ANNING v University of Western Sydney

The applicant, Ms Anning, brought proceedings against the respondent, the University of Western Sydney, alleging that the University had breached its duty of care to her by failing to take reasonable steps to prevent her from suffering a psychiatric injury. Ms Anning claimed that she had been subjected to a campaign of bullying and harassment by her colleagues, and that the University had failed to adequately investigate her complaints and take appropriate action to protect her from further harm. The matter was heard in the District Court of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the University owed Ms Anning a duty of care to protect her from psychiatric injury arising from workplace bullying and harassment, and if so, whether that duty had been breached. This involved determining the scope of the employer's duty of care in relation to the psychological well-being of its employees, and the standard of care expected of a reasonable employer in managing workplace conflict and addressing allegations of bullying.

Judge Cameron found that the University did owe Ms Anning a duty of care. The court reasoned that an employer has a responsibility to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm to its employees, including psychiatric injury. The University was aware, or ought to have been aware, of the risk of psychiatric injury to Ms Anning given the nature of her complaints and the ongoing workplace issues. The court concluded that the University had breached this duty by failing to conduct a thorough and timely investigation into Ms Anning's complaints and by not implementing adequate measures to prevent further harassment. The University's actions were found to be insufficient to meet the standard of a reasonable employer in such circumstances.