Assessing the Need for Urgent Action under the Student Conduct
Statute Procedure
Student Policy Group
1
Purpose
The University is committed to providing a safe and respectful workplace and does not tolerate
any behaviour that threatens the safety or wellbeing of others.
This procedure outlines the steps to be taken in the event of staff or students being subjected to
any inappropriate behaviour that causes, or could have caused, harm to any person (Health and
Safety in Employment Act 1992). In particular, it outlines the initial response to such incidents
and the procedure for assessing whether urgent action is required as outlined in the Student
Conduct Statute.
2
Organisational Scope
This is a University-wide procedure.
3
Definitions
Deciding Manager:
Any University staff member with management responsibilities,
including Heads of School, Deputy Heads of School, Managers of
services, Directors of a Central Service Unit, Institute or Centre,
members of the Senior Management Team, and Hall Managers of
a Hall of Residence that is covered by the Student Conduct
Statute as provided in the residential handbook.
Student advocacy service:
The person or service provider appointed to independently
support and advocate on behalf of students.
4
Procedure
4.1
Step 1 — Immediate Action
(a) If there is an immediate threat to the physical safety of any person on the University
campus, the matter should be immediately reported to Campus Care (extension 8888)
and/or the Police (1-111).
(b) All incidents must be reported by the complainant (or witnesses/support people) as
soon as possible. In respect of incidents which do not present an immediate threat, a
staff member should report the matter to their line manager or Head of School or the
Student Interest & Dispute Resolution Adviser or Campus Care. A student should report
the incident to Campus Care or a staff member with management responsibilities.
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Assessing the Need for Urgent Action under
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Student Policy Group
(c) A brief written account of the incident should be made by the complainant as soon as
possible and passed to the Deciding Manager.
4.2
Step 2 — Internal Reporting
The person receiving the report should:
(a) Arrange first aid or medical treatment if needed. Where there has been a physical
assault the person should be medically examined.
(b) Report the matter immediately (if this has not already been done) to either Campus
Care (extension 8888) or direct to the Police (1-111) if immediate assistance is required.
(c) Obtain details of the incident and ensure that a written record of the incident is made as
soon as possible.
(d) Report the matter immediately to the Student Interest & Dispute Resolution Adviser or,
if unavailable, the In-house Solicitor, or the Director Human Resources, or the Director
Student Academic Services to initiate the risk assessment process (see Step 3).
(e) Advise the complainant of their rights and the follow-up support available (see Step 5).
(f) Report the incident to the Manager, Health and Safety within 24 hours.
4.3
Step 3 — Risk Assessment
(a) The Student Interest & Dispute Resolution Adviser (or, if unavailable, the In-house
Solicitor,, or the Director, Student Academic Services, or the Director, HR) will gather
all relevant information and consult with the manager of the relevant Central Service
Unit, Faculty, School, Institute, Centre or Hall and at least one of the following persons:
(i) The In-house Solicitor
(ii) The Director, HR or relevant HR Manager/Advisor
(iii) The Director, Student Academic Services
(iv) The Head of Counselling, Student Health Services
(v) The Occupational Nurse (Health & Wellness) or the Manager, Health and Safety
(vi) The Director, Facilities Management
(vii) The Director, Communications and Marketing
(viii) The relevant Faculty Administration Manager
(ix) The Vice-Provost International Affairs or the Services Manager Victoria
International
(b) The risk assessment will dictate what, if any, urgent actions are required to protect
members of the University community. This may include urgent action to exclude a
student under clause 4.5 of the Student Conduct Statute, the issuing of a Trespass
Notice or informing the police.
(c) The complainant will be consulted during this process and kept informed of progress so
far as it relates to their personal safety.
(d) The risk assessment process should take place as soon as possible.
(e) Either the Manager of Student Counselling Services or the Director, Student Health (or
their alternates) must be consulted to provide their clinical assessment when a specific
student is identified.
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Assessing the Need for Urgent Action under
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(f) Where international students are involved in the incident, either the Vice-Provost
International Affairs or the Services Manager at Victoria International must be
informed of the incident.
(g) Where there is a broad threat to the Victoria community, the Director, Communications
& Marketing must be informed of the incident.
4.4
Step 4 — Urgent Action
(a) If, based on the risk assessment, urgent action is deemed necessary, the Student
Interest & Dispute Resolution Adviser or In-house Solicitor will co-ordinate such action
and will advise the Office of the Vice-Chancellor as soon as possible.
(b) If urgent action is not deemed necessary at that time, the Student Interest & Dispute
Resolution Adviser or In-house Solicitor will advise the Deciding Manager of follow-up
processes under either the Student Conduct Statute or the Conduct Policy.
(c) If further incidents or information are revealed, a further risk assessment should be
undertaken as soon as possible.
4.5
Step 5 — Follow-up Support
Once initial actions have been taken, the Deciding Manager should ensure that the following
actions are undertaken to support affected staff and students:
(a) Inform the relevant HR Manager/Student Services (if applicable) as soon as possible.
(b) Obtain home and cell phone contact numbers from affected staff and students to assist
HR/Student Services make out-of-hours contact.
(c) Where there are on-going security concerns, identify and put in place appropriate
preventative measures. Where an employee is the complainant, it is their manager that
should take responsibility for doing this.
(d) Inform affected students of the support available to them via Student Health, Student
Counselling, Victoria International, the student advocacy service and the Student
Interest & Dispute Resolution Adviser. Where an employee is the complainant, it is
their manager that should take responsibility for doing this.
(e) Allow affected staff and students a break from duty/study and consider letting them go
home. If staff/students elect to go home, assist with transport arrangements and ensure
that there is someone there to support them. Where an employee is the complainant it
is their manager that should take responsibility for doing this.
(f) Debrief with Human Resources/Student Services (as applicable) and ensure that
affected staff and students are contacted as soon as possible to check on their wellbeing,
to debrief them about the incident and to offer follow-up services. This should include
follow-up support to staff and students not directly involved in the incident but
nevertheless impacted by it. Where an employee is the complainant it is their manager
that should take responsibility for doing this.
(g) Ensure that a follow-up call is made to all directly affected staff and students within 24
hours. Where an employee is the complainant, it is their manager that should take
responsibility for doing this.
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Assessing the Need for Urgent Action under
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4.6
Student Policy Group
Natural Justice
In dealing with these situations, the Deciding Manager has a duty to ensure that due process is
followed. Any actions should follow the principles of natural justice. In particular:
(a) The respondent must be informed of their rights to have both representation and
support throughout any investigation and discipline process.
(b) The respondent must be informed of the allegation(s) made and be given reasonable
opportunity to respond to them.
(c) Any decision to take urgent action under clause 4.5 of the Student Conduct Statute must
be based on defined grounds and the outcome of the risk assessment process.
(d) Where appropriate, the respondent should be encouraged to seek assistance from
relevant sources such as the University Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
Provider, the Student Interest & Dispute Resolution Adviser, staff unions, Student
Health and Counselling Services, the student advocacy service or Victoria International.
(e) The Pro Vice-Chancellor International or the Services Manager of Victoria International
should be informed of any incident involving International Students so that they can
fulfil their statutory obligations.
4.7
Media Comment
All University media comment will be co-ordinated via the Director, Communications and
Marketing, in consultation with the In-house Solicitor.
5
Legislative Compliance
The University is required to manage its policy documentation within a legislative framework.
The legislation directing this procedure is the:
Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992
6
References
Conduct Policy
Health and Safety Policy
Security Policy
Student Conduct Statute
Strategic Plan 2009–2014
Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students, available on the website of the
Ministry of Education (www.minedu.govt.nz) or via: www.victoria.ac.nz/international/currentstudents/index.aspx
Previous version: Assessing the Need for Urgent Action under the Student Conduct Statute
Procedure
This document will be repealed by the Student Conduct Statute from 26 February 2017.
7
Appendices
Appendix A: Diagram of Procedure Overview
Appendix B: Key Contacts
© Victoria University of Wellington
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Assessing the Need for Urgent Action under
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Student Policy Group
Contact the Student Interest & Dispute Resolution Adviser (see below) for the appendices.
8
Approval Dates
This procedure was originally approved on:
29 September 2005
This version was approved on:
1 December 2011
This version takes effect from:
1 October 2014
This document will be repealed by the Student Conduct Statute from 26 February 2017.
9
Contact Person
The following person may be approached in relation to this procedure:
Yvonne Oldfield
Student Interest & Dispute Resolution Adviser
Extn 5023
Note: The student advocacy service has been contracted to the Victoria University of Wellington
Students’ Association (VUWSA). The contact person is:
Student Advocate, VUWSA
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (04) 463 6984
© Victoria University of Wellington
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