Victim Support facing fresh scrutiny over claims of 'toxic' and 'bullying' workplace culture

The country's lead agency supporting victims of crime and trauma is facing fresh scrutiny over claims of a "toxic" and "bullying" workplace culture, four years after an investigation into similar allegations.

RNZ has spoken to several current and former staff who have raised concerns about the culture at Victim Support. One staff member described the workplace as a "very unsafe environment".

In response, the agency's chief executive James McCulloch said the agency "does not accept that these claims reflect Victim Support today".

The Chief Victim's Advisor said she's "deeply troubled" by staff saying that the agency is unsafe, adding she's aware of a number of NDAs between staff and the organisation which she describes as "concerning".

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice said it's aware of recent concerns raised about the agency, and has sought further information and is assessing the matters "in line with contractual obligations".

The Minister of Justice said he will be "kept up to date on the situation".

One of the staff members, said one of their main concerns was around the senior leadership team and how they felt there was no opportunity for staff to ask questions or challenge anything in a "safe way".

"I think it's a very unsafe environment… I think people are really reticent about being honest in any engagement survey."

In 2021, the agency hired an independent investigator to look into allegations of bullying, bad training and delivery failure.

The full report was not released. However, RNZ earlier reported that a summary of the report said while the report did not find widespread bullying at Victim Support, there were regions where reports of bullying and unreasonable behaviour by a direct or senior manager were "very high".

The report did not find definitive findings of bullying because its writer could not put allegations to managers for response without exposing who the complainants were.

In any case, the report found the behaviour of two managers so bad it would have warranted further action, had they not left the charity before the report was finished.

Minister of Justice Paul Goldsmith said he will be "kept up to date on the situation".

A former staff member who left the agency earlier this year says her position became "intolerable".

She said she was prevented from doing her job correctly, and was called into a meeting with her manager to address some "serious issues" with no warning.

"The list was all the times I had questioned the support needed for my clients which I had been giving for the past 12 years. I continued to rec