Exclusive: former staff members of Safe Steps say there is a culture of intimidation within the organisation • Sign up to receive the top stories in Australia every day at noon

One of Australia’s major family violence services is under investigation by Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services amid allegations of bullying and an “organisational culture of intimidation, control and mistreatment”.

Safe Steps, based in Victoria, is one of three organisations from around the country which won the tender to provide the specialist counselling component of the 1800RESPECT national family violence and sexual assault helpline. It is also the state’s 24-hour family violence support service and aids women and children in urgent need.

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A former senior manager at Safe Steps told Guardian Australia she had refused to take orders from her bosses to tell staff to change the colour of their hair or wear more appropriate clothing. She said there was no dress code at the organisation, and yet even unpaid volunteers were scrutinised for their clothing choices.

“There are two investigations under way here,” said the woman, who still works in a senior position within the sector. “One investigation is being run by the department following a critical mass of complaints about the ability of Safe Steps to provide services,” she said. “The other is the union investigation into bullying.”

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She added: “There are still good people doing good work at Safe Steps. That’s why it’s so hard to speak up. We don’t want to be putting each other and the sector down.

“But this is a situation where you have an organisation that is supposed to protect women bullying them in their own workplace.”

The chief executive of Safe Steps, Annette Gillespie, denies the allegations made against the service and told Guardian Australia that the Department of Health and Human Services was not conducting an investigation but rather a periodic mid-funding-cycle review, which she said was done for all organisations receiving government funding.

An increased focus on the sector meant the government wanted to ensure organisations like Safe Steps had the capacity and funding to meet growing demand, she said, adding that many family violence organisations were struggling to serve all of the women and children in need of support. She welcomed the review and put the complaints raised by the union down to a “disgruntled former staff member”. She also said she had met union representatives after the union detailed the investigation last month in its newsletter.

“We did agree that we have a commitment to working [together] and developing a trusted relationship,” Gillespie said.

However, in a letter written to the Safe Steps board, the former senior staffer claimed that during an exit interview with the chief executive and no one else present, she raised specific examples of bullying towards herself and her staff by two members of the senior management team.

“On a daily basis, staff and myself were subjected to behaviours from these women such as undermining, interference with practice decisions and negation of these outside of their designated role, aggressive outbursts including physical gestures, tantrums ...” the letter said.

The union representing the sector, the Australian Services Union, told Guardian Australia that members had concerns about the culture at Safe Steps. “We have raised a number of matters in recent times and understand the department [of health and human services] are aware of our concerns,” a union spokesman said.

Guardian Australia has spoken to many senior people in the sector who confirm the issues plaguing Safe Steps but will not speak on the record because of fears of bringing the sector into disrepute and the need to secure funding, and because they have to liaise with senior Safe Steps staff members. But they have confirmed that the department’s focus on Safe Steps is more than a standard review, and has been prompted by ongoing concerns specific to the organisation.

Former staff have also told Guardian Australia about problems Safe Steps has retaining staff, and about an allegedly toxic workplace culture that includes claims of bullying.



In a newsletter sent to members, the union welcomed news that the health department was investigating Safe Steps and called for submissions from members. “No organisation or service provider should be able to accept government money whilst demonstrating a disregard for their industrial obligations or their duty to ensure they deliver the best service possible to the vulnerable members of our community they are there to support,” the newsletter said. “Agencies that take money but ignore their responsibilities need to be held to account.”

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A submission sent by a former Safe Steps staff member to the union to help inform the department’s investigation alleged that leadership ridiculed staff behind their backs and exercised overt control over staff relationships.

Gillespie said she had been “shocked” to hear that staff had complained of bullying within the organisation and that being contacted by Guardian Australia was the first time she had heard the allegations.

She added that exit interviews were routinely conducted by the Safe Steps’ people and culture team.

Despite the union’s welcoming of an investigation, the Department of Health and Human Services would not confirm that a formal investigation was under way.

“The department is monitoring Safe Steps to ensure that the service is well-placed to deliver the highest quality of support to clients,” a spokeswoman said. “Safe Steps and the department have a shared interest in ensuring the highest-quality support services to vulnerable women and children experiencing family violence.”

Another former staff member told Guardian Australia she had approached the Safe Steps board six months after leaving the organisation to raise her concerns. “When I left I needed counselling,” she said. “I was a shell of myself and it took me six months to go to the board. But when I did they said they couldn’t help me because I no longer worked there.”

There was only one manager within the organisation she felt she could trust, she said, and for this reason she and other staff were reluctant to raise concerns while working there.

“It was a toxic environment,” she told Guardian Australia. “We weren’t allowed to socialise or talk casually. It was a revolving door of staff. Anyone who bucked the system was performance-managed out.

“The high staff turnover was raised many times in board meetings. It was always dismissed as just being the nature of the crisis-response industry.”

Guardian Australia has contacted the office of the minister for family violence, Natalie Hutchins, for comment. This request was passed on to the minister for housing, Martin Foley.

Foley described the investigation as a “performance review” of Safe Steps and told Guardian Australia it would not be appropriate to comment further. One of the outcomes of a performance review can be the termination of a contract.

Auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers is carrying out the review on behalf of the government.

Do you know more? melissa.davey@theguardian.com