There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to responding to grievances at Bond. However, we offer the following pointers to those who are unsure of where to begin.
The manner in which you handle a grievance will depend on various factors, including:
The nature of the matter (such as whether it is a complaint, a review or an appeal, its complexity and its subject matter), the number of parties involved and the urgency of the case. This is not an exhaustive list;
Confidentiality and privacy concerns;
Your authority and role in the process;
Relevant federal or state legislation as well as the policies and procedures of the University; and
Any other relevant factors
As a starting point, make sure you are familiar with any processes or procedures prescribed by the University (or your faculty) that apply to the matter. Questions about these are best referred to the contact officer listed at the top of each policy or procedure.
While you have the right to conduct a hearing if you believe it will assist you, the grievance can also be determined on the basis of the documentation that was submitted and any other information held by the University.
Throughout the process, please keep the following in mind:
Your obligation — both legally and in terms of Bond’s policies and procedures — to maintain confidentiality and the privacy of the parties as far as possible must be upheld. Please revisit the University’s training module on your privacy responsibilities or the Privacy Policy if you are unsure what these entail.
As a University decision-maker, the principles of natural justice will generally apply. This means that:
You should not be afflicted by any conflict of interest, and you must act free of bias or partiality. If you are concerned that you may not be able to do so, please let us know as soon as possible. We can therefore reassign the matter to another appropriate member of staff.
Where there is a respondent in any given grievance, they and the aggrieved person have the right to be heard. In some cases, this may be done on paper while in others, it may be more appropriate to invite them to a meeting or to call a hearing. Where this does occur, the parties should be given sufficient notice of the meeting or hearing and be advised that they may bring a support person with them.
Once you have reached your decision, taking account of all relevant factors and disregarding irrelevant ones, you will need to notify the affected parties. That notice should include:
reasons that are sufficiently comprehensive for the recipient to understand the process that was followed in reaching the decision;
factors that the decision was based on (including both the evidence and the applicable policies, procedures or laws); and
any other relevant considerations.
Where you are deciding a matter involving misconduct or where the outcome of the matter has negative implications for someone other than the person who lodged the grievance, the information about the outcome of the case that you disclose to the aggrieved person will generally need to be limited. This will ensure that the privacy rights of the implicated individual are protected.
If the matter concerns sexual harm, we encourage you to engage with the Office of Integrity about handling these types of matters. Our Office can guide you in avoiding the re-traumatisation of persons affected by sexual harm and maintaining an appropriately sensitive approach to the matter, which takes proper and lawful account of confidentiality and privacy requirements while respecting natural justice. Where witnesses are involved, or you are unsure of how the presumption of innocence applies, we can also help you with this. Please have a look at the Sexual Harm Policy, the Student Support Policy and any related and relevant policies and procedures.
Contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions. We are here to help.
