2024 Annual Report Explanatory Notes
Clarification of number of cases managed by PWSS
1 October 2023 – 30 June 2024
15 November 2024
Following the release of the PWSS Annual Report, it has been widely reported in the media that the PWSS handled 339 cases during the timeframe of 1 October 2023 - 30 June 2024. These are only the matters dealt with by the PWSS Counselling and Support team. Less than 10 of these cases resulted in formal complaints.
The chart below highlights general reasons people communicated with the PWSS Counselling and Support team between 1 October 2023 and 30 June 2024.
| Category | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Rape/sexual assault, assault, sexual harassment, harassment, stalking or intimidation | 30 | 9% |
| Bullying | 33 | 10% |
| Family and domestic violence, alcohol and drugs, mental health | 62 | 18% |
| Workplace conflict | 90 | 27% |
| Other, unknown, blank, not applicable | 124 | 37% |
| Total cases | 339 | 100% |
This reporting is kept as general as possible to ensure all people are afforded privacy and fairness and no identifiable information is disclosed. A few important points to note about the data:
- PWSS Counselling and Support staff who record these interactions take a trauma-informed approach and record incidents as described by a client via phone, email, text or in person. This approach is fundamental to how we provide our service.
- It is not uncommon for cases to include multiple incidents. In these circumstances, the category reported against is based on the most significant issue or incident.
- In some cases, people may use the expression ‘sexual assault’ to describe a wide range of conduct including feeling uncomfortable about how a person looked at them to behaviour that could be described as coercive control.
Some reporting about these statistics has also confused the terms cases and complaints. A complaint is a separate process where a formal Workplace Complaint has been lodged with the PWSS. While the PWSS had the power to conduct a review of these formal workplace complaints before the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission (IPSC) was established, this power now lies with the IPSC. PWSS will still handle cases, but formal workplace complaints will now be handled as investigations by the IPSC.
In accordance with the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Amendment (Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission) Act 2024, workplace complaints that were underway with the PWSS on 14 October 2024 must be completed by the PWSS. Any complaints where a formal review had not commenced may be referred to the IPSC. When a complaint is referred to the IPSC, any relevant information regarding the complaint may be provided to the investigating IPSC Commissioner. It would then be a matter for the Commissioner to determine what additional information they require to assess the complaint.
The range of services provided by the PWSS are detailed on our website: https://www.pwss.gov.au. You can learn more about the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission and the investigation process at ipsc.gov.au.