Parliament House is still an unsafe workplace, a new report reveals.

The Parliamentary Workplace Support Service (PWSS) has released its first annual report (PDF), revealing thirty serious allegations - including rape, sexual assault, and harassment - lodged by parliamentary staff and politicians. 

The PWSS says it processed 339 cases within its first nine months, spanning issues from sexual misconduct to bullying and mental health.

The support service, created in response to former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins’ 2021 report (PDF) on Parliament’s “revolting and humiliating” workplace culture, aims to provide trauma-informed support. 

However, concerns linger over ongoing safety issues. 

Health Minister Mark Butler acknowledged these concerns, calling the report's findings “deeply disturbing” in interviews over the weekend. 

“This is the nation’s parliament, and clearly, it’s still an unsafe place to work for too many people,” Butler said. 

“We’ve got to do better.”

Of the cases handled, nine per cent (or 30 incidents) fell under serious allegations of sexual misconduct, while ten per cent were claims of bullying. 

Eighteen per cent of cases related to family violence, mental health, and substance abuse, while over a quarter involved general workplace conflicts. 

More than half of the reports came from political staffers, highlighting persistent issues within the parliamentary workforce.

Among the notable cases reported by media outlets, Defence Minister Richard Marles' Chief of Staff, Jo Tarnawsky, alleged she faced retaliatory action after raising concerns over bullying. 

Tarnawsky’s lawyer, Michael Bradley, has criticised the PWSS, describing it “a protective buffer between MPs and their own staff”. 

In June last year, Senator Lidia Thorpe alleged harassment by fellow Senator David Van, while in October this year, formal bullying complaints were reportedly filed by staff against Greens Senator Dorinda Cox.

The PWSS report explains that some reported “sexual assault” cases may not meet the legal threshold for assault. 

“People use the expression ‘sexual assault’ to describe a wide range of conduct, from feeling uncomfortable about how a person looked at them to what would be a traditional use of the word rape,” a footnote in the report noted.

“It is likely that very few of those matters would actually be allegations of rape.”

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission (IPSC) was launched earlier this year, with investigative powers over workplace conduct. 

The PWSS will allegedly provide both support and review services until the IPSC is fully operational.

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