Australia Model Code of Practice: Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work 8: 8 Conduct work health and safety investigations of psychosocial incidents fairly and confidentially

WHS investigations into incidents involving psychosocial hazards should primarily aim to identify hazards or new or improved controls, and must maintain appropriate privacy and confidentiality of all workers involved to the extent the law allows, without preventing the parties from seeking support. The nature of the investigation should be proportionate to the level of risk, the complexity and the number of workers affected, and a formal investigation is not always best. The investigator should have the confidence of all parties, be impartial and have the skills to identify hazards, assess risks and recommend controls, with an external investigator where no impartial internal one is available, for example when a senior manager is involved. The process should be fair, transparent and timely: affected workers should be told their rights and obligations, be able to respond to allegations, receive relevant policies, be kept informed about outcomes, timeframes and rights of appeal or review, and receive adequate and fair support. A separate disciplinary investigation may run alongside a systemic WHS investigation, and a risk may remain even if a code of conduct breach is not proven.