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In-depth topic course

Bullying, Harassment and Respectful Workplaces in Australian Healthcare

Positive Duty, Psychosocial Safety and Professional Conduct Towards Colleagues

  • 3 CPD hoursEstimated learning time
  • 20-question assessmentPass mark 80%
  • Online, self-pacedStart any time
  • CertificateFor your CPD records

Written for

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About this course

Bullying and harassment are still reported across Australian health care, from operating theatres and emergency departments to general practice, allied health clinics and ambulance crews. The rules have also changed. Employers now have a positive duty to eliminate sexual harassment and hostile environments, work health and safety laws require psychosocial hazards to be managed like any other risk, and National Boards treat disrespectful conduct towards colleagues as a professional conduct issue that can lead to regulatory action.

Most practitioners want to do the right thing but are unsure where the lines are. When does firm feedback become bullying? What should you say when a senior colleague humiliates a student? How should a practice manager handle a complaint about a principal? What happens if the concern is about you?

This course gives you clear definitions, the Australian legal and regulatory framework, and practical tools: scripts for respectful communication under pressure, a feedback structure, bystander options, a manager's guide to receiving complaints, and a framework for demonstrating insight and change. It is written for every registered profession and for anyone who leads a team.

Written and reviewed by

Written by

Dr Hannah Whitmore PhD, MSc, RN

Nursing Education & Professional Practice

Reviewed by (legal reviewer)

Professor James Ellington LLB, LLM, PhD

Healthcare Law, Ethics & Professional Regulation

Reviewed by (editorial team)

Editorial Team Member

Healthcare ethics, professional conduct, patient safety and evidence-based education.

Last reviewed

Our authors and reviewers check course content for accuracy and currency. Completing a course does not guarantee any particular outcome with Ahpra, a National Board, a tribunal or an employer.

Who this course is for

  • Registered health practitioners in any of the National Scheme professions
  • Nurse unit managers, clinical leads, heads of department and team leaders
  • Practice owners and practice managers in general practice, dental and allied health
  • Supervisors of students, interns, graduates and trainees
  • Practitioners who want to understand their rights and options if they are bullied or harassed
  • Practitioners asked to reflect on their own workplace behaviour

What you’ll learn

  • Know where the lines are

    Tell the difference between bullying, harassment, incivility and legitimate management action, and explain the positive duty and psychosocial hazard rules in plain terms.

  • Act safely as a target or bystander

    Use practical scripts, keep useful records, choose between internal and external pathways, and support colleagues without making things worse.

  • Lead and manage fairly

    Receive a complaint well, choose a proportionate response, apply procedural fairness, prevent victimisation and use complaints to fix the system.

  • Reflect and change

    Recognise your own behaviour under pressure and build evidence of sustained change that is meaningful to colleagues and regulators.

Learning objectives

  • Define bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination and incivility as used in Australian law and practice.
  • Distinguish bullying from reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable manner.
  • Explain the work health and safety duty to manage psychosocial hazards.
  • Describe the positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act and the Fair Work Commission's role.
  • Explain how National Boards and co-regulators treat bullying and harassment by practitioners.
  • Communicate respectfully under pressure and give fair, specific feedback.
  • Act as an effective bystander and escalate concerns that affect patient safety.
  • Respond to complaints fairly, proportionately and without victimisation.
  • Reflect on your own behaviour and plan sustained change.

Scenarios covered

Practice situations you reason through, step by step, in the course.

  • The surgeon who calls a nurse useless

    A theatre nurse is repeatedly belittled by one surgeon in front of the scrub team. You will work out whether this is bullying, what the nurse unit manager must do, and why seniority does not change the answer.

  • The colleague's late-night messages

    A graduate physiotherapist receives personal comments and a message asking whether she is seeing anyone. You will apply the legal definition of sexual harassment and the employer's positive duty.

  • Frightened to call the registrar

    Graduate nurses stop escalating overnight because a registrar is hostile. You will see how to escalate patient concerns, report the pattern and use professional accountability pathways.

  • The group chat that turned cruel

    Nurses post mocking photographs of a colleague in a private chat. You will see how professional obligations apply online and what a bystander can do.

  • A complaint about a practice principal

    A receptionist complains that a part-owner GP swears at staff. You will follow a fair process, from the first conversation to an external investigation and preventing victimisation.

  • Told you are frightening

    An experienced midwife learns that graduates find her intimidating. You will see how insight, feedback and practical change are built and recorded.

Course contents

8 sections, 25 lessons, then the final assessment.

  1. Section 1: Understanding Bullying, Harassment and Incivility4 lessons
    • 1.1 Why Workplace Behaviour Is a Patient Safety Issue
    • 1.2 What Bullying Is, and What It Is Not
    • 1.3 Harassment, Discrimination and Hostile Environments
    • 1.4 Who Is Involved: Colleagues, Patients, Students and Leaders
  2. Section 2: The Legal Framework for Respectful Workplaces3 lessons
    • 2.1 Work Health and Safety Law and Psychosocial Hazards
    • 2.2 The Positive Duty Under the Sex Discrimination Act
    • 2.3 The Fair Work Commission and Other External Pathways
  3. Section 3: Professional Regulation and the National Scheme3 lessons
    • 3.1 What the National Board Codes Expect
    • 3.2 When Bullying Becomes a Regulatory Matter
    • 3.3 Online Conduct, Group Chats and Social Media
  4. Section 4: Psychosocial Safety and Risk Management3 lessons
    • 4.1 Psychosocial Hazards in Health Care Settings
    • 4.2 Managing the Risk: Identify, Assess, Control, Review
    • 4.3 What Individual Practitioners Can Contribute
  5. Section 5: Respectful Professional Conduct in Teams3 lessons
    • 5.1 Respectful Communication Under Pressure
    • 5.2 Feedback, Performance Concerns and Teaching
    • 5.3 Inclusion, Cultural Safety and Racism
  6. Section 6: Responding as a Target or Bystander3 lessons
    • 6.1 If You Are Being Bullied or Harassed
    • 6.2 Being an Effective Bystander
    • 6.3 Speaking Up About Behaviour That Affects Patient Care
  7. Section 7: Managers and Leaders: Responding Well3 lessons
    • 7.1 Receiving a Complaint: The First Conversation
    • 7.2 Choosing a Proportionate Response
    • 7.3 Preventing Victimisation and Learning From Complaints
  8. Section 8: Reflecting on Your Own Behaviour3 lessons
    • 8.1 When the Concern Is About You
    • 8.2 Understanding Why It Happened
    • 8.3 Demonstrating Sustained Change
  9. Final assessment and written reflection20 questions

Assessment and certificate

  1. Work through the course

    Study each section at your own pace, including the case illustrations and apply-it questions.

  2. Pass the assessment

    20 scenario-based questions. You need 16 correct (80%) to pass.

  3. Write your reflection

    A short written reflection on how the learning applies to your own practice.

  4. Download your certificate

    Shows your name, the course, the date and 3 CPD hours. Anyone can check it on our verification page.

What you keep for your CPD records

  • Certificate of completion recording approximately 3 hours of CPD learning
  • A written reflective account based on three course-specific prompts, saved on your device
  • A quick-reference guide with key tests, pathways, scripts and support numbers
  • Twenty scenario-based assessment questions with explanations to test your understanding

How certificates and CPD records workVerify a certificate

Primary sources

The course is built on these official documents. Check them for the current version.

Questions about this course

Is this course recognised by Ahpra or a National Board?

No. It is independent education: not accredited, not approved and not endorsed by Ahpra, any National Board or any professional body. Most National Boards ask you to plan your CPD and record the time you actually spend on activities relevant to your practice. You decide whether this course fits your CPD plan, and you record the time you spend.

What is the difference between bullying and performance management?

Bullying is repeated unreasonable behaviour that creates a risk to health and safety. Reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable way, such as private feedback, a fair performance plan or transparent rostering, is not bullying even if it is uncomfortable. The course shows how the manner of management action can turn it into bullying.

What is the positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act?

Employers and persons conducting a business or undertaking must take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate, as far as possible, sexual harassment, sex-based harassment, sex discrimination, hostile workplace environments on the ground of sex and related victimisation. The Australian Human Rights Commission has had enforcement powers since 12 December 2023.

Can Ahpra take action against a practitioner for bullying a colleague?

Yes, in some circumstances. Most workplace conflict is handled by the employer, but National Boards can act where the conduct affects public safety or professional standards, for example where it stops staff escalating patient concerns, involves sexual harassment or continues after local intervention.

Is this course only for managers?

No. It is written for every registered practitioner. One section is designed specifically for managers, team leaders and practice owners, and the rest covers recognising behaviour, legal and professional duties, communication, bystander action and self-reflection.

Does it cover psychosocial hazard laws in every state?

It explains the model WHS Regulations and code of practice adopted in harmonised jurisdictions, notes Victoria's separate regulations that commenced on 1 December 2025, and reminds you that details differ by state and territory. Check your local regulator for specific requirements.

I am subject to a Board condition. Can I use this course to meet it?

Only Ahpra or your National Board can decide whether a course is acceptable for a condition or undertaking. Confirm with them, and with your lawyer or medical defence organisation, before you enrol for that purpose.

How long do I have access, and what do I receive?

You study at your own pace. On passing the assessment you receive a certificate recording approximately 3 hours of learning, and you can save your reflective account to keep with your CPD records.