PUBLIC SECTOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION
The process was followed. The team is still not productive.
In government, process matters, and it should. Procedural fairness protects everyone involved. But a process built to decide whether a rule was broken is not built to repair a team. ProActive ReSolutions works with senior leaders and HR professionals in public sector agencies across Australia and Canada on conflict that formal tools cannot reach.
conflict resolution across clinical and administrative roles
Does any of this reflect your situation?
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A misconduct process has closed, but the team has not recovered.
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Capable people are asking for transfers or leaving, not because of the work, but because of how the agency responded to them.
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One matter is taking a disproportionate share of a senior leader's time.
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Staff have moved through complaint, review and appeal pathways, and each one ended without resolving the relationship underneath.
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A restructure or change in leadership has left unresolved tension between teams.
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One matter is taking a disproportionate share of a senior leader's time.
A Composite from Our Practice
A manager at a government agency contacted ProActive about one team. Over several years, that team had been through multiple investigations. Each one was handled properly, and each one closed.
The team had not recovered. One member was off work on extended leave. The manager had also noticed something no investigation was designed to measure: internal postings for the team were going unfilled. Capable people were applying elsewhere, or not applying at all. The manager's view was that the team's history had become its reputation, and that reputation was keeping out the people the team needed.
Every investigation had answered a narrow question: was a standard breached? None of them asked what the team needed in order to work again. Years of process had produced a long record and a team that colleagues avoided.
We ran a restorative process rather than another investigation. It gave the people involved a structured place to be heard, to understand each other's experience, and to decide for themselves what needed to change.
What Happens Next
A single discovery call with our team.
No commitment. No sales process. A direct conversation about your situation and whether we are the right fit.
If we are, we will tell you what a restorative process looks like in your specific context, what it requires from your organization, and what it can realistically achieve.
Why this matters in the public sector
When working relationships break down, the effects show up in official data. These figures come from government sources, and each one is dated. They describe psychological injury, harassment and bullying, not workplace conflict as a whole, so read them as context for why the state of a team matters, not as a measure of what any one intervention achieves.
In March 2025, the NSW Treasurer told Parliament that psychological claims made up 12% of workers compensation claims in the state but 38% of the total cost. The average cost of a psychological injury claim rose from $146,000 in 2019-20 to $288,542 in 2024-25, and the number of psychological injury claims had doubled in six years. Source: NSW Government, Workers Compensation Ministerial Statement, 18 March 2025.
https://www.nsw.gov.au/ministerial-releases/workers-compensation-ministerial-statement
Safe Work Australia reported that in 2019-20 the median time lost per serious mental health claim was 30.7 working weeks, compared with 6.2 for physical injuries and diseases. Median compensation paid was $55,270 per serious claim, compared with $13,883. Source: Safe Work Australia, latest trends in mental health conditions (2019-20 data) https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/media-centre/news/latest-trends-mental-health-conditions
In the 2024 APS Employee Census, 10.5% of respondents said they had been subjected to harassment or bullying in their workplace in the previous 12 months. Of those, 56.7% did not report it. Among people who did not report, 47.1% feared possible retaliation or reprisals, 45.8% did not think action would be taken, and 40.5% did not want to upset relationships in the workplace. Source: Australian Public Service Commission, State of the Service Report 2023-24, published 26 November 2024 (pages 82, 314 and 315). Based on 140,396 responses from 106 agencies. https://www.apsc.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-11/APSC%20State%20of%20the%20Service%202023-24.pdf
Key Takeaways
Why is a public sector team still struggling after a misconduct investigation has closed?
A misconduct investigation decides whether a standard was breached, not how working relationships were damaged. It assesses each matter against a threshold, then closes, and the people involved still have to work together afterward. ProActive ReSolutions works with teams in this position through Restorative Conferencing, which focuses on the relationships between the people who remain..
Why is it hard to fill roles on a government team with a history of investigations?
Often, a team's history becomes its reputation. Colleagues talk, and a run of investigations signals risk even when each one was handled correctly. Internal postings can go unfilled or draw weaker fields, and the cost shows up as longer vacancies, acting arrangements, and more work for the people who remain. ProActive ReSolutions works with the team itself, through a restorative process, to rebuild working relationships instead of adding another investigation.
What does psychological injury cost government agencies in Australia?
In New South Wales, the Treasurer told Parliament in March 2025 that psychological claims made up 12% of workers compensation claims but 38% of the total cost, and that the average claim cost had risen from $146,000 in 2019-20 to $288,542 in 2024-25. Safe Work Australia's 2019-20 data shows a median of 30.7 working weeks lost per serious mental health claim, against 6.2 for physical injuries and diseases. These figures cover psychological injury in general, not workplace conflict alone. ProActive ReSolutions cites them as context for why team relationships matter, not as a measure of what any one intervention achieves.
Can restorative conferencing be used instead of a workplace investigation in a government agency?
ProActive ReSolutions' Restorative Conferencing can replace an investigation when it is used as the first response to a reported conflict, and it is often used after an investigation to address relational harm. Some matters must go through a formal process, and we do not give legal advice, so agencies should confirm their obligations with their legal or employee relations advisers before deciding on sequence.
How does restorative conferencing work with unions in public sector workplaces?
Ultimately, unions and HR usually want the same outcome: a team that can work again. ProActive ReSolutions designs Restorative Conferencing so that every party has a structured way forward, and recommends consulting all parties early.
Which public sector agencies does ProActive ReSolutions work with?
ProActive ReSolutions works with senior leaders and HR professionals in public sector agencies in Australia and Canada. In Australia that means Commonwealth agencies in the Australian Public Service, and state and territory departments and agencies. In Canada it means federal, provincial and municipal bodies. Both the Australia and North America offices serve public sector clients.
Do you work with police, fire and ambulance services?
Yes, through our First Responders page, which covers those services in detail. This page is for other government departments and agencies.