Canberra private school slapped with Worksafe notice after bullying claims

Earlier this year, amid an exodus of students and teachers at Brindabella Christian College, Worksafe ACT launched a formal investigation into claims of bullying and harassment against staff. Late on Thursday it issued notices, finding the school wasn't complying with all work, health and safety laws.

Work safety commissioner Greg Jones said the watchdog could not, under the legislation, investigate specific cases of bullying or harassment but the number of psychological injury claims made against the school in recent years had helped tip them off. Investigators did not consult with staff directly affected but grilled both the school's board and senior staff on their systems. The notices do not relate to student safety.

In August, dozens of people spoke out in The Canberra Times about a long-standing "culture of fear" and control wielded against parents and staff by Brindabella's closed board of four - which denies the claims.

This "interference" - which some felt also reflected an apparent deepening of religion at Brindabella - ranged from hiring teachers and changing school timetables to forcing a recount in a 2012 student election for college captain.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in college money has been spent on worker's injury payouts since 2015, The Canberra Times has confirmed, forcing the school to change insurers to bring down its premiums.

It's understood about 100 students and more than 40 staff have left the school in the past year, including the school's fifth principal in five years, while parents have been threatened with debt collectors and legal action.

READ THE FULL STORY: 'Culture of fear': Teachers speak out on Canberra private school

Brindabella has until early March to comply with all six notices, which include developing a methodology for investigating complaints and making sure procedures are followed, conducting risk assessments for psychological hazards such as bullying and harassment and consulting staff on new procedures.

Brindabella did not respond to requests for comment but board chair Greg Zwajgenberg has previously insisted the school complies with all necessary regulation and blamed recent unrest on a campaign of sabotage launched by a minority of disgruntled parents.

The Canberra Times understands two serious complaints of bullying among staff made to the board this year have not been investigated. Instead, those involved were referred to Peacewise, a Christian mediation service requiring both parties to pay for their services.

Mr Jones could not say if investigators considered the school's use of the service in their audit.

Responding to a parent petition for transparency earlier this year, Brindabella's board denied any knowledge or finding of bullying at the school.

But records from the Fair Work commission, released under Freedom of Information laws, reveal at least four claims of bullying have been made against the college's governing not-for-profit in the past nine years, and nine disputes have also been lodged by staff in that time.

The Canberra Times has also confirmed at least four worker's compensation claims alleging workplace bullying have been approved for payouts in recent months while multiple staff have spoken of a grave toll on their health.

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Others have described feeling watched, threatened or belittled by board members over the years, and pressured to stay quiet.

Brindabella receives millions of dollars in government funding and a number of experts have questioned its "unusual" governance framework - which in practice blocks parents from joining either its parent not-for-profit or the board.

Mr Zwajgenberg said that the school, unlike many other Christian colleges, is not a parent-controlled model and members were selected when necessary based on skill set.

The ACT education directorate confirmed it is continuing its own review of the school - and has flagged tougher oversight of non-government schools in the ACT might be on the cards during the next round of reforms to the territory's Education Act.

"This is the first time we've issued something like this to a school," Mr Jones said of the action against Brindabella. "We did issue four notices to Calvary Hospital earlier in the year and the ACT education directorate last year."

Back then, the regulator took the unprecedented step of slapping an enforceable undertaking on the ACT government after finding it did not have proper procedures in place to keep teachers safe from violence in its schools.

Mr Jones said the directorate was now progressing well on occupational violence reforms.

"It's been a real culture change there," Mr Jones said.