone who engages with the government and government services has the right to be protected as well.

A plan can be developed to ensure that they continue to access those services safely. It doesn't mean to say a person will lose their entitlement to Centrelink payments or family tax benefits or any other form of government services. A plan can be put in place for how they can do it, and those conditions can be put in place with the assistance of the relevant department and, of course, the court as well. In some circumstances, a condition may limit interactions to appointments over the phone, and that can be done. This will take a bit of work, but it's necessary.

The bill allows either party of a WPO to apply to a court to revoke or vary. It shouldn't be infinite. There are terms and conditions. A final WPO can't exceed two years or be made against a person who's under 14 years of age. There needs to be flexibility with how this is done. Breaching a WPO can constitute a criminal offence, as it can in other jurisdictions. The penalties include 120 penalty units, imprisonment for up to two years or both. That's the penalty for noncompliance. The bill also requires the minister to call for a review of the operation and the effectiveness of the act as soon as practicable three years after commencement. I think this bill completes a legislative gap.

In conclusion, I think this is an important step in creating safer Commonwealth workplaces and sends a strong message that the Albanese government values workers. Violence and aggression towards workers are unacceptable, and WPOs are a significant tool in keeping workers safe. The bill builds on the layers of protection the Commonwealth has provided for workers and increases penalties that are, as I said, in the previous legislation, the Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Commonwealth Frontline Workers) Act 2024. The act increases criminal penalties for assaults against Commonwealth frontline workers and implements recommendation 18 of the Ashton review.

This is a good outcome. I did visit the Ipswich office of Services Australia, in my electorate, last year to meet the workers and thank them for their fantastic work, particularly in slashing the backlogs of Centrelink and Medicare claims and improving customer experience. We have invested in 3,000 frontline workers across the country, including 500 in South-East Queensland and quite a number in Ipswich. They do great work, and they deserve to be safe in their workplace and in an environment free from harm. This bill will protect those kinds of workers and the workers in the Ipswich Services Australia centre. I want to thank them for their service to our local community. I thank the former Minister for Government Services for his support of the bill and commend it to the chamber.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.