The Minister for Ambulance Services, Martin Foley has condemned the behaviour and culture outlined in Volume One of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission’s (VEOHRC) Final Report on its independent review into workplace equality at Ambulance Victoria (AV).
In a statement, Mr Foley (pictured) said the behaviour and culture in the report was simply unacceptable and in no way met the standards that Government and the broader community expected of a workplace.
“We thank every member of the Ambulance Victoria community who bravely spoke up and shared their experience with the Commission and encourage you to keep doing so,” he said.
“To anyone in Ambulance Victoria who has experienced discrimination, sexual harassment, bullying and victimisation of any kind – please know we hear you, we believe you and there will be immediate action taken.
“Ambulance Victoria has accepted all 24 recommendations and we will work with the Agency to implement them as soon as possible, with work already underway on priority initiatives.”
Mr Foley said this included the establishment of new, dedicated division to drive workplace equality and organisational reform, as well as a complete redesign of the reporting and complaints system.
The Minister said the new system would have a strong focus on supporting people through the complaints process and a new interim director would be appointed to oversee the critical work.
“Ambulance Victoria will immediately begin establishing a model for an independent restorative engagement scheme, which enables people who have suffered from past incidents to share their stories, be recognised and heal,” he said.
“This process will also allow leadership to hear and learn from those experiences.”
Mr Foley said a governance committee chaired by the AV Chief Executive would be established to help guide, oversee and deliver on the VEOHRC’s recommendations.
“The last 21 months have been incredibly hard on the entire Ambulance Victoria workforce and we cannot express enough our gratitude for the care they have provided to every Victorian throughout this pandemic,” he said.
“We encourage anyone with a complaint to come forward, or participate in the new reforms, knowing that anything you have to say will be handled safely and respectfully, and that you will be supported throughout the process,” Mr Foley said.
VEOHRC’s 501-page Final Report Volume one can be accessed at this PS News link.
