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Counselling by a colleague who took issue with an employee's "rudeness" was not reasonable management action that could exempt an employer's liability for a psychological injury, a tribunal has ruled.

In January 2019 a Department of Human Services child support team leader was transferred to its Albury office. Two weeks later the employee was asked to performance manage one of her new team members. She was reluctant, as her performance management of two subordinates the previous year had led both to make serious allegations against her (neither of which was substantiated), including a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission (which was later withdrawn).

Before Administrative Appeals Tribunal Member Richard West, the employee said that experience had left her "shaken", but despite explaining this to her supervisor, and noting how new she was to the team and business line, she was expected to proceed. Further, in their first session, the team member she was counselling became agitated, banging her hands on the desk aggressively, making the employee feel "extremely intimidated".

The next day, the employee was in a brief stand-up meeting when an administration officer told her she'd be chairing a meeting that afternoon, and that her service support officer would be taking minutes. The employee replied, "No I'm not, and no she won't be"...