Anti-bullying policy template
The definition is not yours to write. The Fair Work Act already sets it, and a policy that invents its own is the one that falls over when it matters. This one uses the statutory test, then says what actually happens when somebody speaks up.
| Section | What the policy says |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To set out what bullying is, what to do about it, and what this business will do when it is reported. |
| Who it applies to | Everybody who works here: employees, casuals, apprentices and trainees, contractors, work experience students and volunteers. It also covers how customers and suppliers are expected to behave towards our staff. |
| What bullying is | A person or group repeatedly behaving unreasonably towards a worker or a group of workers, where the behaviour creates a risk to health and safety. That is the test in the Fair Work Act and it is the one used here. |
| What bullying is not | Reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable way. Giving feedback on performance, setting a roster, directing how work is done and taking disciplinary action are part of running the business. Doing them fairly is not bullying. Doing them unreasonably may be. |
| Examples | Behaving aggressively towards others, teasing or playing practical jokes, pressuring somebody to behave inappropriately, leaving somebody out of work events, and unreasonable work demands. One rude remark is usually not bullying. A pattern of them can be. |
| If it happens to you | If you feel safe doing it, tell the person the behaviour is not welcome. Whether or not you do, tell the manager on duty or the owner. You can do it in person or in writing, and you can bring somebody with you. |
| If you see it happen | Tell the manager on duty or the owner. You do not have to be the person it happened to. |
| What the business will do | Take it seriously, talk with the people involved, keep the details to those who need them, and decide what happens next. You will be told the outcome. Where the behaviour is serious the outcome may include disciplinary action up to dismissal. |
| Confidentiality | Information is shared only with the people who need it to deal with the report. It is not discussed on the floor, in the group chat or with anybody else. |
| No victimisation | Nobody will be treated badly for making a report in good faith, or for supporting somebody who did. Treating them badly is itself a breach of this policy. |
| Where else you can go | While you are still employed, the Fair Work Commission can make an order to stop bullying at work. The work health and safety regulator in your state or territory can also help. This policy does not replace either of them. |
| Training and induction | Given to every new person on their first shift, and gone through again each year at a team meeting. |
| Review date | Reviewed each year in March, and after any report. |
What is in the file
- Template, blank, with each section down the side and room for the answer.
- Example, the same sheet filled in for Harbourside Coffee.
- How to use, with the steps and the mistakes below.
How to fill it in
- Name two people a report can go to, not one, because the first name is sometimes the problem.
- Keep the definition as it is. It is the Fair Work Act test, and a policy that waters it down or widens it is the one argued about later.
- Decide now where a report is written down and who can read it, rather than working it out during one.
- Hand it over on the first shift and keep a note of who has had it.
Common mistakes
- One name to report to, who turns out to be the person being complained about
- Calling every difficult conversation bullying, which leaves managers afraid to manage at all
- Taking a report, doing something quietly, and never telling the person who made it what happened
What changes by trade
The law behind this document is the same wherever you trade, so the wording above is written once. What changes is what the trade puts in front of it.
| Cafes and restaurants | Shouting during service is the behaviour most often reported in a kitchen. Say plainly whether raised voices at the pass are treated as ordinary pressure or as something the business acts on, because leaving it unsaid is what lets it run. rostering a restaurant kitchen and floor |
| Retail | Most of the risk on a shop floor comes from customers, not colleagues. Add what somebody serving can do when a customer is abusive, including stepping away and calling a manager. rostering a retail team |
| Disability and home care | Support workers are alone in other people’s homes, so a pattern is far harder to see from the office. Pair the policy with a short check in at the end of each shift and name who it goes to. rostering disability support |
| Security | On a lone night post the incident log may be the only thing written down, and it is the wrong place for a report about a colleague. Name a separate route that does not go through the site supervisor. rostering a security business |
| Childcare | An approved service has its own obligations to notify the regulator about certain matters. Say plainly that this policy sits beside those and does not replace them. rostering an early learning service |
| Cleaning | Your staff work on somebody else’s site and can be bullied by somebody who does not work for you. Say what happens then, including who raises it with the client and how the person is kept off that site in the meantime. rostering a cleaning run |
Sources
The official pages this wording was read against, on 22 September 2026.
When a spreadsheet stops being enough
Roster Flow keeps who was rostered with whom, when a shift was changed and who approved it. A pattern somebody reports months later can then be read off the roster instead of argued from memory.
Questions
What is on the anti-bullying policy template?
13 sections down the side, running from purpose to review date. The example beside them is filled in for Harbourside Coffee: what bullying is, what it is not, and what happens when somebody reports it.
Does the anti-bullying policy template work anything out for you?
No. It is a document with 13 sections to answer in your own words, not a calculator. Nothing on it is a formula.
Can I use the anti-bullying policy template in Google Sheets?
Yes. Open anti-bullying-policy.xlsx from Google Drive, or use File, then Import, then Upload with anti-bullying-policy.csv. The document and its example come across either way.
Is the wording in the anti-bullying policy template ready to use as it is?
The anti-bullying policy template is a starting point for Harbourside Coffee or any business like it, to adapt rather than sign. The wording was checked against the official sources on 22 September 2026, it is not legal advice, and it has not been through a workplace relations professional.