If you have experienced or witnessed harassment, discrimination or bullying within the legal profession, but do not want to make a formal complaint, you can make an informal complaint (including with the option of anonymity) here:

What May Constitute Inappropriate Personal Conduct

In this context, inappropriate personal conduct includes, but is not limited to, sexual harassment, workplace bullying, discrimination and harassment in the legal profession.

Sexual Harassment may include:

• unwelcome sexual advances
• unwelcome requests for sexual favours
• other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature which makes a person feel offended, humiliated and/or intimidated, where a reasonable person would anticipate that reaction in the circumstances

It does not have to be repeated or continuous.

Workplace bullying may include:

• repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or group of workers that creates a risk to health and safety
• repeated less favourable treatment of a person by another or others in the workplace, which may be considered unreasonable and inappropriate workplace practice. It includes behaviour that could be expected to intimidate, offend, degrade or humiliate

It does not include reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable manner.

Discrimination in the workplace may include:

• an employer (or manager) taking adverse action against an employee because of their background or certain personal characteristics
• a person or a group of people treating another person or group of people less favourably because of their background or certain personal characteristics

Harassment in the workplace may include:

• offensive, humiliating or intimidating behaviour based on or linked to a person’s background or certain personal characteristics

Pathways to Report Inappropriate Personal Conduct

The Board has a dedicated team who have received specialised training, to support reporting of harassment and other inappropriate conduct. There are two pathways available to report inappropriate personal conduct in the legal profession. These are:

Informal report

You can make an informal report via the Elker portal.

The portal will log your matter, provide you with some preliminary information, connect you to the LPBT Response Team and provide you with a mechanism for checking on your matter’s progress.

A report is not considered a formal complaint, however, making an informal report does not prevent a person from making a formal complaint at a later time.

The Elker portal is designed to make reporting incidents of inappropriate personal conduct easier. Some key benefits and features of the Elker portal are:

• A reporter can remain anonymous throughout the process or provide contact details.
• There is a ‘quick exit’ button within the reporting tool that allows a reporter to quickly leave the site if they are concerned about someone looking over their shoulder.
• A list of support services is provided for assistance or support.

• A reporter can select whether they want to be contacted or not, and their preferred method of communication.
• Anyone can make a report; either the person who experienced the conduct or a third party or witness.
• There is a free text area where a reporter can provide as much or as little information as they want.

While we will not be able to investigate your specific incident, we will be able to track and monitor incidents. The information disclosed in informal reports helps alert the Board to conduct occurring within the Tasmanian legal profession.

Formal complaint

You can also make a formal complaint against a practitioner, which is managed by the LPBT team via our regular complaints process, via our online complaints form.

If you are not sure which pathway is right for you, you can speak confidentially to one of our Response Team Members to understand more about the process.

If you decide to make a complaint to the Board you must put your complaint in writing.

Once you have lodged a complaint with the Board, the information you have provided will normally be sent to the lawyer concerned and they will respond to your complaint.  If the Board thinks that the conduct of the lawyer may amount to either unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct, it will appoint an investigator.