Employment Policy: Discrimination

The University of Newcastle maintains a robust Workplace Bullying, Harassment, and Discrimination Policy explicitly aimed at eliminating workplace discrimination, harassment and bullying, covering protected attributes such as religion, sexuality, gender, age, and more.

  • Section 7 of the Workplace Bullying, Harassment, and Discrimination Policy states clearly that the University will not tolerate any form of bullying, unlawful harassment or unlawful discrimination in the workplace.
  • Clause 20 of that policy specifies the University’s commitment to preventing such behaviours and outlines the responsibilities of staff, managers, and the institution to respond appropriately.
  • The policy covers all protected attributes under relevant anti‑discrimination legislation (e.g. sex, race, age, sexuality, gender identity, religion), ensuring that all staff, students and affiliates are protected from discriminatory conduct.
  • The University supports this policy with procedures for complaints handling, investigations, remedies, support for affected individuals, and education/training to promote a respectful and inclusive workplace.

The origin of this policy dates to 2013. The current version was effective from the 8th of April 2024 and will be reviewed in April 2027.

Policy Updates & Institutional Commitments (2023–2025)

  1. New Prevention & Response to Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Policy (2024)
    • In May 2024, the University released a new Prevention and Response to Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedure. This aligns UON’s practices with the Respect at Work legislative amendments and the Commonwealth’s Action Plan to address gender‑based violence in higher education.
    • This update enhances protections for staff and students and strengthens reporting, support and response mechanisms for discrimination and harassment.
  2. Respectful & Collaborative Workplace Initiatives
    • The University maintains a “Respectful and Collaborative Workplace” framework which encourages early resolution of disputes and conflict, emphasising that issues should be addressed closer to the source before escalation.
    • The Resolving Workplace Concerns and Conflict procedure is publicly available, providing structured channels for addressing workplace issues.
    • UON also publishes guidance under “Stop Bullying” on its website, clarifying definitions, reporting pathways, and highlighting that the University has zero tolerance for workplace bullying.
  3. Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Policy & Action
    • The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy (current) underscores UON’s commitment to embedding EDI across its operations, structures, and culture — ensuring that discrimination on protected grounds is systematically addressed.
    • The University also runs a Disability Inclusion Action Plan (2024–2025), which acknowledges intersections with discrimination, and prioritises reducing barriers for staff and students with disability.
    • Through its Accessibility and Inclusion initiatives, UON provides disability confidence training for staff to promote inclusive behaviours, helping reduce inadvertent discriminatory actions.

Evidence of Policy in Practice or Public Reporting

  • Our Stop Bullying webpage offers concrete examples, resources and internal pathways for staff to report bullying. It describes the difference between legitimate managerial action versus bullying behaviour, and links back to the formal policy.
  • The Diversity & Inclusiveness Policy (which aligns with the Bullying/Discrimination Policy) states that non‑compliance is a serious matter and may lead to misconduct proceedings or referral to statutory bodies.
  • The policy frameworks underscore that all members of the University community (staff, students, contractors, visitors) are expected to abide by behavioural standards prohibiting unlawful discrimination.
Video

Helping to prevent workplace bullying: The University of Newcastle policy and resources

At the University of Newcastle, we value and celebrate diversity and provide a safe and respectful environment for our staff and students.

The University of Newcastle promotes the early identification, intervention and management of conflict and concerns at a local level. We have updated our Diversity and Inclusiveness Policy, to undertake a range of developmental activities to ensure that the University of Newcastle continues to build a respectful and collaborative workplace.

We can achieve a positive workplace culture by encouraging and empowering you to proactively manage your relationships in the workplace and resolve workplace concerns and conflicts as early as possible. In the event of bullying or a conflict, we encourage you to use the resources available to you for reporting an issue where you will find information on how we can support you throughout the resolution process. Together, we will achieve a culture that does not tolerate bullying or harassment.

The Resolving Workplace Concerns and Conflict Procedure (PDF 216KB) has been developed to ensure that issues are dealt with when they first occur, rather than leaving them to potentially escalate to a complaint and become more complex to resolve.

University supervisors, managers and leaders who manage staff are encouraged to familiarise themselves with resources developed to assist you, via the Conflict Resolution page.