Lodge a Stop Bullying order
Bullying at work that will not stop? Apply to the Fair Work Commission.
When workplace bullying is ongoing and your employer is not addressing it, the Fair Work Commission has jurisdiction to make an order that the bullying stop. The application is not a damages claim; it is a fast-moving order that requires the bullying to be active at the time of the application. We help you document the bullying, file the application, and run it through to a Stop Bullying order that requires the employer and the individuals involved to change their behaviour.
What is a Stop Bullying order and why does it matter?
A Stop Bullying order is a form of relief available to employees under Part 6-4B of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act). Workplace bullying is defined as repeated unreasonable behaviour by an individual or group toward a worker, which creates a risk to health and safety. To apply, you must still be employed by the relevant employer (or working as a contractor under the relevant arrangement) and the bullying must still be occurring at the time of the application. The Fair Work Commission can order the bullying to cease and impose specific requirements on the employer to address the conduct; it cannot order financial compensation through the Stop Bullying jurisdiction.
Who can apply for a Stop Bullying order?
A worker (employee, contractor, or labour-hire worker) who reasonably believes they have been bullied at work, where the bullying is still occurring, can apply to the Fair Work Commission for a Stop Bullying order under the Act. You must still be in the workplace at the time of application; the order is not available after the employment has ended.
What counts as workplace bullying for a Stop Bullying order?
Workplace bullying under the Act is repeated unreasonable behaviour by an individual or group towards a worker, that creates a risk to health and safety. Single incidents, reasonable management action carried out reasonably (such as a properly conducted performance management process), and conduct that is unpleasant but not unreasonable do not meet the threshold.
What can the Fair Work Commission order?
The Fair Work Commission can make orders requiring the bullying to stop, requiring specific behavioural changes from the individuals involved, requiring the employer to implement policies or training, requiring changes to reporting lines or work arrangements, and requiring the matter to be monitored. The order does not include financial compensation, which is pursued through other claims such as general protections or workers’ compensation.
How fast does the Fair Work Commission act?
Stop Bullying applications are handled relatively quickly because the bullying must still be occurring. The Fair Work Commission usually convenes an initial conference within a few weeks of filing, and orders can be made on an expedited basis where the conduct is serious. The speed of the process is one of the main reasons to use this jurisdiction rather than waiting and pursuing damages later.
Bullying documented to the Fair Work threshold.
Repeated, unreasonable, and creating a risk to health and safety.
Application filed while the conduct is live.
The jurisdiction expires when the bullying or the employment ends.
Order obtained that changes behaviour.
Not compensation, but an enforceable requirement for the conduct to stop.
Bullying ongoing and the employer is not acting?
The Stop Bullying jurisdiction only works while the bullying is still happening. The first call gives you a path that does not depend on waiting.
The bullying is real, repeated, and nobody is stopping it.
You have been on the receiving end of repeated, unreasonable conduct at work that is now affecting your health and your ability to do your job. You have tried internal complaints, and the conduct has continued. You need a path that produces a result while you are still in the workplace, not a damages claim years later.
- We will assess whether the conduct meets the Stop Bullying threshold under the Act.
- We will help you document the incidents to the standard the Fair Work Commission requires.
- We will draft and file the application before the jurisdiction expires.
- We will represent you at the Fair Work Commission conference and any hearing.
- We will pursue the order, the parallel safety claim, and any general protections claim that runs alongside.
The bullying is ongoing and the internal process has not stopped it.
A manager or colleague is engaged in repeated conduct toward you that is unreasonable, that has been happening for weeks or months, and that is now creating a real risk to your health. You have raised it internally without result, you are still in the workplace, and you need the conduct to stop more than you need a damages claim that takes years to resolve.
What's included in your Stop Bullying application service
- Assessment of whether the conduct meets the Stop Bullying threshold under the Act.
- Documentation of the incidents to Fair Work Commission standards.
- Drafted Stop Bullying application and supporting evidence.
- Filing with the Fair Work Commission before the jurisdiction expires.
- Representation at the Fair Work Commission conference and any hearing.
- Coordination with any parallel general protections or workers' compensation claim.
Why most bullying claims that delay never go anywhere.
The most common mistake employees make about workplace bullying is waiting. They wait to see whether the conduct stops on its own, wait to see whether the internal complaint produces anything, or wait until they have left the workplace because they could not stand it anymore. The Stop Bullying jurisdiction under the Act expires when either the bullying or the employment ends, whichever comes first. By the time an employee finally seeks legal advice, they have often resigned to protect their health, and the most useful remedy is no longer available. The damages claim that remains is slower, smaller, and harder to run.
Here is how we get the bullying actually stopped.
We assess the conduct against the Stop Bullying threshold on the first call: repeated, unreasonable, creating a risk to health and safety. Where the threshold is met and the bullying is still active, we document the incidents in the form the Fair Work Commission expects and file the application without waiting for the internal process to fail again. The Fair Work Commission convenes a conference quickly, the parties attempt resolution, and where the conduct cannot be resolved by agreement, the Commission can make orders that require the behaviour to stop. We also engage the parallel general protections framework where it applies, so any retaliation for making the application becomes a separate claim with uncapped damages.
Three steps to a Stop Bullying order.
Document, file, enforce.
1
Bullying documented.
We assess the conduct against the Act's Stop Bullying threshold and document the incidents.
2
Application filed.
We file the Stop Bullying application with the Fair Work Commission while the conduct is still active.
3
Order obtained.
We represent you at the Fair Work Commission conference and any hearing, and pursue the orders that change the behaviour.
Employment lawyers who run Stop Bullying applications for employees while they are still in the workplace.
Workplace bullying does measurable damage to health, productivity, and the rest of your life outside the workplace, and the internal complaints process rarely stops it on its own. We have run Stop Bullying applications across professional services, healthcare, retail, and construction, and the difference between a filed application and an internal complaint is usually whether the conduct continues. Our team assesses the threshold, documents the incidents, files the application, and runs it through. You move from being asked to manage the bullying to being on a Fair Work Commission process that has to produce a result.
We understand you want to know the cost, before we get started...
We will map out our process, from beginning to end, so you know what the journey will look like before you get started.
We will provide you with a clear and detailed Work Proposal covering each step along the way.
Our fair fees are all-inclusive. No hidden costs for telephone calls, emails, photocopying, couriers, or coffee.
File the application while the jurisdiction is still alive.
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Read more about Stop Bullying orders, the Fair Work Commission jurisdiction, and how JFM Law can help.
