Introduce workplace contact officers and establish a local champions network

The recommendation

Ambulance Victoria should:

reintroduce Workplace Equality Contact Officers, embedded in each region and, in doing so:
1. develop new, standard Position Descriptions detailing their role and invite expressions of interest from operational and corporate staff, encouraging people of diverse backgrounds to apply
2. support the selected Contact Officers to access regular, quality training and resources on the Equal Opportunity Act and related laws and participate in communities of practice and other forums to keep abreast of changes in the law and emerging leading practice
3. establish an internal network of Contact Officers that meets regularly
4. actively and regularly promote the names and contact information of Contact Officers to the workforce and ensure this information is updated regularly.
implement a Champions of Change model to drive the reforms needed in the organisation to foster and maintain a culture of safety and equality in the workplace.

Consult the AV workforce to inform the design of an Equality Contact Officer program.
Implement an Equality Contact Officer program that meets the needs of the AV workforce and provides trusted information about workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, bullying and victimisation, so that staff and volunteers understand their rights, responsibilities, and entitlements.
Evaluate the implemented program to understand opportunities for improvement and ensure it remains contemporary and fit for purpose.

AV has completed consultation on the design of an Equality Contact Officer (ECO) program. Feedback from this process has informed the development of a pilot ECO program to test and validate its effectiveness prior to commencing a broader rollout across the state. This approach will enable us to create effective measures to ensure the program is safe and accessible.
A small number of ECOs are currently being recruited for the pilot program and will complete relevant training.
Details of the pilot program, including the rationale and the ECOs taking part, will be communicated to the workforce from March 2024.
The pilot program will be reviewed regularly, with a view to expanding the program more broadly.

Equality Contact Officers can be a first point of contact for people with enquiries related to discrimination, sexual harassment, bullying or victimisation in the workplace. Equality Contact Officers can provide an opportunity for their AV colleagues to talk informally about their concerns, identify their issues, get informed and weigh up the best option for resolution.
To ensure the new Equality Contact Officer program is fit for purpose at AV, consultation with the AV workforce is critical. A project plan for this consultation process was approved in March 2023, however, due to changes in staffing, consultation will commence from July 2023.
Consultation activities, and staff and volunteer feedback, will inform the design of the Equality Contact Officer program. This work will be undertaken in phases between July – November 2023, using a variety of consultation methods, to build trust and maximise engagement with the consultation process.
Findings from consultation activities will be analysed and used to inform how an Equality Contact Officer program will be implemented at AV, to meet the needs of the workforce and volunteers.

Following the commencement of AV’s Contact Officer Coordinator, AV has started detailed planning and is taking steps to reintroduce contact officers so that our workforce can reach out to trusted and trained peers for advice if they have experienced or witnessed unlawful or harmful conduct. This work is informed by advice provided by the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission on 27 April 2022, at AV’s request, detailing leading practice Contact Officer models.
In early 2022, AV set up an Equality & Workplace Reform Staff Reference Group (SRG) to represent the voice of the workforce, performing a critical role in helping to shape the way AV approaches the reforms to create a safe, fair and inclusive organisation. Chaired by the Executive Director, Equality & Workplace Reform, the 14 members of the SRG have met monthly since March 2022. Five Staff Reference Group members also sit as SRG representatives on the Equality & Workplace Reform Steering Committee, and all SRG members have played a broader leadership role championing the reforms and supporting other employees and first responders to contribute to the reforms.

AV has undertaken initial planning to support the reintroduction of contact officers so that our workforce can reach out to trusted and trained peers for advice if they have experienced or witnessed unlawful or harmful conduct. On 27 April 2022, at AV’s request, the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission provided a memorandum detailing leading practice Contact Officer models, to inform and support the implementation of Recommendation 9(a). Further work to reintroduce Contact Officers will be prioritised once the new Contact Officer Coordinator has started.
In early 2022, AV set up an Equality & Workplace Reform Staff Reference Group (SRG) to represents the voice of the workforce, performing a critical role in helping to shape the way we approach to the reforms to create a safe, fair and inclusive organisation. Chaired by the Executive Director, Equality & Workplace Reform, the 14 members of the SRG have met monthly since March 2022. Five Staff Reference Group members also sit as SRG representatives on the Equality & Workplace Reform Steering Committee, and all SRG members have played a broader leadership role championing the reforms and supporting other employees and first responders to contribute to the reforms.

FY24 Q4