The Australian Board and the New Zealand Committee, both jointly and severally, made a decision to release a joint bullying and harassment policy for our respective members and participants. This policy is currently in a pilot phase that began 11 April and is currently scheduled to end on Friday 11 July.
The Committee and the Board have received several pieces of feedback which has thus far been largely positive in relation to both the content of the policy and the decision to release the policy as a live pilot.
In the interests of transparency, there were two pieces of feedback received that were critical of the release mechanism (via live pilot rather than consultation and later implementation) and requested a withdrawal of the policy. The Committee discussed this request but, as a whole, stands by its decision to release and maintain the policy in effect as a pilot as per our initial release.
We have also received a suggestion to leave the policy in pilot phase for a longer period – preferably until a bullying or harassment complaint has been processed using the new policy. The purpose of this extension is to provide members, participants, and officers with more time to review the policy as well as to provide an extended opportunity to observe the policy in action.
The Committee and Board have discussed this suggestion at length and also liaised with the kingdom seneschal on the issue. Both organisations agreed unanimously to put the suggestion forward to our respective memberships for consideration.
Activity | Date |
Announcement and commencement of consultation | Monday 19 May 2014 |
Consultation period ends at midnight on | Tuesday 3 June 2014 |
Feedback reviewed and decision made (vote at virtual Committee Meeting) | Monday 10 June 2014 |
Final decision released to membership | Tuesday 11 June 2014 |