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Occupational Violence Case Overview: SafeWork NSW v Marist Youth Care Limited (MYC)
The case was brought by SafeWork NSW after investigations revealed that MYC failed to address risks of inappropriate sexual and violent behaviour by residents in its care, resulting in serious psychological injuries to two female workers.
Total cost: $300,000 fine and $140,000 in prosecution costs
Key findings
- Inadequate risk assessments: MYC did not conduct sufficient risk assessments to identify and mitigate the hazards associated with workplace violence and aggression, particularly in its Intensive Therapeutic Care Homes (ITCHs).
- Poor incident reporting systems: Although MYC had electronic systems like “Penelope” and piloted another for incident reporting, staff reported confusion due to lack of training and unclear guidelines, leading to underreporting and ineffective responses.
- Management failures: The court noted significant failures at management levels to respond appropriately to reported incidents, including appointing male staff at certain homes without addressing the underlying issues.
- Psychological harm to workers: Two female workers suffered severe psychological injuries, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, as a result of assaults by residents.
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Key action points for leaders
The below is not an exhaustive list but 5 key action points for leaders to consider for managing OVA effectively.
1. Governance and leadership oversight
What “effective oversight” might look like:
- Monthly reporting: Your OVA incidents should appear in a monthly WHS dashboard reviewed by leadership.
- Board escalation process: There should be a defined threshold (e.g. any assault = board notification) with documented discussion in board minutes.
- Ownership: A senior leader should be named in policies as accountable for OVA and must sign off on risk control reviews quarterly.
➡ This creates a clear “line of sight” between frontline risk and executive accountability.
2. Structured incident response process
What makes it verifiable and effective (beyond a policy):
- A report triggers automated tasks in a case management system (e.g. assign manager, checklist of required actions).
- A designated review officer checks the quality of the response: Was risk reassessed? Were controls updated if required?
- A case can’t be marked “closed” unless all actions are completed and logged, with sign-off.
- Records of incidents are maintained along with how they were managed.
➡ This prevents issues from being “noted” but left unresolved, a key failing in this case.
3. Control implementation and follow-up
What makes a control system defensible:
- Each control (e.g. adding staff to a shift) is tied to the original incident ID and tracked through to implementation.
- You do an effectiveness check: Did the control work? What’s the feedback from staff? How are you reviewing effectiveness?
- You log what you didn’t do and why (e.g. “Did not move resident due to clinical risks, instead implemented X.”)
➡ This shows regulators you're not only reacting, but reviewing and justifying your actions.
4. Staff communication and feedback loops
How to build trust and accountability:
- Staff receive an incident resolution summary (short note: here’s what happened, here’s what we changed).
- You run pulse checks at a certain cadence, e.g. bi-annually (2–4 questions): “Do you feel OVA risks are taken seriously?” “Do you get feedback after reports?” (strongly agree - strongly disagree)
➡ You’re keeping your risk assessment up to date: report ➝ respond ➝ close ➝ check effectiveness
5. Training, awareness, and system competency
How to make training meaningful, not tick-box:
- Deliver trauma informed OVA training.
- Train all staff on the OVA response system, including how to log reports, escalate issues, access support, and follow up.
- Supervisors must complete annual psychosocial incident leadership training, covering risk triage, response coordination, and communication protocols.
- New staff induction must include walkthroughs of all relevant tools
- Maintain a training register to demonstrate compliance and readiness.
➡ A key failing in this case was staff reporting confusing processes for reporting an incident
Key questions directors should ask
1. “How do we know every serious OVA incident has been reviewed and acted on?”
2. “Can we show, clearly and quickly, what we did after an incident occurred?”
3. “Do our frontline staff trust that reporting will lead to action and feel safer because of it?”
- What do our survey or exit interviews say?
4. “Is there sufficient training and awareness for OVA at all levels?”
- Have managers received specific training on triage, support, and escalation?
- Are workers confident using the system to lodge an incident?
5. “Would our response to a serious case stand up to external scrutiny?”
- Could we defend our actions in court or to a regulator?
- Is our process documented, and have we followed it?
As always, thank you for reading and we hope you found it useful. Please reach out to info@skodel.com with any questions.
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