Parliamentary Workplace Support Service 2023

# Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill 2023 ## What it does This bill creates a new independent service inside Parliament to handle workplace issues — think of it as Parliament's own HR department and complaints handler. It will investigate bullying, harassment, discrimination, and other misconduct complaints from MPs, senators, and their staff, then recommend action and improvements. ## Why it matters Parliament has had serious scandals around workplace behaviour in recent years, with victims struggling to get help or hold wrongdoers accountable. This gives parliamentary workers an official channel to report problems and get support without relying on politicians to sort it out themselves. ## Key details - The service is **independent** — it's not controlled by Parliament's political leadership, which means it can investigate MPs without political interference - It has power to include details of misconduct in public reports and notify party leaders when parliamentarians break the rules, putting pressure on them to act - A CEO runs the service day-to-day and is appointed through a transparent process, protected from being sacked for doing unpopular investigations

🔒 Voting closed — this bill has been decided by parliament