A former volunteer for the ACT Greens has accused the party of mishandling her allegation that she was sexually assaulted by an older member on the night of the federal election last year.

Key points: Greens volunteer claims to have been sexually assaulted on election night

Greens volunteer claims to have been sexually assaulted on election night Party allegedly bungled handling of claims

Party allegedly bungled handling of claims Another volunteer "worked to exhaustion", attempted suicide

It comes amid other claims of workplace bullying and exploitation during the 2016 federal and ACT election campaigns, which some sources have described as unsafe and "poisonous" for volunteers.

The 22-year-old, who the ABC will refer to as Jessica, is telling her story after what she says is months of failing to get an acknowledgement or apology from the party.

"I was treated as a problem or an issue they needed to get out of the way to continue with campaigning," she told the ABC.

"I don't think I was treated like a real person at all, just a road block."

Former volunteers believe the absence of a clear sexual harassment and assault policy, and a culture of "quietism" compounded the trauma for those involved.

It is alleged at least one Greens politician was made aware of the allegations last year.

Another young volunteer has come forward with allegations she was exploited by the party during the campaigns, despite advising senior staff she suffered from mental health issues.

The 21-year-old woman said the workload drove her to attempt suicide.

"I had never self-harmed before the campaign and then I ended up having 27-28 stitches in the course of about two to three months," she said.

Both women say they feel abandoned by the party they believed stood up for social justice.

'Everyone was having a good time'

Jessica claims the sexual assault occurred on July 2, the night of the federal election.

"Everyone was having a good time," she said.

The woman was in the backseat of a car with the alleged perpetrator on the way to town after the campaign party wound down.

The other two people in the car do not claim to have witnessed an assault.

But one of the passengers described a "vivid look of terror" on Jessica's face and messaged several other Greens members asking for help.

Jessica did not immediately tell anyone what had happened, nor report the allegations to police until February this year — many months after the federal election.

She said she did not want to damage the party in the lead up to the ACT election, which was held in October 2016.

"I didn't go to police straight away right off the bat because I wasn't really handling the situation and I was really anxious," she said.

"After that initial shock wore off I thought 'there was an election campaign happening' and I knew it was a potential media risk for the party and I didn't want anyone to suffer because of what had happened.

"I didn't feel like it was fair to put these people's careers and all these volunteers working towards something on the line because of it."

Jessica told the ABC she had previously raised a sexual harassment complaint involving the same volunteer with management.

Police are investigating the alleged sexual assault but no charges have been laid

Party culture 'poisonous, toxic'

Each campaign engaged hundreds of ACT Greens volunteers. ( Facebook: ACT Greens )

A spokesman for the ACT Greens said the party was made aware of a "serious incident" in July last year.

Jessica met with a senior staffer after the alleged assault, but did not detail the incident.

"[She] then told me she didn't need to know what happened, she just needed to know what I wanted to do about it," she said.

"I just want them to acknowledge that what happened to me happened."

Jessica asked for the removal of the alleged offender from volunteering duties, and the party says her requests were actioned.

"The alleged perpetrator of the incident was stood down from volunteer responsibilities," a spokesman said.

Jessica said she was satisfied with the response until she heard the man was still volunteering — something the ACT Greens party denies.

It is also alleged the perpetrator was not fully informed of why he was asked to leave the party.

The ACT Greens insist staff have offered to work with the woman on other steps including "a police investigation, implementation of party processes or an investigation of the incident".

"Our priority was, and is, to support the woman involved in whatever action she chooses to take."

Volunteer Zach Ghirardello stepped in as the young woman's advocate and stood down from his role with the party.

"I think they have handled this really poorly," he said.

"I would say the culture in the party was poisonous, it was toxic."

Former ACT Greens volunteer Zach Ghirardello stepped in to advocate for the woman. ( ABC News: Ian Cutmore )

Jessica said she initially went through Mr Ghirardello but after a few months detailed her complaint to the internal dispute resolution team which directed her to an external reviewer.

"I just felt like I had to explain myself to all these different people over and over and over and surely at some point I can stop telling my story to these people that should already know," she said.

She said she also approached the ACT Human Rights Commission, Worksafe ACT and the Law Society.

Mr Ghirardello also held concerns about the treatment of the alleged perpetrator, who he said has not had a chance to defend himself.

Minister advised of allegations

The ABC understands ACT Government Minister and Greens leader Shane Rattenbury was advised of the sexual assault allegations by late last year.

ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury was alerted to the allegations by December. ( 666 ABC Canberra: Clarissa Thorpe )

In an email from February, he said he had made a "range of enquiries" to resolve some of the outstanding concerns following the campaign.

"There is no doubt there are a range of concerns from some people, and there are issues which need to be addressed in a way that all involved get to participate," the email said.

He said he understood there were a range of processes in motion that would "hopefully see them resolved soon".

This morning Mr Rattenbury officially responded to the woman's claims, saying they were distressing but he believed the matter had been dealt with by the party's management committee.

"I have certainly been following it with our office bearers to ensure steps had been taken and I was unaware this was a desire of the victim in this case," he said.

"There have been further offers from our management committee to work with the victim.

"Clearly in light of the complaints that have been made to the media now we are going to have another look at that."

In a statement, also released this morning, the ACT Greens party acknowledged the need for clear policies to respond to critical incidents.

"The ACT Greens were made aware of serious incident in July last year," the statement read.

"This allegation was responded to immediately by the ACT Greens campaign manager who met with the person concerned to offer support and find out what steps they wanted the party to take.

"The ACT Greens are committed to ensuring that everyone who offers their time and support to volunteer with us feels safe and supported in the party.

"We have taken immediate steps to respond to the feedback and concerns that were raised with us."

'I was a shell of a human being'

A 21-year-old volunteer, who the ABC will refer to as Sarah, said she felt the party had taken advantage of her because she was productive and "never complained".

She said despite staff telling her they would not do anything that negatively impacted her mental health, she was overloaded with work almost seven days a week.

"I was falling apart at the seams," she said.

"I was wrecked, I was a shell of a human being and I was not sleeping."

The stress of the workload landed Sarah in a mental health ward, drove her to attempt suicide and placed strain on her relationships, including with her father.

In a letter seen by the ABC, the election campaign team acknowledged "there is more the party can and should do to protect people's wellbeing if they have mental health concerns that they have made the party aware of".

Sarah said she had not been contacted by the Greens following the campaign.

"They had a slogan in one of their campaigns that was 'standing up for what matters' and they can't even stand up for the people in their own community — the people that love them and idolise them," she said.

"No-one ever said 'we pushed you too far and nearly killed you'."

Greens accused of 'weasel words' over review

The cases of Sarah and Jessica are two of three "critical incidents" identified in an internal, independent review of the ACT Greens election campaigns in 2016 which was finalised in February.

Advocates have labelled the party's internal review as weak. ( ABC News: Diana Hayward )

"Three specific critical incidents appear to remain unresolved and need particular attention," the report said.

The review, which was not meant to be made public, has been obtained by the ABC.

While it noted that some interviewees felt there were a "few disgruntled people" making complaints within the party, everyone interviewed "identified that there were problems in the campaign, including in relation to the culture".

"So this appears to be a widespread sentiment, rather than just a few people that believe there are issues that deserve and need attention," it said.

The reviewer recommended the party issue an apology and acknowledge there were issues in the campaign.

She listed possible critical incidents as "including but not limited to legal issues, for example physical and/or sexual assault, someone feeling exploited when vulnerable and workplace bullying".

The ACT Greens said the party had accepted all the report's recommendations.

However, campaign team member Luke Stickels, who has worked for several years on Greens Party campaigns in Victoria, Tasmania and in the UK, claimed there were "huge compromises" in the report.

"To basically not name what the critical incidents were and instead to kind of list them in code as hypothetical things that could happen … that's rhetorical game playing," he told the ABC.