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Recommendation 8: Encouraging a ‘speak-up’ culture

Category
Leadership development and values
Owners
Director, Operations Capability
Director, Organisational Development
Status
In planning or scoping

The recommendation

Ambulance Victoria should:

  1. detail in its comprehensive prevention plan, to be developed pursuant to Recommendation 3:
    1. the critical role of each member of the workforce in taking action if they are a bystander to workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, bullying or victimisation
    2. information about how bystanders can raise concerns or make informal reports or complaints about such conduct and practical examples of the actions they might take
    3. the supports available to bystanders who do take action.
  2. embed the Upstander program as part of its regular training program and ensure a minimum completion rate of 75% of the workforce within two years of the publication of Volume II of this final report
  3. ensure that the revised complaint policy (see Recommendation 16) recognises the important role of bystanders and aligns the information included with its comprehensive prevention plan.

What we are doing

  • Include information in Ambulance Victoria’s prevention plan to enable a ‘speak-up’ culture
  • Embed the Upstander program as part of Ambulance Victoria’s regular training program and ensure a minimum completion rate of 75 per cent
  • Include information in Ambulance Victoria’s revised complaint policy to recognise the role of people who speak up against unlawful or harmful workplace conduct

Where we are up to

15/02/2024

The Upstander program is currently in planning for delivery in the 2024/25 Financial Year. The program will involve workshops for all of AV’s workforce, with a focus on educating, empowering and engaging our people to take shared responsibility for a safe, fair and inclusive culture.

28/07/2023

Planning continues for the Upstander program, aimed at educating, empowering and engaging the workforce to take shared responsibility for a safe, fair and inclusive culture. The program is scheduled to commence in October 2023, starting with workshops for operational managers and corporate employees and extending to all employees and volunteers throughout 2024.

31/01/2023

  • AV is reviewing the design of the ‘Upstander’ program, which aims to encourage and support our workforce to raise concerns about unlawful and harmful workplace conduct and equip leaders and managers to create safe, fair and inclusive workplace cultures. The ‘Upstander’ program will commence rollout to our operational workforce from late 2023.

12/12/2022

  • In December 2022, AV commenced drafting our prevention plan. This includes, among other work, information to enable a ‘speak-up’ culture (R8a).

15/09/2022

  • In September 2022 AV commenced initial planning and scoping of its prevention plan (R3). This includes, among other work, mapping the range of reform activities that will support AV’s prevention efforts, for example, activities to encourage a ‘speak up’ culture (R8).
  • AV is updating the design of the ‘Upstander’ program, which aims to encourage and support our workforce to raise concerns about unlawful and harmful workplace conduct and equip leaders and managers to create safe, fair and inclusive workplace cultures. Preparations to rollout the program between late 2022 to mid-2023 are well-advanced.

29/07/2022

  • AV will start work to develop a prevention plan once key staff are recruited and this will include consideration of how to enable a ‘speak up’ culture.
  • AV has begun work to update the design of the ‘Upstander’ program and is considering opportunities to integrate content into broader equal opportunity training, so people understand their rights and responsibilities and feel encouraged and able to raise concerns about unlawful and harmful workplace conduct.

Timeframe

2024/25

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