Workplace Bullying - Essential Steps to Document and Report

Something just happened at work and you're not sure what to do next. Here's the order to do things in, starting from right now.

Step 1: Write it down within the hour

Before you do anything else, get the basic facts down somewhere private — your phone, a notebook, or an app like Bully Log. Note the date, the time, where you were, who else was there, exactly what was said or done as close to word-for-word as you can manage, and how you responded. Do this before the details soften in your memory. It doesn't need to be polished; it needs to be accurate and made close to the moment it happened, because that's what makes it credible later.

Step 2: Save the evidence that already exists

Related: Bullying Documentation Tips Checklist: Your Guide to Workplace Safety.

If there's a paper trail — an email, a Slack or Teams message, a text, a roster, a calendar invite, a performance review — save it now, in its original form where possible, not just a screenshot of part of it. Forward emails to a personal account or export chat threads so you still have access if you lose your work login. If the incident happened in a meeting that was recorded, note where the recording is stored and who controls access to it.

Step 3: Check whether it's actually bullying or reasonable management

Before you report, sense-check your incident against the legal definition. Workplace bullying is repeated, unreasonable behaviour that creates a risk to health and safety. A manager giving hard feedback, changing your duties, or following a fair performance process isn't bullying on its own — it becomes bullying when it's carried out unreasonably, such as being done to humiliate you publicly, applied to you alone while others are let off, or based on made-up issues. If you're unsure, describe the incident to someone outside the situation — a union rep, a trusted colleague from another team, or a support line — and ask whether it sounds unreasonable to them.

Step 4: Report it through the right channel

See also: Master Bullying Documentation Tips Tips for Workplace Safety.

Usually this means your direct manager first. If they're the person involved, skip them and go to their manager, HR, or a contact officer if your workplace has one. When you report:

• Stick to what happened, when, and who saw it — save your read on their motives for a private conversation, not the written complaint
• Ask what happens next and by when, and get it in writing if you can
• Follow up any verbal conversation with a short confirming email the same day
• Keep your own copy of everything you send and receive, stored somewhere outside work systems

Step 5: Keep documenting through the process

Reporting once doesn't end the need to record. Note how the investigation unfolds, whether promised timeframes are met, and — importantly — whether anything changes for the worse after you've raised the concern, since retaliation for a genuine complaint is itself against the law. A tool built for this, like Bully Log, timestamps each entry automatically as you go, which strengthens your record precisely because it shows the account wasn't written up after the fact to fit a narrative.

Step 6: Know where to go if internal steps don't work

If HR's process stalls or doesn't resolve the bullying, you have external options. The Fair Work Commission can make a stop-bullying order where the behaviour is ongoing — it can't award you compensation under this power, but it can order specific changes to how the workplace handles the situation. The Fair Work Ombudsman can advise on your broader rights, and if you're in a union, they can represent you through both stages at no cost. If discrimination is involved — based on sex, race, age, disability or another protected attribute — the Australian Human Rights Commission is a further avenue. This is general information, not legal advice, so for anything formal, speak with your union or a lawyer who can look at your specific situation.

Throughout all of this, look after yourself

This process is stressful by design — it asks you to relive difficult moments in order to prove them. Use your Employee Assistance Program if one's available, it's confidential and free. Talk to your GP if it's affecting your sleep or mood. And keep the log going the whole way through; it's the single thing most likely to turn a hard, murky situation into one someone else can actually act on.