Battle to ‘establish dominance’ leaves City of Perth beyond repair, leaked report claims

A redacted copy of a confidential City of Perth report leaked to this masthead reveals “concerning parallels” with conditions that led to the council’s suspension in 2018.

The psychosocial report, prepared by an external consultant, was shared with councillors on the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee and discussed at a meeting on Wednesday night which ran for almost three hours.

The committee oversees the activities of the council’s external and internal auditors.

According to the redacted leaked report, unresolved tensions between council and administration are creating “communication breakdown and erosion of trust”, with safeguards proving “insufficient to change behaviour”.

“Both council and administration perceive the other as overstepping boundaries,” the consultant states.

“This assessment has identified significant psychosocial hazards affecting the organisation.”

The consultant also reveals accounts of harmful workplace behaviours, including “verbal aggression, intimidation and differential treatment” and “concerning gendered patterns”, noting some staff are using “protective measures” such as insisting on written communication, attending meetings in pairs or avoiding them completely.

“Intimidating behaviours appear to function to establish dominance and suppress challenge, reducing psychological safety,” the report says.

“When psychological safety is low, individuals default to silence rather than risk confrontation.”

The report has handed down 18 recommendations, which it said could help rebuild “safety and effective working relationships required for good governance.”

The department complaints process is criticised as slow, with participants reporting processes can take “six to 12 months”, which in some cases results in the report being dismissed on “procedural grounds”.

“The result is a system where staff and elected members perceive all available pathways as either ineffective or unavailable,” the consultant says.

A councillor who spoke to this masthead on the condition of anonymity said workplace safety mattered, and the psychosocial assessment must be “clearly grounded”.

“Councillors are elected to ask questions, set strategic direction and hold the administration to account on behalf of ratepayers and residents – that isn’t dysfunction, it’s democracy,” they said.

The report comes after the appointment of Perth Racing chair and former Kwinana mayor Carol Adams to monitor the city until at least April, as it grapples with ongoing tensions between the council and administration.

The report compares the situation to the period leading up to the City of Perth’s suspension and public inquiry released in 2020.

“The current assessment reveals concerning parallels with pre-inquiry conditions,” the leaked report says.

That two-year inquiry found widespread dysfunction between former lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi, administration and councillors, all of which were suspended in 2018 and replaced by commissioners.

The leaked report states the organisation has again reached a point where internal repair is no longer working, concluding that trust has fallen “below the threshold required for informal feedback mechanisms to function”.

“The evidence indicates that conditions necessary for successful internal resolution no longer exist,” the consultant says, stating multiple attempts to stabilise relationships internally have failed.

The consultant said with “genuine commitment from council and executive leadership” and if the recommendations were implemented, the organisation could rebuild safety and working relationships.

The City of Perth has been contacted for comment.