Complaints Guide
If your concern is with a staff member, please contact the State Director at state.director@vic.greens.org.au.
If you are a volunteer or your concern is with a volunteer, please refer to the Volunteer Code of Conduct. Volunteers can report any incident that occurs while volunteering with the Victorian Greens through our confidential Incident Reporting Form.
This guide is for members who experience conflict or have concerns about the conduct of another member or a party body. If this is you, please read on!
If you have a concern, you should take appropriate action. You will be protected against victimisation if you do so. Your options depend on the nature of your concern.
Overview
- Informal issue resolution
- Incident Contact Persons
- Conflict with another member
- Misconduct
- Administrative appeals
- Unlawful conduct
- How long will it take?
- Our commitment
InFORMAL ISSUE RESOLUTION
You may attempt to deal with the issue informally yourself or ask another member to assist you to do so. Informal interventions should adopt a confidential, non-confrontational approach with a view to resolving the issue.
When dealing with an issue informally, it is advisable to:
- keep or obtain a full step-by-step account of the incident, including:
- the date, time and location of the incident
- the impact of the incident
- the preferred resolution (be it an apology, a clarification of misunderstanding or a commitment to cease or change behaviours)
- speak or write to the other member or party body about your concerns
- provide an opportunity for the person or party body to reflect and respond
- keep a record of the intervention
You are not required to do this; it is entirely up to you.
incident Contact persons
A contact person is a member who you can go to if you experience or witness an incident that impinges on your or another person’s safety or wellbeing, including sexual harassment and child abuse or neglect at any meeting, event or activity. Party bodies should try to ensure that there are contact persons of different genders available. You can seek help from any contact person, not only a contact person of the party body where the incident took place.
The contact persons for State Council (our governing body) are currently:
- Staci Timms: staci.timms@vic.greens.org.au
- Lorna Wyatt: lorna.wyatt@vic.greens.org.au
- Tom Lockwood: tom.lockwood@vic.greens.org.au
CONFLICT with another member
Mediation can help.
Mediation allows participants to come together to try to resolve personal differences. You can ask us to arrange a mediation if you have an interpersonal difficulty with another Victorian Greens member. All mediations are facilitated by an independent and qualified mediator.
- Mediation is free and confidential
- Mediation is not about investigating who is right and wrong
- Mediations can be conducted online or in person; with participants in the same room or in different rooms
If you would like to ask the Mediation Panel for help please email mediation@vic.greens.org.au and let them know:
- Who are you having difficulty with?
- Describe the problem.
- What outcomes would you like?
Please also tell them:
- Your full name, contact details and availability.
- Which branch do you and the other member belong to?
- Do you hold any positions within the Victorian Greens?
The terms of reference for the Mediation Panel is set out in our bylaws.
misconduct
The Member Code of Conduct sets out the standard of behaviour expected of members, and includes the prohibition of sexual harassment, harassment and bullying.
If you believe that another member has committed misconduct and want to make an allegation against them please email the Misconduct Panel Convenor at misconduct@vic.greens.org.au and tell them:
- Who do you believe has committed misconduct?
- What did they do?
- Why do you believe it is misconduct?
An allegation made more than 180 days after the alleged conduct occurred must be dismissed unless it relates to a pattern of behaviour that has continued in the past 180 days, to matters of a sexual nature, or exceptional circumstances warrant it not being dismissed. If in doubt, make an allegation and the Misconduct Panel will decide this.
An allegation is confidential and your identity will only be disclosed to persons outside of the Misconduct Panel where it is absolutely necessary and only if you have given your written consent. Breach of this confidentiality is misconduct.
If misconduct is found to have occurred, the member may be sanctioned and a Notice of Sanction (which sets out the misconduct and the sanction) provided to all members.
The Misconduct Panel’s powers and procedures are set out in our bylaws.
ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS
If you believe that a member or party body has not followed proper process or has acted beyond their authority, there are two different bodies that you can appeal to, depending on the matter at hand.
1. For Misconduct matters:
There are two grounds to appeal a decision of the Misconduct Panel or a sanction imposed by State Council:
- The decision did not comply with clauses 8 to 13 of the Misconduct Bylaw, or
- The decision was so unreasonable that no reasonable decision-maker could have made it.
To make such an appeal, you must submit a completed application form the Administrative Review Panel within 7 days of the decision, by email to the Administrative Review Panel Convenor at convenor.adminreview@vic.greens.org.au.
If the Administrative Review Panel determines a breach has occurred, they may decide on a remedy.
The Administrative Review Panel’s powers and procedures are set out in our bylaws, within the Misconduct Bylaw.
2. For all other party decisions or decision making bodies:
If you believe that a party body (including State Council) has acted improperly or has acted outside its powers, you can apply to the Grievances and Constitution Panel. They will consider whether or not:
- The decision complied with the constitution or relevant bylaws, or
- The decision was so unreasonable that no reasonable decision-maker could have made it.
They can make a declaration and recommendation about the situation and provide that to State Council.
You can make an application to the Grievance and Constitution Panel by sending an email to grievances@vic.greens.org.au.
The terms of reference for the Grievances and Constitution Panel is set out in our bylaws.
unlawful conduct
You are always free to contact an appropriate external body, including Victoria Police, the Australian Human Rights Commission or the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.
If you report the matter to an external body, the party will, so far as is reasonable, cooperate with any investigation.
If the party becomes aware of conduct that falls within mandatory reporting requirements (for example, in relation to child abuse), the party is legally bound to report the matter to an external body and will do so. The party may also make a report in other serious circumstances. You will be offered support if this affects you, as appropriate.
The Australian Greens Victoria (AGV) does not tolerate sexual harassment in any form or under any circumstances and is fully committed to eliminating such behaviours in our party.
How long will it take?
The relevant Panel should keep you updated on the progress of your matter, and aim to deal with most matters within 30 days. You should be notified of the Panel’s decision within 24 hours of it being made.
Our commitment
Our party acknowledges the legal, as well as moral, responsibility to take all reasonable steps to ensure a safe, healthy and inclusive environment for our members and volunteers. One important way that we fulfil this responsibility is by ensuring that our complaints system works effectively.
To that end, the Party is current undertaking a review of our complaints processes. Members can make a submission to the review about their experience with, and views on, any of the Party’s misconduct, mediation and dispute resolution processes by sending an email to rules.review@vic.greens.org.au.
sharing this guide
This guide should be drawn to the attention of all participants at the start of every party meeting, event or activity, and a link to this guide should be displayed prominently on all party online assets. If you have a concern about behaviour at any party event, activity or online space, you should take appropriate action and may ask a contact person to assist you to do so.