The new Workplace Health and Safety and Bullying Laws recommend establishment of Contact Officers within each workforce.  Contact Officer Programs options are 2, 4 and 6 hour programs.  Refresher Programs are available as well as Contact Officer Mentoring options.

A Harassment Officer – sometimes known as a contact officer, equal opportunity officer or equity contact officer – is a staff member who assists employees who experience discrimination and harassment in the workplace.   The contact person should:

• listen to an employee’s concerns about discrimination or harassment
• not form a view of the merit of any allegations
• provide information about the internal complaint process
• advise the person that in some situations where serious allegations are raised – for example, that may expose the organisation to legal liability – the issue may need to be reported to management and dealt with as a formal complaint
• where appropriate, provide support for a person if he or she wants to try and resolve the issue personally
• provide information about available support services; for example, workplace counselling services
• outline other options available to the person, such as lodging a complaint of discrimination or harassment with an external agency.

The contact person should not be the same person who is responsible for investigating or making decisions about a complaint.

The company contact officer can help to facilitate the process of making an internal complaint of discrimination or harassment. This may help to avoid complaints to external agencies and/or legal action.