- Legal Practice Board launches new portal to report harassment and inappropriate behaviour in the legal profession
- Board has statutory responsibility for the regulation of all Western Australian legal practitioners
Attorney General John Quigley has welcomed the launch of a new online portal to report harassment and inappropriate behaviour in legal workplaces.
Speak Safelywas launched by the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia today.
The new portal will allow anyone who has experienced or witnessed harassment or inappropriate behaviour by a lawyer or anyone else in legal workplaces to report it securely, confidentially, and even anonymously. This can be either informal reports or formal complaints.
The Board has numerous options available when receiving reports and taking further action. It will depend on the level of detail provided, the wishes of the reporter, and the outcome of the Board’s assessment.
The Board may be obliged to inform other authorities depending on the nature and severity of a report.
Boards in Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and South Australia have already introduced a similar system and are seeing positive results.
The portal can be accessed on the Board’s website: www.lpbwa.org.au/Harassment-Report
As stated by Attorney General John Quigley:
“Harassment and inappropriate behaviour including sexual harassment should not be tolerated in any workplace, including legal workplaces.
“Such behaviour is potentially a breach of professional obligations and may impact on a lawyer’s fitness to practice. It could amount to professional misconduct or unsatisfactory professional conduct, with specific disciplinary consequences.
“Harassment can also seriously affect the mental health, sense of security, work satisfaction and productivity of employees, clients, and others.
“The Speak Safely portal reflects the Legal Practice Board’s duty to protect the public and raise professional standards in the legal profession, and to promote integrity and positive cultural change in legal profession workplaces.”
