Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Management in Schools

7. Further expert health, safety and wellbeing supports

Workplace Contact Officer Network

A workplace contact officer is a member of staff who has volunteered to be a point of contact for colleagues experiencing harassment, discrimination, bullying, victimisation or family violence, to provide internal policy advice and referrals to supports. Any Workplace Contact Officer can be contacted for a confidential discussion, at any time.

For more information or to contact an officer, refer to: Workplace Contact Officer Network.

Health and safety representatives

Health and safety representatives (HSRs) are elected by their co-workers to represent designated workgroups (for example, a school or school campus) about OHS issues, concerns and interests.

HSRs are an important part of the department’s OHS management system. Speak to your school leadership team to find out about HSRs in your schools. For further information, please also refer to the OHS Consultation and Communication Policy or the Information for school health and safety representatives chapter.

Conflict Resolution Support Service

Phone: 1300 687 633
Email: consulting@convergeintl.com.au

Sometimes people experience workplace conflict that becomes difficult to resolve in their usual team setting.

The Conflict Resolution Support Service is available for department employees and managers who need support in addressing workplace conflict. The service provides mediation, case conference and facilitated meetings, conflict coaching and team conflict intervention. This service is provided by Converge and can be arranged by your principal or manager.

Workplace bullying

Bullying is against the department’s values and may lead to action under the Guidelines for Managing Complaints, Misconduct and Unsatisfactory Performance (Teaching) (Public Service). The department’s leaders at all levels have been explicit that bullying is not tolerated at any level.

Our Workplace Bullying Policy defines bullying as repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed towards or from an employee or group of employees that creates a risk to health, safety and wellbeing. Bullying may be either direct or indirect and can be carried out verbally, physically or in writing via email, social media, instant messaging and text messaging.

Everyone has a role to play in preventing bullying and maintaining respectful spaces where people feel safe and welcome to be at work.

For more information, refer to: Workplace Bullying.

For more information on proactively protecting, managing and supporting staff psychological safety, refer to: Psychological Safety and Risk Management policy.

Workers’ Compensation and Returning to Work

For many people, being at work is more than a job; it’s also about being part of a team or achieving a sense of satisfaction through the work that they do. Being away from work due to injury or a work-related illness can be disruptive and even distressing.

The department is committed to safely helping injured employees get back to work. There is a mutual obligation between an employee and their manager to discuss business continuity and return to work planning immediately after an injury. This can provide peace of mind that a plan is in place.

For more information, refer to: Workers' Compensation.

Medical Advisory Service

Advice to principals and managers on the management of staff experiencing health-related issues that impact their employment duties. The service includes referrals for independent medical assessments.

Refer to the Medical Advisory Service page or call 1300 307 418.

Principal Health and Wellbeing

The Principal Health and Wellbeing Strategy aims to promote positive mental and physical health and wellbeing outcomes for all principals across Victoria. We are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of our school leaders in a systemic and sustainable way. Thriving school principals can create a positive environment for teaching and learning where students, teachers and school communities can flourish.

The strategy includes 6 key principal health and wellbeing supports, which now continue to be made available to school leaders as part of the Safe and Well in Education Strategy 2019 to 2024 (PDF).

For more information on all the supports available, refer to: Principal Health and Wellbeing.

Early Intervention program

The Early Intervention program is delivered externally by Cogent Thinking. It provides free confidential support to eligible staff to proactively identify and address emerging and existing health and wellbeing issues to prevent them from escalating into more serious health concerns.

The Early Intervention program was expanded from 1 November 2024 to support all staff in specialist school settings to help them to identify and address emerging and existing mental health and wellbeing issues. Principal class employees and school staff working in specialist school settings can access comprehensive, tailored professional services.

A dedicated care coordinator, who is a qualified allied health professional, will identify the appropriate support, guide the staff member through the process and help with referrals and appointments. The confidential program offers access to comprehensive professional services, including:

• A dedicated care coordinator: up to 15 hours of phone support per issue to support participants through the process, with referrals and booking appointments
• Psychology: up to 8 sessions per issue, with an experienced psychologist either face to face or via digital platforms
• Physiotherapy: up to 6 sessions per issue
• Exercise Physiology: up to 6 sessions per issue
• Dietetics: up to 4 sessions per issue
• Referral pathways: to other support services within the Department of Education to improve health and wellbeing.

Who can access support

• All principal-class employees, including acting principals, liaison principals, and assistant principals
• Specialist school staff, including teachers, education support staff and school council-employed casual relief teachers
• Other school staff can be referred to the program by Department of Education teams supporting the school, specifically in relation to health and wellbeing or student and parent/carer behaviours of concern
• If you have any questions, please contact: Employee Wellbeing Response Team: employee.wellbeing.response.team@education.vic.gov.au
• Employee Wellbeing Response Team aims to respond to your email within 48 hours

When to access the Early Intervention program

We encourage staff to access the Early Intervention program as soon as possible when issues – whether work-related or personal – are affecting their mental health and wellbeing. This may include:

• experiencing or witnessing incidents at school
• managing new or existing injuries or mental health concerns impacting wellbeing (excluding workers’ compensation matters)
• navigating personal circumstances that are impacting mental health and wellbeing.

How to access the Early Intervention program

Principal-class and specialist school staff can access the Early Intervention program by contacting Cogent Thinking:

• phone: 1300 090 924
• email: eiprogram@cogentthinking.com.au

Sessions can be in person, over the phone, or by secure video conferencing app.

For more information about this support, refer to: Early Intervention program (staff login required).

Managing challenging parent/carer behaviour

Support is available to keep staff, students and the school community safe from unacceptable behaviour from parents, carers and other adults.

• The Work-Related Violence in Schools Policy and Procedure includes a specific chapter on managing challenging parent/carer behaviours. This includes guidance to help establish and promote respectful and safe parent and carer behaviour, prevent and de-escalate unacceptable behaviours and access support and services to restore wellbeing after an incident.
• The Respectful Behaviours within the School Community Policy sets out clear guidelines on the expected standards of behaviour for parents, carers and other adults who interact with the school community to reduce the risk and incidence of aggression towards school staff.
• The Work-Related Violence in Schools resources page provides a range of resources available for schools to raise awareness of department policies and to promote positive, respectful relationships between adults in the school community. There are a range of toolkits (which include social media and newsletter content templates), posters (available in English and over 30 languages), and communication templates to use with staff.
• The Building a positive relationship with your child’s school page on the DE website, provides information to support parents and carers to engage positively with school staff, including appropriate pathways for raising concerns or complaints with schools and more.

Principals and other authorised persons can issue School Community Safety Orders to prohibit or limit harmful, threatening or abusive behaviour from a parent, carer or other adult. More information can be found in the School Community Safety Orders Policy, including specific requirements that must be satisfied before issuing an order.

Workforce diversity and inclusion

The department is committed to providing workplaces that are safe, respectful and inclusive of all staff. We are building a culture that values diversity, promotes inclusion and embraces the unique skills and qualities of all staff.

Refer to Inclusive Workplaces on PAL for further information. For further advice and support please contact diversity@education.vic.gov.au

Workplace adjustments

Workplace reasonable adjustments allow a person to perform their job safely and productively in an inclusive and accessible environment. For further information including how to request workplace adjustments, refer to: Disability and Reasonable Adjustment – Employees

Gender affirmation

An inclusive and supportive environment is crucial to a person’s gender affirmation. There is support available to staff wishing to affirm their gender and their colleagues.

A range of training and resources are available to build staff understanding and confidence in using LGBTIQA+ inclusive language and a gender affirmation plan and LGBTIQA+ conversation guide.

For more information refer to the Inclusive Workplaces Guide.

Workplace diversity and flexible work arrangements

The department aims for a diverse workforce, employing people from all backgrounds with different experiences. This contributes lived experience to the department’s policies, programs and initiatives so these can better meet the needs of Victorian communities. If you think a flexible work arrangement could support your work and life or family commitments, talk to your manager/principal.

For more information, refer to: Flexible Work for Work-Life Balance.

Staff networks

Forging meaningful connections with your colleagues can help you feel engaged and integral to the organisation and provides a network to support you when challenges arise, and problems need to be solved. Likewise, you can become a key supporter to your colleagues, strengthening the professional bond and sense of trust. Go to Find your network (staff login required).

Contact us: diversity@education.vic.gov.au