Former guard alleging sexual harassment at Bunbury Regional Prison became case study in staff training session

Bunbury Regional Prison has come under fire once again, this time for using the story of a former prison guard — who is taking the Department of Justice to court claiming an unsafe work environment — as a case study in a psychosocial training session. The name and situation of former prison guard Bronwyn Hendry was used as a case study in the training session despite an ongoing Federal Court case. The incident occurred in early July during a psychosocial training session which was undertaken as a result of a WorkSafe order. An externally contracted company Psychosocial Leadership facilitated the presentation to about a dozen staff members including senior staff before an issue was raised with the content. It is not clear as to how Ms Hendry’s details came to be included in the presentation, but the Times understands the details presented included publicly available information surrounding her sexual harassment and bullying claims. Ms Hendry said she couldn’t understand how the blunder occurred, but it left her feeling victimised once again. “I was advised by many current serving prison officers that they were absolutely shocked and devastated,” she said. “I just couldn’t believe that they’re doing it again so I felt completely victimised absolutely, that’s how it made me feel. “It’s unfathomable how it passes through security checks and due diligence before these types of things are implemented in the workplace as a training package.” A Department of Justice spokesperson confirmed the details surrounding the former staff member’s claims were presented as part of a training course, but said they were unaware of its inclusion until the presentation was delivered. “The Department of Justice engaged the services of an external provider to deliver training to staff at Bunbury Regional Prison to improve the response to psychosocial issues at the facility,” the spokesperson said. “Materials presented during the training were prepared and owned by the provider. “The department was unaware of the inclusion of a former employee’s name prior to the delivery of the training. The content regarding the former employee was limited to publicly available information.” It is understood following the initial training session the issue was flagged and the case study was removed from subsequent sessions. A WorkSafe spokesperson said it had been made aware of the incident, but was unable to comment given its ongoing investigation into the prison. The Department of Justice said the material was only shown at the Bunbury prison. “As soon as the external trainer became aware of the issue, the material was removed from the presentation and will not be re-delivered,” they said. “It had not been provided at any other prison. “The department is disappointed this incident occurred and is taking appropriate measures to ensure that training will not be delivered in this manner again.” Ms Hendry is locked in a court battle with the Department of Justice over what she alleges was sexual harassment as well as sexual and disability discrimination which she claims she faced during her term of employment at Bunbury Regional Prison. Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia declined to comment and referred questions to the department. Psychosocial Leadership director Charlotte Ingham declined to comment, telling the Times the department responded to questions. The revelation is the latest in a string of controversies to engulf the prison which began when Ms Hendry took the department to court. In February, prison staff were barred from commissioning and then re-selling items like chairs made in the prison workshop by inmates for a profit following questioning by the West Australian. The South Western Times also revealed in March a shocking “hurt feelings report” designed to mock and demean reporters of sexual harassment or bullying being sent to a staff member in 2022. An office of the inspector of custodial services inspection report was released in June which said while many staff at the prison were happy with the workplace some were unhappy with the response to the sexual harassment allegations. It also noted cracks were beginning to show in the prison due to its rapid growth of prisoner numbers with ageing infrastructure and stalling staff numbers. The prison has been hit by freak events such as a freak tornado in May which ripped through several Bunbury suburbs, destroying two low-security buildings on the outskirts of the facility.