Bradshaw v State of Queensland (Queensland Health) [2025] QIRC 104
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
This public sector appeal decision offers some rare commentary on workplace reviews and their intersection with HR processes such as recruitment.
- workplace reviews will ‘almost always’ result in some degree of organisational change — this should be anticipated by employers and HR processes and managed appropriately during the review to mitigate impacts on employees
- the implementation of recommendations arising from workplace reviews can constitute valid ‘genuine operational requirements’ that can justify pausing recruitment processes.
When conducting workplace reviews:
- consider suspending permanent appointment processes for positions that might be affected by an ongoing workplace review
- if required, request interim reporting from external investigators conducting the review before making critical HR decisions during review processes
- document how workplace review recommendations specifically impact HR decisions to strengthen their legal defensibility and consider providing impacted employees with a summary of the key workplace review outcomes and actions to support related decision making.
The case
The employee had been employed as a Nurse Unit Manager (Grade 7) at a government-operated aged care facility in regional Queensland but had been acting in the Director of Nursing role (Grade 10) on a series of temporary contracts since 2022.
When the substantive position holder of the Director of Nursing role — who had held the position for 14 years — relinquished the position in May 2024, the employee (despite being on leave with an injury) was invited to request permanent appointment to the higher classification role under section 120 of the Public Sector Act 2022 (Qld).
The employee made the request in June 2024, but the request was denied a month later, with the employer citing ‘genuine operational requirements’ on the basis that it had completed an external workplace review that recommended structural changes.
In August 2024, the employee appealed the decision (to deny the permanent appointment) to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) contending it was unfair and unreasonable.
According to the QIRC, the case centred on the intersection of three parallel HR processes:
Workplace review process: In February 2024, the employer engaged external consultants to conduct a workplace review, examining psychological safety, wellbeing, and team dynamics.
Recruitment process: When the substantive position holder of the Director of Nursing role relinquished the role in May 2024, the employer began preparing to recruit a permanent replacement, updating the role description by 11 June 2024.
Conversion request process: On 27 June 2024, the employee was invited to request a permanent appointment to the higher classification role, which she did the following day.
The critical timing issue arose when the external consultants delivered their workplace review report on 16 July 2024. The report highlighted ‘significant concerns about the suitability of the existing organisational structure’ which was ‘affecting the operation of the facility’. The external consultants recommended redesigning and restructuring the broader leadership team.
Based on the recommendations arising from the workplace review, the employer halted the recruitment process and on 26 July 2024 denied the employee’s conversion request.
QIRC decision
Despite the employer’s ‘inept handling’ of the matter, the QIRC confirmed the employer’s decision to reject the employee’s request for permanent appointment, finding that:
- ‘the task of considering and possibly implementing the recommendations in a culture review report is a genuine operational requirement’ under the Public Sector Act
- while the employer’s mismanagement of the concurrent processes created unfair expectations for the employee, it did not render the decision unfair or unreasonable.
With respect to the circumstances of the case, the QIRC critically observed that:
- the employer had ‘set the wheels in motion on the review in February 2024, but then simply carried on as usual with respect to recruitment within the very workplace that it had just hired external consultants to review’
- it was ‘almost as if the respondent was not able to anticipate that such a review would inevitably lead to the exact type of recommendations that were ultimately made’
- the employer’s failure to coordinate these processes was ‘precisely the type of bungling that can give rise to psychological injuries and litigation’.
Key learnings for employers during workplace review processes
Coordinate concurrent processes: Carefully plan the timing of workplace reviews in relation to recruitment, structural changes, and policy implementations to minimise conflicts.
Seek interim reporting: For lengthy review processes, request interim reports from external investigators conducting the review to assist with time-sensitive decisions like permanent recruitment or promotions.
Manage stakeholder expectations: Inform key stakeholders about the review’s catalyst, timeframes, objectives, and potential outcomes to enable proper planning of other processes.
Consider union consultation: It may be appropriate to consult with union representatives before commencing a review about the process, objectives, and what members can expect to receive by way of briefing at the conclusion.
Transparency: Provide a summary of the workplace review outcomes and key actions to support related decision making.
The unique circumstances of this case demonstrate that while the implementation of recommendations arising from a workplace review can create legitimate grounds for pausing permanent appointments, employers must nevertheless carefully coordinate HR processes during the course of a workplace review to avoid creating unnecessary conflict, confusion, psychological harm and potential litigation.
Australian employers are increasingly using workplace reviews to: uncover the reasons for workforce disharmony; and as a strategic risk management tool to maintain psychosocially safe workplaces, support workplace improvement and inform organisational change. In this recent article, our team unpacks workplace reviews, their drivers, benefits and risks.
More information
Our national team reviews organisations, divisions, teams and work sites to pinpoint the causes of workplace tensions and low morale, identifying actions for improvement. Our experienced reviewers have conducted more than 60 workplace reviews across a wide range of industry sectors. They possess highly developed interviewing and people skills and take a trauma-informed and culturally responsive approach, focusing on each participant’s unique circumstances.
Read more about our workplace review service here or contact 1300 944 049 for more information.
