Contact Officer

A Contact officer – sometimes known as a harassment contact officer, employee support officer, or equal opportunity officer – is a staff member who assists employees who experience discrimination, bullying and/or harassment in the workplace.

The contact officer is not responsible for investigating or making decisions about a complaint. Generally, contact officers are not human resources staff or managers as these roles may conflict with the responsibilities of a contact officer.

A contact officer should:

• listen to an employee’s concerns about discrimination, bullying, and/or harassment
• remain impartial when providing information about internal and external complaint processes
• provide information about available support services; for example, employee assistance programs
• be transparent with colleagues about circumstances where serious allegations may need to be reported to third parties such as human resources or police

Contact officers form part of an organisation-wide approach to preventing and addressing bullying, discrimination, and harassment.
 

• Contact officer training
• Good Practice, Good Business: Good Practice Guidelines for Internal Complaint Processes
• Queensland Human Rights Commission: Equity Contact Officer guidelines