Gaslighting - References

“Gaslighting is often unnoticed and can do a lot of harm to the person who experiences it.”  Gabriela Sadurni Rodriguez

Conrad, M. (2023, 23 August). ‘What Is Gaslighting? Definition, Examples And Support’. Forbes Health. [Blog]. Online: https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/what-is-gaslighting/ 

Drescher, A. (2024, 20 January). ‘Gaslighting At Work: Signs & How To Respond’. Simply Psychology. [Online]: https://www.simplypsychology.org/gaslighting-at-work.html

Griffiths, S, (2023, 11 July). ‘Could you identify gaslighting in your workplace?’ The HR Director. [Blog]: https://www.thehrdirector.com/business-news/the-workplace/identify-gaslighting-workplace/. (NOTE: if a manager’s gaslighting behaviour isn’t enough, what do employees / talent do when HR “leaders” are employed to gaslight “targets” at a whole new level? Not enough is published about such organisational misconduct). 

Harsey, S. & Freyd, J.J. (2020). ‘Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender (DARVO): What Is the Influence on Perceived Perpetrator and Victim Credibility?.’ Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma. 29(8). 897-916. [Open Access] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2020.1774695 

Martin, G. (2024). ‘The Silent Burn Of Gaslighting Igniting Our Workplaces’. Forbes Africa. [Online]: https://www.forbesafrica.com/opinion/op-ed/2024/08/12/expert-speak-the-silent-burn-of-gaslighting-igniting-our-workplaces/

Morris, A. (2024, 3 December). ‘Gaslighting at Work: How to Recognise & Address It’. Davidson Morris. [Online blog]: https://www.davidsonmorris.com/gaslighting-at-work/

(NOTE TO SAFEWORK NSW: “In cases where an employee has felt courageous enough to report incidents of gaslighting at work, it’s important not to undermine what they’re saying, so as not to further demean their thoughts, perceptions or beliefs. Where a complaint is not dealt with sensitively or taken seriously this, of itself, may amount to breach of the implied duty of trust and confidence…” 

How does the above quote reflect your duty of care, when a SafeWork NSW inspector says to me, “I’m not here to play he said she said”… while doing exactly that, taking the word of the gaslighting offender, the national manager of employment relations and SAFETY and dismissing mine? And SafeWork NSW then refusing to review my records of evidence for years thereafter? Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. It was about this very individual engaging in gaslighting, I had recorded on the certificate of capacity that I needed psychological guarding from. And then the SafeWork NSW inspector left me in this offender’s hands to finish the job.)

(NOTE TO MY EMPLOYER : “This means that if an individual is subjected to manipulative or controlling behaviour that serves to violate their dignity or creating a negative working environment for them because they possess any one of these characteristics, this will amount to unlawful discriminatory conduct”.

How does appointing such a person in the HR Directorate, responsible for the safety of people nationally, yet allowing this manipulative and controlling behaviour to happen, demonstrating the university Mission of a commitment to the dignity of the human person by Senior Executive Group leaders?)

Quinn, D. (2023, 14 February). ‘Gaslighting: 13+ Ways to Spot & Escape Emotional Manipulation.’ Sandstone Care. [Blog]: https://www.sandstonecare.com/blog/gaslighting/

Scott, H.S. (2018). ‘Extending the Duluth Model to workplace bullying: A Modification and adaptation of the Workplace Power-Control Wheel.’ Workplace Health & Safety. 66(9). 444-452. [Open access]: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2165079917750934 

(NOTE: Refer to The Workplace Power Control Wheel Pertaining to Workplace Bullying on p.447. From the abstract to this open access article:

“Initially, this wheel was designed to assist intimate partner violence (IPV) targets/victims identify patterns of abuse and intervene with male batterers/instigators. Research examining IPV and victims/survivors of WB demonstrate that targets often share common abusive experiences, including intimidation, coercion and threats, isolation, and economic and emotional abuse. This article demonstrates clear support for the Duluth Model and its application to WB target experiences. Applications of this model to identify WB and assist individuals to identify and describe experiences of abusive work environments are discussed.” ).

Spalding, K. (2023, 29 March). ‘Examples Of Gaslighting, And What You Can Do About It.’ IFL Science. [Blog]: https://www.iflscience.com/examples-of-gaslighting-and-what-you-can-do-about-it-68205#

Sweet, P.L. (2022, 1 October). ‘How Gaslighting Manipulates Reality.’ Scientific American. [Online] : https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-gaslighting-manipulates-reality/

(NOTE : “Our first task, then, is to reframe the way we think sociologically about abuse: gaslighting, like other forms of … violence, is not an incident but a process”. The “safety manager”, employed to use such tactics, would tell staff to refrain from communcating with me and leave it up to “process”. For all my colleagues, even at professorship level, who believed this: it was not a judicial “process” this corporate psychopath was referring to. It was a gaslighting “process.” “Domestic violence and institutional gaslighting tend to involve the most extreme forms of isolation. Isolation, as one of my interviewees put it, is the “breeding ground” for gaslighting.”

Questions I would like to ask my employer

 I’m specifically directing these questions to the Senior Executive Group: 

The Organisation’s Mission and Values

1. How do you, as an individual, live out the mission of the organisation in your work? 

2. How did the handling of this grievance align to the organisation’s mission on acting in truth and love, commitment to the dignity of the human person and the common good?

3. How was the equity and wellbeing of me, as a staff member, demonstrated in the actions taken to resolve a grievance of bullying?

4. How did your actions represent who the organisation is, as a community, in terms of mission and values?

5. The values promoted publicly claim that in talking about the dignity of the human person in the mission, it refers to the whole person: physical, mental, social, and spiritual wellbeing matters, according to the organisation’s values. The organisation’s leaders recognise that the human person is spiritual and opportunities are provided to explore this through events organised through campus ministry. Why was I denied my right to attend a staff spiritual retreat in mid-November 2019? Why was I isolated?

6. I raised a serious grievance needing your support in the goal to foster an inclusive and respectful work environment, for myself and for the team I manage as well as serve. However, I suffered even more discrimination and harassment for having raised this serious grievance. Why?

7. I became SLC based on merit. How can you claim and justify my being unfit to do my job? Did you meet with me to listen to my grievance and offer support and guidance, to ensure psychosocial safety in my work environment, so I could successfully do my job? The Equal Opportunity Policy states that the organisation will endeavour to promote an environment that is free from unlawful discrimination and harassment. Then why as I discriminated against, singled out and treated unjustly and unfairly?

8. The public webpage also states a personal commitment from all to “respect others and not cause them distress, discomfort and/ or disadvantage”. Why then, did you ignore my attempts to communicate to you regarding how you made me feel? You added to my distress, discomfort and I felt deliberately disadvantaged through repeated unlawful and unethical coercion attempts, without clear and valid reasons why. I was denied my human and employee rights and I was ignored in my requests to meet to discuss my grievance based on the organisation’s policies and procedures. I was deliberately isolated and excluded to disadvantage me. The gaslighting tactics and privacy invasions were used by organisational leaders who abused power by copying and pasting a clause in the EA in letters, to deliberately distress me and aggressively bully me into something that was illegal and unethical. Why did leaders engage in such unlawful adverse action for my requesting a safe work environment? 

Workplace Bullying Policy and Procedures

9. Why was the Workplace Bullying Policy and Procedures not followed as soon as I raised my serious grievance and complaint against a manager?

10. Clauses 3.4 and 3.5 state that all staff have a right to use the procedures in the document if they believe they have experienced bullying that can be dealt with under these procedures. You didn’t listen to my initial complaint and did not follow these procedures. You repeatedly ignored my complaint and denied my rights, which are clearly outlined in this document. Why?

11. Clause 4.2 states: “The University will apply this policy and procedure for dealing with complaints of workplace bullying. Any disputes in relation to such procedures are to be managed in accordance with the relevant Workplace Health and Safety Legislation of that State and are not subject to the dispute resolution provisions of the Agreement”. 
Why did the WHS unit engage in multiple breaches of the WHS Act 2011 (NSW), in my case, for ironically raising a WHS issue pertaining to serious psychosocial hazards in the workplace? 

12. Clause 5.1 states: “Bullying is defined as repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed towards a person that creates a risk to health, safety and well-being. It includes behaviour that intimidates, offends, degrades or humiliates another person.” Instead of supporting me to address the initial grievance of workplace bullying, HR continued to take actions and make decisions to offend, intimidate, degrade and humiliate me. The examples of bullying by HR included (and have records of all this): 

• Intimidation;

• Excluding or isolating people from workplace activities;

• Undermining responsibility;

• Withholding information essential to do a task properly;

• Making threats or comments about job security without foundation;

13. I attempted to do what is outlined in the procedures. Why were they not followed by HR?

14. Why have you ignored my request for an advocate or staff representative as outlined in 7.1? Also, how do you justify your management and handling of my complaint, that I view, was against 7.2? “A person must not victimise or otherwise subject another person to detrimental action as a consequence of that person raising, providing information about, or otherwise being involved in the resolution of a complaint under this policy and procedure”. 


15. I was excluded, deliberately isolated and unsupported. I felt further discrimination, harassment and bullying by the actions taken to “manage” my grievance, to which the actual grievance in relation to the organisation’s Workplace bullying policy and procedures, was not addressed at all. How do you justify your actions as being in line with the organisation’s commitment to providing a working environment free from discrimination, harassment and bullying that is a supportive and inclusive environment for everyone?

16. I relied on HR to inform and guide me accordingly in the process that failed to be informally resolved directly with both the person I had the grievance with and her manager. Direct bullying is capable of causing a person to feel humiliated, offended, intimidated, threatened, undermined and ostracised. Eg. spreading rumours or innuendo about someone; intimidation; and unjustified criticism or complaints. Indirect bullying includes deliberately denying access to information, consultation or resources. HR also did this toward me, exacerbating the distressing emotions I already felt from years of bullying and gaslighting from the person I raised a grievance against. Why did higher authorities in the organisation allow this reckless and wilful misconduct to happen? Why were there further reckless actions rather than finally just complying with the WHS regulations and the organisation’s legal obligations and duty of care, to all stakeholders - staff, students, alumni, families and community members generally? 

Supervisor’s Guide for Dealing with Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying

17. Are supervisors and managers familiar with the organisation’s guide for Dealing with Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying? Section 2: “Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying are unlawful and are not tolerated at [the University]. It is fundamental to [the University’s] Mission that we recognise and value the diversity of others, and ensure that the workplace and learning environment are free from discrimination, harassment and bullying. [The University’s] Mission provides clarity about who we are as an employer and our normal expectations of each other. A safe, harmonious, respectful, inclusive work environment also contributes significantly to the University’s achievement of a culture of performance excellence”. Why did you make a decision to not set an example of applying and supporting [the University’s] philosophy by putting its policies and procedures in practice? Does this not place the organisation at risk of litigation that could tarnish its reputation?

You should know the law regarding this, as stated in the policies and procedures: “The University is empowered by Federal and State legislation to take action to ensure that the workplace is free from Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying and has developed policies and procedures based on the legislation. Under anti-discrimination and Work Health and Safety legislation, a supervisor can be held financially responsible if they don’t take action to address these issues when they become aware of them. In addition, the implementation of the anti-bullying component of the Fair Work Amendment Act 2013 means that the University as the employer, and individual staff members and supervisors, can be served with an order to stop bullying, which may become a matter of public record. In implementing these provisions, the Fair Work Commission has determined that it has the scope to consider the past behaviour of staff and/or supervisors, i.e. behaviour in the workplace which occurred before 1 January 2014. Consideration of the parties’ past behaviour is likely to occur when the Commission is deciding whether or not to issue an order to stop bullying behaviour”.

(NOTE: Ultimately, it was the National Manager of Employment Relations and SAFETY that engaged in psychological violence as adverse action. Given I later identified undisclosed conflicts of interest within the Fair Work Commission, it was set up to “appear” like corporate governance and the organisation upheld the Mission and complied with policies, regulations and laws, while actually engaging in an undercurrent of “aggressive” adverse action, ensuring there was zero procedural fairness. As for natural justice, that issue will be blogged about in later posts. 

For now, know this: a Stop Bullying Order application was guaranteed to be denied, given the unethical alliances formed by certain individuals, namely the “medical practitioner” Deepinder Miller and the corporate psychopath introduced in the previous post, the National manager of employment relations and safety. I still hadn’t discovered the undisclosed conflict of interest within the Fair Work Commission at this stage of my thriller story of abuse of power. That’s coming up later). 

“Other behaviour that is against the law includes: Victimisation of a person because they have made a complaint, agreed to be witness” (section 3). In this document is also stated that “Unlawful reasons include carers or family responsibilities. Unlawful harassment includes asking intrusive questions about someone’s personal life”. Section 4 of this framework outlines the University’s “duty of care to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of staff, students and visitors. This means that all reasonable steps to prevent harassment, discrimination and bullying in the workplace need to be taken. [The University] is therefore required to actively implement precautionary measures such as policies, procedures and training to minimise the risk occurring”. Did my manager understand her responsibilities, as a manager, and what constitutes as bullying? What about the HR Directorate, victimising me even more, after I finally made a complaint, as evidenced in my emails to this unit? What about the senior executive group, as evidenced by my emails to governance? 

18. Since an informal process for dealing with the grievance locally by my manager and her manager was unsuccessful, why didn’t you take my grievance seriously and investigate accordingly?

19. In section 5, Resolution of issues, the document states that early intervention and prevention is important: “While all staff members have a responsibility to address issues of discrimination, harassment and bullying, supervisors and managers have a special responsibility to inform staff members when their behaviour may be in breach of policies, and address any potential issues at the earliest opportunity. The outcome of early action is a safe and harmonious workplace that potentially avoids more formal processes in the future. The observation or experience of behaviour that is unacceptable is all a supervisor or manager requires to start dealing with an issue. There does not need to be a complaint made for this to occur”. Why did library management not take on this zero tolerance approach from the start? Or at least, from the moment I informed the Associate Director, Client Services, that I felt emotionally unsafe under the management style of my manager? I needed agreed boundaries to do my work safely, respectfully and with dignity. I was being bullied to harass and discriminate some of my direct reports, and I refused to do so! So again, I ask: Why am I being persecuted for applying the University Mission, staff code of conduct, policies and procedures that comply with laws and ethics, that are boasted about by senior executive leaders, but who choose not to apply them in practice? 

20. The following principles for managing discrimination, harassment and bullying issues in the framework were not followed in my case and with my grievance: “Grievances are addressed sensitively, promptly and in accordance with the principles of natural justice; All reasonable steps are taken to respect the confidentiality of the people involved; Fairness and impartiality prevail throughout the appropriate resolution process; Staff members who raise an issue are protected from victimisation or reprisal”. Again, why was this not applied? Why is illegal adverse action common in organisational behaviour, as a way of “handling” serious workplace complaints? Why do multiple workplace regulators allow it, both Federal and State? It’s not a fair playbook, to begin with, as I proved. 

21. Section 5.2 continued: “Arrange to meet with the complainant at the earliest opportunity to clarify the grievance”. Why did this not happen in my case, even when I asked repeatedly that I wanted a meeting to discuss my grievance with HR since I did this with the manager’s manager, the Associate Director at the local level, and a fair outcome did not prevail for me? Actually she took it upon herself to fob me off to HR without speaking with me about it first. 

22. Section 5.2 continued: “Once you have spoken to both parties, assess what you have heard and any other evidence received to make an evaluation as to whether the matter can be resolved at the local level. (So the Associate Director at the local level, did NOTHING to resolve this. Agreed boundaries would have resolved the issue at a “local level”.) Explore common ground between the parties that would assist them to reach a resolution. This involves: understanding what the common ground is - are the parties willing to reach a resolution; recognising what both parties want as a resolution; is it possible to achieve the desired outcomes? Is it a reasonable outcome to the complaint; Providing information about the formal process, so they are aware that the outcomes from a formal process may not be beneficial to the parties. Both parties will need to agree to the method of resolution, and once agreement has been reached the matter should be enacted and promptly documented. Meetings and interviews with all parties should be documented including details of who attended, action taken to respond to the issue (outcomes) and any further action required”. I asked for another meeting and clearly requested it all be documented this time. The meeting on 2nd October 2019 didn’t achieve anything and no minutes were taken. WHY DID HR REFUSE TO DOCUMENT THE MEETINGS? Why was I ignored and HR chose illegal adverse action at a frightening new level of harassment, discrimination and bullying, violating the organisation’s policies and procedures? I put everything in writing in emails. It was always a relentless retaliatory response from the HR associate director and then the national manager of employment relations and SAFETY. As a qualified information manager, I made sure to keep a system of filing documents of EVERYTHING. 

Discrimination and Harassment Policy

23. Discrimination due to carer/ family responsibilities and at times of illness/ disability (5.6). What I experienced was discrimination. 

24. Unlawful harassment includes calling me or my family in our private home, at times of illness, to interrogate with intrusive questions why I am sick when I was fine the other day; call for a work-related matter when I had pneumonia; remind me of my obligation to the organisation when I needed to take carers leave; and then later informing me my family is affecting my work. The manager also bullied me to harass my direct reports in the same way (section 6). Is this the justification that all parties have chosen to label me as possibly “unfit” to manage? Do you consider my manager’s  managerial style one that applies ethical practices? What about those in the HR directorate? What does all this say about the senior executive leaders in the organisation? 

25. Managers and HR have a responsibility to protect staff from such discrimination when it is reported. Why did they continue to discriminate and harass me in a way to intimidate and victimise me further and not meet with me to address my complaints? They underestimated and insulted not only my strength but my intelligence. In both cases I am extremely offended and felt discriminated against, victimised further, and harassed with deliberate intentions to intimidate me so I go away, either to cover up their own negligence, or you are now aware that senior leaders were, in fact, a liability, and possibly other cruel and unlawful motives. 12.2 - “A person must not victimise or otherwise subject another person to detrimental action as a consequence of that person raising, providing information about, or otherwise being involved in the resolution of a complaint”. 

Work Health and Safety, and Wellbeing (WHS&W) Policy

26. The WHS&W Policy states that the university is committed to eliminating work-related injury and illness. Really? I tried to communicate with management to meet and discuss my grievance and provide what I deem as respectful boundaries and positive outcomes (every employees’ rights) and you (including governance) deliberately ignored me and continued to make me feel isolated and harassed with the same unjustified letter. Why? I wasn’t ill, I was injured from years of tolerating bullying. I was excluded from discussions and there was repeated refusal to respectfully listen to my needs. I’ve documented the evidence of institutional gaslighting. 

Staff Complaints Management Policy and Procedure

27. The Staff Complaints Management Policy and Procedure 5.3.2 mentions the person who made the complaint is protected from victimisation or reprisal. And 6.2 - A person must not victimise or otherwise subject another person to detrimental action as a consequence of that person raising, providing information about, or otherwise being involved in the resolution of a complaint under these procedures. Then why did senior executives do this? Where was the protection from victimisation and reprisal and severe detrimental action (including tortuous and criminal offences - the fraud, yet to come in my story, is a crime!) 

Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanism

28. I requested an alternate dispute resolution mechanism as yet another reasonable attempt. I initially asked for mediation but I relied on your advice and communication to inform me of the most appropriate ADR mechanism for this case. You continued to ignore me. I now request a fair resolution and agreed outcomes. I was trying to be reasonable and assert my rights REPEATEDLY. It is [the University] that made the decision to victimise and discriminate me further, causing additional health injuries by not applying its own policies and procedures.

(I request an honest and legitimate return to work plan with a caring and compliant team of professionals. The university have a legal obligation to cooperate in the implementation of the injury management plan agreement!)

29. I expect a fair outcome. Let readers now be my witness. It’s a publicly funded institution, the public are stakeholders. I tried every reasonable attempt, and I’ve had enough. Given the negligence, continued victimisation and harassment against me by HR, that is against what the organisation promotes to society, I expect a commitment to the dignity of the human person in action (my dignity and my family’s), respect, and to be engaged in outcomes. That will now include compensation for the escalated psychological and physical injuries caused. First and foremost, however, I expect restitution for years of financial damage the crime of workers compensation fraud by a self-insured employer caused, as an extreme level of adverse action. I expect SIRA NSW and SafeWork NSW to finally do their jobs as the regulators with power to enforce compliance and punishment where warranted. HR did not:

a. Implement their own policies that deal with allegations of bullying and grievances I raised (this was completely ignored);

b. Conduct proper (and transparent) investigations in relation to bullying allegations;

c. Identify potential risks; 

d. Identify and implement control measures appropriate to the risk. 

31. There was no preliminary assessment of the complaint or investigation, in addition to being subjected to further victimisation and reprisal action. Hence why this is now subject to breach of policies and laws and potential compensation for negligence.

32. Grievance procedures should have been applied in my initial complaint that I raised with the Associate Director in my directorate. Then HR failed to take action to deal with the matter once they were put on notice of it. Managerial mistreatment toward me has included: unjustified blame and humiliation, belittling of my concerns by not addressing them and isolating me. Nothing has been communicated to me, no recommendations regarding a resolution to my bullying complaint. The grievance has not been handled in a timely manner, I was taunted for over a year (NOTE: now years of psychological violence and institutional gaslighting, as well as fraud, privacy invasions and using a carrier to menace, stalk, intimidate, intercept, block and harass) and the initial issue has not been addressed at all. My employer failed to respond to my complaint.

NOTE : This is based on the policies, procedures and guidelines as of March 2020. Although in my records I’ve included it later as document 65, given my previous post, and the fact that I drafted the questions, based on the policies, at the time of that “meeting” on 9 March 2020, it was a good place in my story to blog about it. 

Because any reasonable attempt I made or recommended, was refused. I’ve begged for the ostracism, mobbing, psychosocial hazards, psychological violence, isolation and institutional gaslighting to stop. I begged the NTEU, NSW Police, an APVO attempt and SafeWork NSW to intervene and finally make it STOP. THIS IS SYSTEMIC FAILURE AND NEGLIGENCE AND MORE. 

So my readers are my support network, my witnesses to hold these agencies accountable, especially the regulators, to KEEP US SAFE IN OUR WORKPLACES. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. 

Introducing the corporate psychopath responsible for SAFETY - 2020

On Monday 9 March 2020 at 9:30am, a meeting was organised between my legal representative and those perpetrators in HR. 

No minutes were taken, yet again, even though they were supposed to as per policies. Policies were not referred to or applied, yet again. But this time, I have a witness to what happened in that immorally and unethically "orchestrated" meeting: employment lawyer #2. It was myself, the legal representative, that manipulative HR associate director, and now I introduce the corporate psychopath, appointed by a fellow dark triad personality to be the national manager of employment relations and SAFETY of a national university. This dangerous person was appointed to keep the university community safe, on a national level? 

What I learned about this individual by mere chit chat with my legal representative prior to the meeting- elevator small talk : she had only been at the university for seven months as of date of this meeting and she decided to obtain a "SAFETY" qualification to add to her "credentials". WTF?

Lucky I'm a qualified information manager, an alumnus, actually, from the university this person was "poached" from, for being skilled at wreaking havoc, creating toxic and unsafe workplace environments, targeting staff in the most offensive, aggressive, unethical, immoral, diabolical and tortuous way possible, with a little help from "friends". So I was to become the next "victim" of this devil incarnate, because the university employed the most incompetent associate director in my directorate, who could not manage my manager, nor resolve this issue locally, which was part of her job? 

Here are my documented notes of this illegally "off the record, no minutes taken" meeting:

• I have reason to believe that HR with a legal staff member are attempting to sabotage any reasonable attempt I make to resolve my initial complaint of workplace bullying. I find what happened at this meeting distressing and “creepy” (in lack of a better description);

• The meeting started well enough. However, they were "adamant" I attend an IMA. How did a complaint of workplace bullying I had no choice but to finally report, become an "attack" directly against me?

• [The HR associate director] asked why I was so "adamant" not to go to an IMA. I told her I was never given any information about why I had to attend. Although I didn’t add anything more to my reply at this meeting, further to this, given the distressing threats of disciplinary action if I didn’t attend, I actually did attend on 14th November 2019 at about 10am. 

What actually happened and the false explanation given by this practitioner leaves me very suspicious regarding the authenticity, transparency and integrity of these examiners listed to conduct these assessments. How can someone assess me within an hour (and I still didn't know what was involved or why it was necessary or relevant) and give a confident and authoritative conclusion if I am fit to do the inherent duties of my role? My GP has known me and my entire family since I was seven years old (35 years of my life and medical history are in his records and he is a man of honesty and integrity). I have an excellent psychologist I started seeing when I expressed the suppressed emotions surrounding the trauma of my dad’s suicide seven years later in 2017. I’ve also spoken about these work-related matters in our sessions. How can an unknown practitioner provide an accurate report in an hour when I have two health professionals that have known me for years and who I trust? And how can it be “independent” when [the university] are paying? I’m not confident it is independent and my attendance in November proved it. I am suspicious. Also, I was never told by HR that I could take a support person (luckily an OT did tell me). I had tried to get out of it by getting legal advice at another law firm, but [the creepy HR associate director who received the VC's award for this so-called "service excellence" of harming staff] wouldn’t budge. Only after seeking legal advice did she send me a list of questions the practitioner was to provide answers to in the report. Why the lack of transparency in providing information? 

• The first question was shocking. Was I "fit to return to work and fulfil all of the duties and responsibilities of [my] substantive role, including in circumstances where [I] would be required to report to and take direction and feedback from [the narcissist manager, the person I made a complaint of bullying, discrimination and harassment, providing multiple examples of incidents], and, effectively lead 5 direct reports [the direct reports I tried to protect by saying no to being bullied into treating them in the same illegal and unethical behaviour]?” Again, I asked myself, how did my complaint of bullying by [the manager] turn into this, with a report asking if I can take instructions under this very person? My GP can respond, from his professional opinion.... His answers would not be what HR would want... The reason is still unknown to me why [the incompetent associate director of my directorate, who proved unfit and grossly negligent to fulfil all of the duties and responsibilities of her substantive role], needed evidence that I could do my job to begin with. I’ve been doing my job, that the bully reaped benefits from my achievements, for 18 years. I’ve been a model employee and increased the profile of that library because of my work ethic.

What has [the manager] been saying from the moment [the library associate director] joined the university, that is nothing less than malicious gossip, judgement, labels and discrimination? I feel humiliated, demeaned, and my intelligence and professional skills insulted repeatedly and I need it to stop.

• Then something very suspicious happened. [The national manager of employment relations and SAFETY] suddenly said "this is unorthodox but [to my legal rep] can I see you outside for a minute?" I believe this was preplanned. Very calculated. [My legal representative] was a young lawyer and this too, I believe, was exploited. She did step out with [the corporate psychopath I'll call "the safety manager" from hereon] when it was probably a better decision not to. I was left alone with [the creepy HR associate director], giving her an opportunity to ask two questions (there are reasons I have for feeling this was a "strategic" motive). She asked: "How’s your brother?" and "How's your mother?" I replied "fine but concerned" with both questions. That was really creepy and weird. Then she started making notes. I didn’t ask why she was asking. In hindsight, I should have asked. Regardless, in reviewing the incidents holistically, the pieces of the puzzle had begun to fall into place. I believe she was extracting information to identify if my family were going to be a "problem" they would also need to deal with, given the privacy violation being exposed in another room by the safety manager.

• They had been accusing me of threatening self-harm which is not true. I lost my father to suicide and this accusation is traumatic and distressing. They have exploited every vulnerability to crush me. Why are they doing this? The email correspondence in my records is evidence that no one was taking my complaint seriously. Library management and then HR were sending me in circles. I was frustrated and sent private text messages to the staff campus minister on 23rd August 2019 when I finally broke down into tears due to the lack of guidance and support. In context, it was to do with this very issue with HR. At the same time, a family member was unwell, and, as next of kin, I had a duty of care and a legal right to take personal leave, which includes carers leave (confidential matters they had no business interrogating, violating privacy in such immoral and illegal ways to use against me, discrimination, WHS and privacy laws being breached too). I was emotionally worn out and frightened about how this bullying complaint would be handled and resolved by HR. I was stretched like an elastic band. I really needed to be well and to support my family through this temporary adversity regarding a private health matter. I finally snapped like that elastic band.  

• However, [the safety manager], who had been at the university for only seven months at the time in March 2020, did two things in the next room with [my legal representative]. She informed her that an independent investigation into the bullying complaint (something I requested) would be detrimental to me because most people don’t think much of me (a scare tactic I find disturbing, a malicious lie - see https://mystory-myvoice.blogspot.com/2025/01/quality-staff-and-university-leaders.html - one example among many, hence why she didn't want an "independent investigation" and continued to isolate and ostracise me - the NATIONAL SAFETY SENIOR EXECUTIVE OF AN ENTIRE UNIVERSITY). I have been at the university for nearly two decades and I’m highly respected and valued, from the Deans of Arts and Education and Theology and Philosophy, to the admin staff, professional staff, cleaners, students, researchers, on my home campus and on all campuses for library staff who know and have worked with me. How would she know and who would she have met in seven months, or in the two months when this case was referred to her? That makes me suspicious how “independent” these investigations are as well. (NOTE: and it was proven - to come in later posts). 

• The second shock tactic was a text message I had sent to the staff campus minister. Being deliberately isolated from my work like the worst criminal, I had one person who was to be my advocate, my right, as per bullying, discrimination and harassment policies. I felt humiliated and betrayed, but I know what likely happened when the campus minister met with the cunning and manipulative HR associate director. However, in turn, I felt like I betrayed my own family. The [SAFETY manager] presented, to my legal representative, a small portion of a private text message I sent on 27th August 2019 to the campus minister. I have now included the entire record in my evidence (since everything else in an entire family’s private life is illegally violated and abused by a university committed to the dignity of the human person in its Mission, among other things - that compilation is document #39).

After the meeting, when the [legal representative] told me what was written, I was very distressed and in tears because I would never have said anything like that. I told her I was freaked out and I apparently wrote it. When I went home and tracked down all the messages between myself and the campus minister, I found the message within the context of what was happening at the time. I couldn’t remember writing it and it was written in another state of frustration. Long forgotten. It was a private matter and unrelated to work. Most of the text message communication related to what I was put through at work.

I wish I didn’t have to justify what was happening. It’s harassment and illegal to invade my private personal matters. And my family’s! I was dealing with harassment and victimisation from my workplace that I had to keep private from telling my family. They have been through enough. We have all been through ENOUGH! Why did HR have access to my private communication with the staff campus minister, without my knowledge or permission? Why was this presented and used against me six months later and irrelevant to my complaint? That kind of behaviour of harassment and discrimination was part of my bullying complaint! This text message was taken out of context and used against me to accuse me of being a safety risk, to who exactly? All this is an attempt at character assassination and for days after the meeting, I was paralysed from shock and felt so violated. I not only felt emotionally unsafe to work under that manager in the workplace, I felt further distrust and unsafe because of the NATIONAL MANAGER OF EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS AND SAFETY. And I emphasise, the only cause of this trauma and fear for my safety, comes from my employer.

 • Privacy is very important to my family. The same afternoon this meeting took place, a family member, an alumnus of this very university community, had called the university and spoke to someone about how to go about making a formal complaint. My family also tolerated harassment over the years from my manager and have repeatedly let it go. It was a violation of boundaries and privacy in their own home and they had a right to make a formal complaint if they chose to. Now it’s become traumatic for all of us and very serious. They are not employees (one is, however, an alumnus) and not covered by the Enterprise Agreement. They are members in the community affiliated to the university because a family member works there. Now I understood why [that creepy HR associate director] wanted to be informed if my family members were well. They spoke to the same HR employee the next day and her entire personality changed. It was too overdramatised in her friendliness in the follow up call. The conversation was cordial and friendly, but the complaint form referred to was the same one I had been directed to complete. It would be handled by the same staff. This HR staff member’s reply to their question on how they handle such complaints was very poor.

• I never wanted to play strategic war games to save my reputation and career and protect an entire family from the slander and malicious rumours from the bully, my manager. When I called the Associate Director, Client Services, in my Directorate, on 3rd January 2020 at 4pm, I caught her off-guard and I became certain they were playing calculated games with me. The hostility and defensive tone in her voice (I think she panicked because one comment she made was “I need to have my “advisor” (ie. the HR associate director) with me in case I say the “wrong” thing” - she is two salary scales above me!) finally motivated me to call an employment lawyer, so I too, had an "advisor". She also said something else that was disturbing. “We have been informed that you have family issues that are affecting your ability to do your work.” I was in shock. Unfortunately my family could hear her through the phone as I was in their living room. Who is “we” and who is doing the informing? It sounds like the pattern of phrases I used to hear repeatedly from my manager. Since when is taking carer’s leave, for once, my legal employee entitlement like everyone, affecting my work (or personal leave at times, when required, without a manager’s prying and harassment? OR COMPASSIONATE LEAVE WITHOUT MY FAMILY BEING HARASSED BY A WORKPLACE MANAGER OF MINE IN OUR FAMILY HOME ONLY 12 HOURS AFTER MY DAD'S DEATH BY SUICIDE??!!). 

A manager’s bullying, gossip, judgement, labels, harassment and severe violation of privacy affected my work. A poorly implemented restructure with no role clarity and support affected my work. Poor processes to resolve this fairly and for the safety of all staff have affected my work and other staff. I have diagnosed physical health issues because of bullying since the restructure and my manager discriminates staff members at vulnerable times when experiencing family tragedies or emergencies, or have their own health concerns. I was being bullied to do the same to members in my team. I will not behave in an unethical way and engage in the same behaviour. I go back to the question of why the first point listed for the IMA report is about my ability to “take direction and feedback from [the manager]?” I made a complaint of bullying against this very person.

The fact that one clause in the EA, manipulated by committing multiple offences, had the only weight in this entire matter, is a serious cause of concern. That the policies didn’t matter (as confirmed by something employment lawyer #2 said, not to mention a few months later a SafeWork NSW inspector said to me “well all they’ll do is show me their policies and I don’t want to ruffle feathers”), my volume of evidence didn’t seem to matter to anyone, the serious privacy invasion to cause such harm was not taken seriously or seemed to matter, even when I provided all the messages, the entire context, is a very serious concern. IT IS MASSIVE SYSTEMIC FAILURE AND NEGLIGENCE. Does the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) not matter to legal professionals and public servants like those working for regulators? 

We need to make invasions of privacy, with intent to cause harm, and policy application matter. And it’s starting to matter. 

AND IT BETTER CONTINUE TO MATTER. URGENTLY.  

This post is based on document 36. It displays adverse action for requesting generally protected workplace rights, PRIVACY VIOLATIONS, discrimination, deception, malicious and vexatious conduct that condones engaging in WHS breaches and creating psychosocial hazards, not managing the risks as the PCBU is reasonably expected to do so, BY LAW. 

I will say this, like a broken record, because that’s the truth as per my volume of evidence. The university repeatedly refused to cooperate and follow standard policies and procedures, proving contraventions in multiple laws, refusing to comply with regulations and creating a huge mountain out of something that was serious but simple to resolve. Why would a university with a Mission like no other university, do this?

Essential Reading

Elisha v. Vision Australia in the High Court. https://www.kwm.com/au/en/insights/latest-thinking/a-breach-of-an-employment-contract-can-result-in-a-damages-award-for-psychiatric-injury.html

The new privacy amendment bill. https://cso.nsw.gov.au/resources/legal-alerts-presentations-papers/statutory-tort-invasions-of-privacy.html

Employment lawyer #2 - Part 2 - 2020

On 25 February 2020, employment lawyer #2 sent a formal letter. 

The truth is, had leaders of the organisation applied and complied with their own policies and procedures, aligned to laws and regulations, there should never be a need for employees to require legal representation. There is such a power imbalance, and audacious abuse of that power, that the way things are right now, there’s no hope for an employee to be treated respectfully, ethically, and with the primary goal being procedural fairness. 2025 is a Federal election year and it’s time for reform. For actual action. 

By the way, Minister Jason Clare, we the public, are STILL WAITING for the priorities that were reported in the Australian Universities Accord, to be implemented. We’ve been waiting since the public release of the Interim Report in mid-2023! 

Readers, see my posts at Organisational culture - the cons - part 1 and Organisational culture - the cons - part 2.

That is why regulators like SafeWork NSW must get their act together urgently, and intervene quickly when an employee submits a complaint of psychological violence. If an employer chooses to behave in recklessness and serious misconduct with greater intent to cause harm, as adverse action, I was under the assumption and trusted that SafeWork NSW would intervene. That’s their job and responsibility. That’s what they advertise to the public too, isn’t it? Because that’s what they apparently do! Then why did the SafeWork NSW inspector not do the job as promoted to workers and the public, in my case (and I’m sure, others too)? We’ll get to that part of the story, later. 

The letter is mostly a chronology of events, rehashing the incidents of workplace bullying, discrimination and harassment that I had already provided those responsible for managing psychosocial hazards as per the university’s policies, procedures and guidelines. They didn’t! They did not even read the complaint, the multiple and repeated incidents listed. They didn’t care! 

The only positive outcome from enlisting another employment lawyer was more proof that I made yet another reasonable effort to resolve this issue efficiently and fairly. What was revealed is coming up in the next post. It was, and still is, very traumatic for me and my family. It’s extremely creepy and distressing behaviour from senior “leaders” of a publicly funded university. I and my family feel extremely violated. 

The serious privacy violation backfired on these immoral “leaders” poached from other universities for being psychopathic and dangerous to staff. They were not poached and brought into a once great university, for being brilliant and ethical employment relations and safety managers. 

It’s time for real disciplinary action pointing in the right direction, do readers agree? Do public stakeholders and customers of the NSW Department of Customer Service, agree, especially ones who have made complaints to SafeWork NSW and / or SIRA NSW, only to be met with failure, disrespect, suspicious dodginess and massive gross negligence that caused greater harm? It’s not a state issue that political leaders (the ethical ones) and career politicians (the ones who should not be in parliament or representing an electorate) can ignore anymore. 

I quote parts of this letter:

“We have been provided with a history of our client’s employment culminating in a period of directed sick leave commencing on 2 July 2019.

Serious legal issues arise from our client’s employment history, particularly in relation to [the University’s] failure to:

a) ensure that bullying and harassment in the workplace were identified, managed and eliminated; and

b) act appropriately to address legitimate and ongoing grievances when they were raised by our client; and

c) adhere to its policies for managing personnel and internal grievances; and

d) ensure that our client was not victimised or treated adversely as a consequence of exercising her workplace rights to make complaints or inquiries in relation to her employment; 

… We are also concerned that [the university] has failed to recognise, or act upon multiple instances of bullying and harassment in the workplace, to our client’s detriment.

It is clear on our client’s instructions that her complaints about being bullied, undermined and isolated by [the manager] have been ignored…

[The university’s] actions outlined above amount to adverse action taken against our client because she has repeatedly sought to exercise her workplace rights to make complaints in relation to her employment and request a safe workplace free from bullying and harassment, and to initiate and participate in dispute resolutions proceedings. Instead, our client has received no support or assistance from senior management, and has been further bullied, undermined and isolated.

[The university’s] actions have clearly prejudiced our client in her employment, discriminated between her and other employees, and has resulted in a protracted period of sick leave due to ongoing bullying, harassment, lack of support and continuing victimisation.

Our client has strong prospects of succeeding in claim under the Fair Work Act 2009 for breaches of the General Protections provisions, specifically repeated breaches of section 340 of that Act.

Our client is seeking compensation for her significant personal distress, including out of pocket medical expenses... Our client suffers … as a consequence of [the university’s] conduct…

We have also advised our client that [the university’s] repeated breaches of policy, failure to adhere to the Enterprise Agreement and failure to ensure our client’s workplace is free from bullying and harassment may be conduct that is actionable in breach of contract…”

NOTE: That has now become a breach of TWO CONTRACTS. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INJURY MANAGEMENT PLAN AGREEMENT IS NON-NEGOTIABLE. Let readers now be my witnesses as to how diabolical these leaders have been, especially ones on salaries of over $1,000,000. Yes. The VC is on a salary package of over one million dollars, while committing fraud against quality employees. That is coming up. All documented. All concrete evidence. No allegations. Only the truth. 

“Return to Work

That said, it is our client’s preference to return to the workplace…

… Further, we also put you on notice that any action taken against our client as a consequence of this letter, is unlawful.”

I’m still waiting for the above to happen. I’ve always said it’s what I expect, have a right to, a safe work environment this time, and it is NON-NEGOTIABLE. 

For readers who haven’t read the initial bullying, discrimination and harassment complaint, below are the links to the five part posts. It’s ridiculous to have to repeat myself, and I’m referring to systemic failure and abuse caused by everyone I tried - lawyers, regulators, Union, HSRs, discrimination and harassment advisors, NSW Police, federal and state MPs of my electorate, multiple ministers, both former and current government in office, ombudsman offices, and obstruction of justice within the Personal Injury Commission. I dodged a bullet by not allowing these “leaders” to coerce me to go down the path of the Fair Work Commission. Readers will learn why soon enough. 

In hindsight, there are parts to this letter I would have had edited. But I was deliberately being harassed and gaslit by psychos in HR and WHS to cause distress and cognitive overload. It was all cruel adverse action with intent to cause serious harm, sadly by staff mostly in the very WHS unit. 

WAKE UP SAFEWORK NSW.

Not to mention, I had no idea how all this “legal” stuff worked and was not in the headspace, in my fear and distress, to learn. No employee should ever be subjected to such abuse! And honestly, no one actually took the time to explain to me how all this was meant to work. Not employment or IRO funded workers compensation lawyers, not the Independent Review Office, not SafeWork NSW inspectors connected to the NSW State Insurance Regulatory Authority (except they communicate with each other when it suits them, and don’t when it doesn’t). As for the National Tertiary Education Union and what they did (or deliberately did not do), that is coming up too.

My story is still very much only at the beginning. 

This post is based on document 35. It displays adverse action for requesting generally protected workplace rights, discrimination, deception, malicious and vexatious conduct that condones engaging in WHS breaches and creating psychosocial hazards, not managing the risks as the PCBU is reasonably expected to do so, BY LAW. 

I will say this, like a broken record, because that’s the truth as per my volume of evidence. The university repeatedly refused to cooperate and follow standard policies and procedures, proving contraventions in multiple laws, refusing to comply with regulations and creating a huge mountain out of something that was serious but simple to resolve. Why would a university with a Mission like no other university, do this? 

The initial bullying, discrimination and harassment complaint that was never addressed or managed: 

1. Bullying, discrimination and harassment - the initial complaint that landed an entire family in a corporate psychopath’s lair : http://mystory-myvoice.blogspot.com/2024/07/bullying-discrimination-and-harassment.html

2. Part 2 - Bullying, discrimination and harassment - the initial complaint : http://mystory-myvoice.blogspot.com/2024/07/part-2-bullying-discrimination-and.html

3. Part 3 - Bullying, discrimination and harassment - the initial complaint : http://mystory-myvoice.blogspot.com/2024/07/part-3-bullying-discrimination-and.html

4. Part 4 - Bullying, discrimination and harassment - the initial complaint : http://mystory-myvoice.blogspot.com/2024/07/part-4-bullying-discrimination-and.html

5. Part 5 - Bullying, discrimination and harassment - the initial complaint : http://mystory-myvoice.blogspot.com/2024/07/part-5-bullying-discrimination-and.html

My personal story - Part 2 : There is no authenticity anymore

I was watching the movie Letters to Juliet on TV last Friday night. 

It’s not so much about it being a romantic movie (life is not holistically like that, but it would be nice to have some memories you want to capture in a bottle and preserve forever). It’s not even so much that part of the movie was set in a location I hold dear: a Tuscan village on the outskirts of Siena.

It’s a movie that displays the values of kindness, respect, gentleness, family, love and dignity. 

Does our “modern” society, with its big city lifestyle, conspicuous consumption, reality TV with relationship “experts” pitting people against one another for ratings, social media and its “influencers” and trolls, consider these old school values? Or forgotten values? 

Given how we meet and date these days (online dating - like shopping, swipe left and right, ditch and repeat), the lack of safety for women that political leaders still don’t really care about, the shallowness and lack of respect many men show women, despite awareness campaigns, they are forgotten values. Misaligned values. That’s been my experience, repeatedly (I can only refer here to my own experiences). 

Today is Valentines Day. Readers can watch the TV news for how our modern society celebrates this day. But is any of this grounded in the foundation of values I mentioned above? Is there real commitment, loyalty and trust? Is there authenticity?

Pope Francis said,

“[The good of the family], consists in sharing relationships of faithful love, trust, cooperation, reciprocity, which brings about their happiness. The family humanises people through the relationship of 'we' and at the same time promotes each person's legitimate differences.”

See Vatican News. (2022, 29 April). 'Pope Francis: Rediscover the value of family life.' [Online]: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-04/pope-francis-rediscover-the-value-of-family-life.html

I do agree with the quote above. I believe a family unit, united in the foundations and values already mentioned, will go a long way to solving the disease of narcissism and indifference. No wonder we have another serious issue on the increase : loneliness. This is not a healthy society, but a very lonely one.

What defines a family, who makes up a family is not what my argument is about. And the issue of domestic violence, of unsafe, toxic, unhealthy family dynamics, is a big problem and not the focus here either. When the essential values mentioned above are missing or forgotten, it can result in great dysfunction, or worse, violence that place lives at risk. In any dangerous situation, I pray that those affected leave, for their safety and wellbeing. 

But in many cases in our society, exits and “break-ups” happen for superficial reasons. Have we been affected by too much reality TV, or has this always happened but it’s become worse? This really is a “disposable” society. But these are people being trashed disrespectfully. Someone’s child, sibling, friend, parent, colleague. This is de-valuing and disrespecting another human being, without remorse and compassion. It is unconscionable.

I’ve decided to write about parts of my personal story, interspersed in posts about the systemic and institutional psychological thriller of my professional story. There are some things that now need to be said. 

I’ll start sharing some parts of my personal experiences on 25 March. It’s a significant day, as I reflect on my own family tree and ancestors on Greek Independence Day. 

In the meantime, I’ll continue writing about the professional side of my life, where I was forced to play strategic war games against a network of power abusers. That should never have happened, nor is it a fair fight for an employee, who just asked for agreed boundaries to ensure a safe work environment. Where are the values of respect, dignity, kindness, commitment and trust by leaders in this context? 

Where is the authenticity in our society?

As for dating apps…

A joint 18 month investigation, published yesterday on The Guardian:

'Rape under wraps: how Tinder, Hinge and their corporate owner chose profits over safety.' https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/13/tinder-hinge-match-investigation 

A view from the Tuscan village of Montalcino

Employment lawyer #2 - Part 1 - 2020

On 15 January 2020, enter employment lawyer #2 putting the university on notice. 

That HR associate director actually wrote the following in the email response to the solicitor. “Further to my phone message, can you please advise whether Vicki intends to attend the IMA on 21 January as outlined in the letter you refer to from 9 January 2020. You will appreciate that if the University does not cancel the appointment in advance, a significant cost will still need to be paid”. 

How significant has the cost been for the university, by HR executive staff, to destroy my life, defrauding me of all my leave entitlements (personal, annual and long service leave), income, superannuation, livelihood, worker’s compensation fraud and likely more in suspected coercion, influence, aiding, abetting etc. of others, to collude in such destruction? 

The financial abuse and exploitation alone should be taken extremely seriously, as well as contraventions of WHS laws. 

That’s all I have to say in this post. It’s a short post, but it says a lot. 

This post is based on documents 32-34 between 15 January 2020 and 18 February 2020. It displays adverse action for requesting generally protected workplace rights, discrimination, deception, malicious and vexatious conduct that condones engaging in WHS breaches and creating psychosocial hazards, not managing the risks as the PCBU is reasonably expected to do so, BY LAW. 

I will say this, like a broken record. Because that’s the truth as per my volume of evidence. The university repeatedly refused to cooperate and follow standard policies and procedures, proving contraventions in multiple laws, refusing to comply with regulations and creating a huge mountain out of something that was serious but simple to resolve. Why would a university with a Mission like no other university, do this? 

And who was the unethical psycho that was a “significant cost” to the university? See http://mystory-myvoice.blogspot.com/2025/02/hr-associate-director-unfit-to-do.html. 

How much was the “significant cost” the university were willing to pay for fraud by deception? 

HR associate director unfit to do the inherent requirements of the job - 2020

“A really malicious letter should be read once only and destroyed, or best of all not read at all. These things lodge in the mind”. 

Iris Murdoch

To recap from the previous post, on 3 January 2020, I requested a meeting in my call to the library associate director, to discuss and be informed why they were behaving like this and why they were adamant I attend an IME. I confirmed this request in writing. 

On 6 January 2020, I sent an email to the HR relationships manager (relationships destroyer is a more appropriate title. Seriously, this is what they get paid a salary to do? How does this benefit the university community, ensure compliance with policies, WHS laws and regulations, and display the university Identity and Mission in action? IT DOESN’T). 

To quote from my email:

“Thank you. I will look at the email from [HR associate director] with my employment lawyer. Please forward the following to her. It’s been made clear to me HR are not here to support or help me in this grievance. Therefore I have a lawyer who will. The only contact from HR I wait for now is to negotiate a meeting. I will have present my adviser.

There will be no further action or discussion on this matter without my adviser”.

The HR associate director immediately responded again, making yet another appointment for an IME with another very disturbed person, based on the reviews. She again, refused to meet with me and discuss the reasons. It is evident that the motive for making a bullying, harassment and discrimination complaint about a manager, resulted in adverse action and contraventions of generally protected employee rights. HR chose to ignore their legal obligation to me as set out in the enterprise agreement and laws, except for repeating without any reasonable communication, valid reason or evidence to the fact, a clause in the Enterprise Agreement used for unlawful motives, in bad faith.

I must mention that not long before I was thrust into the creepy hands of HR by an equally unfit executive engaging in serious misconduct, this very HR associate director was the organiser and presenter of poorly presented bullying training, delivered in an unprofessional and apathetic manner. It was done only for the government requirement to check the compliance box. The university senior executive group only wanted our signatures, as a government legal requirement, from politicians who also don’t care about true reform and compliance regarding psychosocial hazards and WHS. 

Given some staff courageously called out the “lip service”, by the time I was subjected to this bullshit training (a total sham), the HR associate director now started the session with a statement that blatantly communicated, “shut up, no comments allowed, and sign”. We were silenced as part of bullying training! And here she is, the HR associate director delivering “lip service”, engaging in the creepiest form of psychological violence. Bullying staff at this institution, has been at a whole new horrific level. As I mentioned in the previous post, immoral is not a word strong enough. It is evil and diabolical!

On 9 January 2020, in response to my request for a meeting, that HR associate director sent another threatening email bullying and illegally coercing me to attend an IMA immediately, with the same false story and constantly refusing to meet with me until I attend. Her email actually said that. WTF? 

So, to clarify to the readers, HR refused to meet with me, until I was first subjected to a corrupt and disturbed psycho, willing to commit the crime of fraud by deception, so they could write me off with a dangerous excuse to not meet with me? I WAS NOT GOING TO ALLOW THIS ABUSE AT THE LEVEL OF OFFENCES, TO HAPPEN. Not to mention the only thing this HR associate director seemed to excel in was copying and pasting the same shitty clause without any valid reason or duty of care, including any mention of paying for safe travel. 

Senior executives proved they don’t care about their WHS duty of care and legal obligation toward the quality and committed staff in the university community. My entire bullying, discrimination and harassment complaint was rubbish to them. HR, WHS staff and the senior executive group, which, of course, includes the highly paid VCs, were a gang engaging in the most reprehensible bullying, discrimination and harassment. This is wilful and reckless conduct with intent to cause harm, is it not? 

I looked up this practitioner too and feared the same immoral motive. Given the equally shocking reviews, it was another disrespectful, dishonest and very disturbed individual. I won’t mention this psycho’s name, because luckily I didn’t see him. I wasn’t subjected to his traumatic abuse, but others have been. For this reason, I included reviews on this “practitioner” in my compilation of documents. I was very thorough in my research. 

I share a sample of quotes from the reviews: 

“I started crying during the assessment and he made a joke saying that I’m not a “narcissist”. And then he wrote on his report that I don’t take my condition seriously enough “belle indifference”! He asked about my … family. I explained that they were all in better condition than me and that I had a good relationship with both families. He wrote on my report that I had no knowledge of my biological family. He called my condition psychosomatic when I have been diagnosed with a neurological condition called dystonia. He doesn’t seem to know what dystonia is. Calling it psychosomatic is ignorant. This guy is stuck in his own bias. Unhelpful psychiatrist. It’s easy money for him to take these WCC (workers compensation claim) appointments online and then not bother to listen or care.” 

“He doesn’t listen. Not a good trait for a psychiatrist.”

“I was referred to see him via the insurer. During the appointment he came across as arrogant and cocky. I was honest with my answers, I told him my symptoms and he was dismissing me. He thinks he is god. The report arrived and he had twisted every word around. Well he is paid to lie. Interesting he stated I could be suffering from psychosis or border on multiple personalities. (NOTE: wow they really go all out with their dangerous false statements and medical malpractice. BUT THE HCCC AND SIRA NSW ALLOW IT). My psychiatrist read his report and he said to my face, if this was the case, how did you manage to work all these years and you not once required a psychologist nor a psychiatrist?! I had sufficient evidence against my employer, they tried to cover up the injustice that was inflicted on me and manipulate the truth! Well guess what Dr. R., the truth always prevails! Your lies don’t work but karma works. The money you got paid to lie, may it be well spent on your future treatments!”

“15 minutes late…excuse offered - miscommunication about my arrival time…walking towards the interview room an “off the cuff” remark… “well this has been a comedy of errors!”…sidetracked the interview assessment with a line of questioning that undoubtedly fulfilled his mental schema of how the world operates…acknowledged that he had not been provided from the insurer with a significant first medical assessment report…how could he make an assessment when part of the medical history / reports / chronology was missing? Would the professor accept that for research and subsequent report from a student?… (NOTE: YES A PROFESSOR AT A UNIVERSITY WHERE I’M AN ALUMNUS AND KNOW VERY WELL)… I think not, yet it was his process as presented for my assessment? My opinion = assessment grade FAIL! Or slothful knowledge and skill equivalent to someone whose capacity for veniality is evidenced with providing the insurer with the magic % impairment number. Judas and Dorian Gray all wrapped up in the clothes of an artful dodger. My comment - be warned - beware of the DON!”

Remember, I was not even under workers compensation regulations. The HR associate director was now fully aware that I had NOT MADE A CLAIM! But they had a more shocking hand of cards to play. I find out how low they were willing to go, on 9 March 2020. 

For now, all I can say is that I was being deliberately cornered in coercion and bullied. 

It is also in this formal letter Deepinder Miller’s fraudulent statement is recorded. However, they kept that card close regarding the fraudulent seven page letter. I wasn’t presented with that piece of nastiness until October 2020. I discovered I’m quite good at playing strategic war games. It must be part of my Peloponnesian DNA. They dealt all their cards. They exhausted all their illegal options. There’s so much to write. 

If readers want to refresh their memory about Deepinder Miller, refer to A “doctor” who commits fraud - 2019; The waiting area; and Medical malpractice, unprofessional conduct and lack of duty of care.

AGAIN, HCCC AND SIRA NSW HAVE ALLOWED IT, WITH MILLER, FOR AT LEAST OVER A DECADE! WHY? 

This post is based on documents 30-31. It displays adverse action for requesting generally protected workplace rights, discrimination, deception, malicious and vexatious conduct that condones engaging in WHS breaches and creating psychosocial hazards, not managing the risks as the PCBU is reasonably expected to do so, BY LAW. 

Relevant legislation:

I won’t repeat the anti-discrimination, WHS, Privacy and Fair Work laws already cited in previous posts. They apply and have been breached multiple times. I repeat one piece of legislation:

Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)

https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/act-1900-040#pt.4AA

Associate director unfit to do the inherent requirements of the job - Part 2 - 2020

In the previous post I quoted from an email I sent to the library associate director at 11:05pm on Friday 3 January 2020.

It was earlier that day, at 4pm on 3 January 2020, I surprised her with a phone call. She was obviously not expecting me to call, because her reaction really shocked me. 

Then she became hostile, which scared me. It really creeped me out. This is very same person who wrote in an email on 3 July 2019, and I directly quote as it’s part of document 5, “If I do not get a chance to talk to you this afternoon, take care of yourself and I want to let you know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. We will talk again when I am back from leave.” 

Again I ask: WHAT KIND OF PSYCHOS WAS I DEALING WITH! Who were these creepy two-faced unconscionable bunch of people on executive salaries! This is the person who had a responsibility to resolve the matter locally, but fobbed me off to HR without consulting me at all! She was incapable of doing the inherent requirements of her executive job! 

Her tone was cold defensive, hostile and mechanical throughout that call. She wasn’t expecting me to call. I caught her off-guard based on her “pre-advised” emails refusing to meet with me. Also, when I called, I was at my family’s home. You could hear her voice through the mobile phone, and she started attacks on my own family! They heard this directly! 

My family were livid, and rightly so. I was creeped out with what I was being confronted with. Beyond discrimination and harassment, they were vile malicious rumours! It was slander to defame not only me as the targeted employee, but my family! Hasn’t my family been through enough, including abuse from religious institutions?! 

I share some of the malicious comments she made. The privacy of my family must finally be respected! No more slander! No more gossip! No more intrusion! No more harassment!

I need this good family to finally be respected, especially by “leaders” in religious institutions. We need leaders who actually display the values, mission, identity, ethos and staff code of conduct expected of them! We need leaders who implement policies and comply with social justice principles and laws of both God and country!  

In a hostile tone, that gaslighting puppet said:

Associate director (AD): We are very concerned about your welfare, because we have been informed that you have threatened self-harm; (NOTE : my GP can confirm I’m not “at-risk” but they’ve overwritten my GP’s authority because it doesn’t suit them. Also, who has provided the false information and to how many people in regards to “we”);

Me: Who’s “we”? Who exactly has informed you of what? Why haven’t you spoken to me directly about these things, so I can clear things up for you? This is a workplace bullying issue that you, the manager (the bully), and the HR associate director have turned into something else;

AD : Your behaviour suggests that you could be a danger to yourself; (NOTE : If it’s in relation to the distress from organisational psychological violence and massive terror, I’m not in danger to myself but I feel danger caused by the empty threats and deceit / adverse action);

Me : I’m the person of focus here, and yet I have been excluded from all conversations and meetings. Your responses are unclear, cryptic and don’t address my questions or concerns;

(NOTE : I had no idea where these “allegations” and “accusations” were coming from… but it was revealed to me in a fake but immorally orchestrated “dispute resolution” on 9 March 2020. A private text message that they had no right to have access to, and one text was taken out of context to cause serious harm to me, but harming and slandering my family too. Really low and diabolical, from a Catholic University! Publicly funded university! We all felt frightened and extremely violated. I feel sick reliving and writing about the privacy violations and slander. It all backfired, but I now expect the regulators to take serious disciplinary action according to WHS laws and other offences committed by governance and its HR, WHS and senior leaders now!). 

AD : We’ve been informed that you have serious family issues which have affected you and your ability to do your work (NOTE : caring for a family member temporarily is what was being referred to here, but she took over a week off to care for her father - that’s in an email from her on 8 August 2019 in document 10 - and there’s other private information about her family she herself disclosed to me that makes this individual a massive hypocrite, beyond a double standard. Is her right to privacy without discrimination and harassment of greater importance than mine, my family’s and other staff? How would she like to be maliciously and viciously attacked with slander at a private and vulnerable time? How would she like this mobbing mentality and character assassination directed at her?);

Me : You’re accusing me of things that aren’t true (note : eg. the threat of self-harm, and what did my family have to do with any of this?). You’re making things up as you’re going along. Are you aware of this?

AD : We’ve met on several occasions and nothing has come of it and there’s no reason for the two of us to meet again;

Me : We have met on one occasion about this matter. Where do you get several occasions from?

AD : When a meeting is organised, I will have a HR person present, so I can make sure I don’t say anything wrong; (WTF dear readers? What did I become a target of, seriously? And how dare they implicate my family!)

AD : We need an IMA to make sure you are able to return to work (NOTE: from fellow fraudulent psycho Deepinder Miller, colluding in fraud by deception and making serious false statements and committing medical malpractice for $$$ - they are all MORALLY BANKRUPT AND REPREHENSIBLE);

Me : I went to the medical assessment that you sent me to, and the practitioner terminated the meeting in 5 minutes because this “doctor” thought:

1. I was there for a WorkCover claim – I wasn’t;

2. I was there because bullying in the workplace comes under the umbrella of mental health, so I needed to have an IMA that the university was paying for (?);

3. The practitioner didn’t know why I was there, I didn’t know why I was there, the “doctor” just started making things up as she was going along and terminated the appointment (because she was digging herself into a hole too) telling me to go back to HR and clarify with them. I’ve tried. I want a meeting scheduled and I will be bringing my own legal adviser to discuss this, so I understand.

AD : I wasn’t aware you were sent to one for Work Cover reasons. You haven’t applied for Work Cover so I don’t know what that’s all about; (NOTE : Again what kind of psychos was I dealing with? But we all know the fish rots from the head - the Vice-Chancellor!). 

Me : when we meet, is it possible to have someone else there from HR because [the HR associate director] has continued to inflict more bullying onto me (eg. a very threatening letter sent to my GP ordering me to go to the IME or else I will be subject to disciplinary action, and similar letters to me with lies and bullying tactics)? 

AD : I’m not going to dictate to HR who they send! 

Me : I was just asking a question (NOTE : why was she becoming defensive and hostile?). I’ll have my own advocate there when we meet, which is my right (NOTE: it’s in the policies, but she went silent). I repeat, I’ll have my own advocate there. (Silence again). I’ll now seek advice from an employment lawyer. I’ve had enough of this.

——————————-

This “associate director’s” tone, throughout the entire conversation, was cold, hostile, rude, mechanical and defensive. After this shocking call, I called employment lawyer #2.

In my one and only meeting with this person, on 5 August 2019, about the workplace bullying issue against the manager, it was very clear that she didn’t listen to anything I said, and she didn’t care about actually addressing the issue. She gave me 2 options –

Leave Strathfield and my HEW8 job and either go to the Canberra campus or North Sydney campus into a HEW4 job. Wow, yet another massive example of bullying from a bunch of “managers” and “associate directors” on higher salary scales, unfit to do the inherent requirements of their jobs.

Apart from being illegal adverse action, a generally protected workplace right to request a safe environment as per Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), it’s more bullying and discrimination, it’s degrading, it’s an insult to my blood, sweat and tears to earn three degree qualifications AND two decades of building great relationships and respect with my academic and research clients in both the Schools of Education and Theology / Philosophy and research institutes. I’m speechless. Readers, refer to the second last paragraph of http://mystory-myvoice.blogspot.com/2024/09/gaslighting-and-unfit-executives-2019.html and the entire blog post of http://mystory-myvoice.blogspot.com/2025/01/quality-staff-and-university-leaders.html. 

The manager, who I complained about, had also harassed my family in person (at a time of serious family tragedy), and on the phone (at a time of illness, interrogating them about why I was unwell and needing to take a day of personal leave). 

The manager affected my ability to do my work, NOT any personal situation. She repeatedly violated personal boundaries, which is unethical and unprofessional! 

It was serious misconduct, negligence in duty of care, serious violation of personal and professional boundaries, bullying, discrimination, intimidation, harassment and slander I tolerated for a long time. 

The university doesn’t seem to want to address this at all. The manager was protected by the university and I was victimised even more. There’s almost two decades of evidence of my work ethic and integrity at my workplace. Therefore my question is, why am I still being victimised and the bully was never counselled?

Also, withholding  information to disadvantage a person is another incident of bullying. Deliberately excluding a person when including them can help achieve the outcomes for them to do their job is bullying too. Could that associate director not read the policies and published guidelines, and follow them? How dare she fob me off to HR without speaking with me first! And then behaved like this in the latest emails and this phone call! 

MAIN POINT: The workplace bullying issue was not addressed at all. Accusations were constantly fired at me along the lines of being unfit to work while forcing me to take sick leave (gaslighting). Potentially they were hoping to crush me to get rid of me to protect themselves, their negligence, the image of an organisation with the dignity of the human person and the pursuit of the common good in its actual mission and the values of truth and love. 

The lack of integrity is the most confronting heartbreak of all. 

As I wrote in this document, going back to Friday 3 January 2020, I experienced greater psychological injury and I do need the harassment, empty threats to my job security and bullying to stop. I need time to focus on my health and well-being. I can’t let university “leaders” destroy my career and reputation. Established policies are there to be used and followed. They didn’t. I never signed up for this in the employment contract in the new role from January 2017.

I’M STILL FINANCIALLY ABUSED, PROFESSIONALLY ABUSED AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY ABUSED BECAUSE SAFEWORK NSW AND SIRA NSW ARE CONTINUING TO BE GROSSLY NEGLIGENT. 

MAKE THE ABUSE STOP REGULATORS IN THE NSW DEPARTMENT OF “CUSTOMER SERVICE”. 

This post is based on document 29. It displays adverse action for requesting generally protected workplace rights, discrimination, malicious and vexatious conduct that condones engaging in WHS breaches and creating psychosocial hazards, not managing the risks as the PCBU is reasonably expected to do so, BY LAW. 

For laws breached, see previous posts, including the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).