Brittany Higgins has said the federal government’s decision to establish an independent complaints body for serious incidents in federal parliament will ensure “Parliament House is a safer workplace for all future employees”.
On Monday, the government announced it will implement all ten recommendations of Stephanie Foster’s review into parliament processes, which was initiated after Higgins reported an alleged rape by a colleague inside a minister’s office in 2019.
The independent complaints mechanism formed part of the central recommendation of the review, with Morrison saying it will be overseen by the Parliamentary Service Commissioner, and will apply to incidents from the start of the current term of parliament. This means it will not investigate Higgins’ allegation of rape. The government said it will be established within the next six weeks.
“I am so pleased to hear that all 10 recommendations of the Foster Review will be implemented,” Higgins wrote on Twitter.
“These reforms, most notable the independent complaints mechanism, will ensure Parliament House is a safer workplace for all future employees.”
I am so pleased to hear that all 10 recommendations of the Foster Review will be implemented.
— Brittany Higgins (@BrittHiggins_) July 26, 2021
These reforms, most notably the independent complaints mechanism, will ensure Parliament House is a safer workplace for all future employees. 🙏 https://t.co/wNNkVy4y9D
In the report, Foster wrote that her review found that “the current procedures and processes are not designed or able to respond appropriately to serious incident in the parliamentary workplace, particularly to sexual assault”.
“The review heard that the personal impacts of serious incidents can be significant and ongoing, and can include long term psychological trauma, and career and financial impacts. Unacceptable behaviour, whether by parliamentarians or staff, inflicts damage on everyone and undermines the legitimacy and authority of the Parliament, and its ability to attract and retain high quality staff,” Foster writes in the report.
The implementation of trauma-informed support services and tailored education and support for all staff, members of parliament and managers, are also recommended for implementation in the review. The training should be face-to-face and mandatory for all parliamentarians and their staff, and a public register will be established outlining who is undertaking the training.
“Ms Foster’s recommendations provide for implementation of important reforms ahead of the receipt of Sex Discrimination Commissioner Jenkins’ independent review into Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces later this year,” the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance said in a statement.
Measures to monitor after-hours access at Parliament House will also be implemented, to deter non-work related access and mitigate the risk of serious incidents occurring.
“These measures should be underpinned by a clear expectation from parliamentarians to their staff that after-hours access must be work related or for a legitimate purpose,” Foster said.
It was also recommended that “a small taskforce” should be established in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to implement the recommendations of Foster’s review.