It followsThe Sydney Morning Herald andThe Age’s from current and former employees of Good to Great Schools Australia (GGSA) that chief executive Bernardine Denigan regularly bullied and humiliated staff in the workplace,leading to alarming levels of turnover and compromising its operations.
Former and current staff at Good to Great Schools accused chief executive Bernardine Denigan of bullying employees.GGSA
More than 45 current and former employees of GGSA,which receives millions of taxpayer dollars each year,have now made those allegations.
A statement from the board of GGSA on Thursday said it was “aware of staff concerns about alleged behaviours by a senior member of the executive” and would take all workplace allegations seriously.
“The GGSA board has engaged an external expert to undertake an inquiry. All staff members will be given the opportunity to participate and raise any matters of concern,” its statement said.
The review will be led by workplace investigator Ruth Goonan,director of Work Smart Legal Solutions,and speak with current employees.
Asked if former employees would also be able to contribute,a spokesman said the board was currently working with Ms Goonan to draft the inquiry’s terms of reference.
“The board of GGSA are committed to providing a safe,productive and happy workplace for all employees,” he said.
The GGSA board comprises Mr Pearson and lawyer Tony Denholder,who are co-chairs,as well as Cape York Land Council chair Richie Ah Mat and former Northern Territory education minister Peter Chandler.
They said Ms Denigan had agreed to undertake limited duties during the inquiry and the organisation’s chief operating officer Naomi Shiels would become Acting CEO.
“The board of GGSA will not be making any further comment during this inquiry. We thank our staff and supporters during this period,” the statement said.
The board’s statement comes after the majority of managers at the Cairns-based non-profit emailed Ms Shiels on Monday into the allegations revealed in theHerald andThe Age, as well as Ms Denigan’s current behaviour towards the managers and their teams.
They also called for Ms Denigan to be stood down immediately and while the inquiry takes place. Their email followed the publication of an opinion piece by Mr Pearson inThe Australian in which he wrote that “not many organisations are immune from disgruntled staff who gather on social media sites and complain about their experiences”.
GGSA has received $10.8 million in federal government funding to launch a new program in Australian schools this year.
TheHerald andAge that the federal education department advised the Education Minister to cease funding for GGSA after the list of schools participating in its previous program dropped from 35 to eight,but GGSA nevertheless received more money.
Current and former staff have complained the organisation “wasn’t accomplishing anything for Indigenous children” because staff were continually leaving without giving handovers due to how Ms Denigan treated them.
They alleged her behaviour included yelling and name-calling,belittling or disciplining staff members in front of their colleagues,targeting specific employees,undermining workers’ credentials and micro-managing performance.
GGSA employs 26 full-time staff and 14 part-time staff,according to its latest published financial accounts. TheHerald andThe Age revealed that one internal staffing document showed GGSA had hired at least 135 employees between 2018 and 2021 who have since departed,including at least nine people hired as Ms Denigan’s executive assistant.
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