WorkSafe prosecuting Bunbury Prison over case of sexualised bullying of guard Bronwyn Hendry

WA’s workplace safety watchdog is prosecuting Bunbury Prison over a shocking case of sexualised bullying of a female guard. The jail is charged with failing to provide a safe workplace, which resulted in serious harm to an employee. The prison faces a fine of up to $3.5 million. Corrective Services Commissioner Brad Royce is holding crisis meetings at the jail on Wednesday and Thursday. It is the fourth time the South West jail has breached workplace safety rules, but the first time it has been prosecuted under psychosocial welfare provisions contained in WorkSafe’s new act. An investigation in March last year uncovered institutionalised sexual intimidation but today’s prosecution relates only to the treatment of one prison guard, Bronwyn Hendry, who has taken civil action against the Department of Justice. Ms Hendry told The West Australian the evidence-gathering process behind the WorkSafe action was gruelling. “We’re talking about 20 hours or 25 hours of sitting down . . . we’re talking about a criminal conviction so you kind of get put through the wringer,” she said. “They can’t bring prosecution forth without evidence so that’s why it was like being interrogated over and over and over again over two years to form a prosecution brief for this to go ahead. “It’s a relief that that stage is over, obviously it’s not a relief for many of the victims that are still sitting in litigation against the department awaiting some recourse or civil action.” Prison managers were given six months to make wholesale changes after WorkSafe’s initial inquiry last year. The jail failed to meet the deadline and were given an extension to late January. That deadline also proved impossible to meet and the prison had until March 31 to comply with WorkSafe’s orders. WorkSafe’s prosecution shows the jail failed to make the changes required. The official charge, which is lodged under sections 19 and 31 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2020, states Bunbury Prison “did not, so far as was reasonably practicable, ensure the health and safety of a worker while the worker was at work in the business or undertaking, and by that contravention caused serious harm to a worker”. In February, a prison officer who was a witness in the bullying case took his own life. WorkSafe investigator Louise Coubrough’s “improvement notice” of March 3, 2023, catalogued severe abuse. “I have been told by several workers that the inappropriate behaviours include suggestive sexual comments and advances in the workplace, the presence of items made into sexual props, bullying and intimidation and threats to personal security should reports be made about the inappropriate behaviours in the workplace,” Ms Coubrough noted. “I was told by several workers that these types of behaviours have made them fearful to go to work. I was told by the superintendent at BRP on 2nd March 2023 that bullying behaviours occur at BRP and such behaviours are difficult to control in the prison environment. “In addition, WorkSafe has received several serious injury reports by the Department of Justice of psychological injuries to workers as a result of exposure to inappropriate workplace behaviours by colleagues. “This information provided to me by workers, the superintendent and notifications received by WorkSafe from DoJ has led me to form the belief that inappropriate behaviours and psychosocial hazards are not being sufficiently controlled to reduce the ongoing risk of harm to the health of workers at Bunbury Regional Prison. “I was told by several workers and ex-workers at Bunbury Regional Prison that overt sexual advances were made towards them on many occasions by other workers and I was provided with examples of comments and sexual props that were present in the workplace from other workers.” The Department of Justice declined to comment on the grounds the matter was before the courts.