Responding to an application

The person named as an employer or principal in an application to stop bullying or sexual harassment (or both) at work must lodge with the Commission a response to the application within 7 calendar days after the day on which the person was served with the application.[120]

Link to response form

• Form F73 – Response from an employer or principal to an application for an order to stop bullying or sexual harassment (or both)

All forms are available on the Forms page of the Commission’s website.

Related information

• For calculating 7 calendar days - What is a day?

A person who is named in an application for an order to stop bullying or sexual harassment (or both) as having engaged in bullying or sexually harassment can lodge a response to the application if they wish. Lodging a response is optional for the person. Their response must be lodged with the Commission within 7 calendar days after the day on which the person was served with the application.[121]

Link to response form

• Form F74 – Response from a person named as having engaged in bullying or sexual harassment (or both)

All forms are available on the Forms page of the Commission’s website.

The Commission must serve an application for an order to stop bullying or sexual harassment (or both) on each person named in the application as an employer or principal and each individual named as allegedly engaging in the bullying and/or sexually harassing conduct. Where the person named as having engaged in bullying and/or sexual harassment has a different employer or principal to the applicant, the Commission will also serve that person’s employer or principal if their details are included in the application.

The Commission can decide to vary or dispense with the service rules in appropriate cases.[122]

A response to an application for an order to stop bullying or sexual harassment (or both) must be served on the other parties to the matter and their legal or other representatives.

The other parties are:

• the worker who has made the application (the applicant), and
• each person named in the application as an employer or principal, and
• each person named in the application as having engaged in bullying or sexual harassment (or both).

The response must be served within 7 calendar days after receiving the application for an order to stop bullying and/or sexual harassment at work. The Commission may issue a direction that requires the employer or principal, or a person named to serve a copy of the response on some but not all of the parties specified above.