Independent Investigations

Independent investigations and reviews for schools and tertiary education providers

When there are allegations or complaints against your staff or students, you need to establish the facts before you make any decisions. From historic abuse claims to workplace bullying, often it’s necessary to engage an external expert to lead your response process. An independent investigation minimises several key risks:

  • Perception of bias
  • Incorrect process
  • Retraumitisng reporting parties

We’re not a law firm and we’re not your average workplace investigation company. We specialise in independent investigations exclusively for the education sector. We combine extensive investigation experience with a strong understanding of how schools, kura, and tertiary institutions operate.

Unlike lawyers, we focus on simply finding the facts, not legal defence or advocacy. We don’t overcomplicate things. Our goal is to simply uncover what happened – impartially, fairly and with minimal disruption. While other investigation companies work across industries, we bring sector-specific insights from our work in education. We know how schools and tertiary institutions function, how your staff relate, and what’s at stake when issues arise. 

The result? Investigations and reviews that are thorough, fair and realistic.

Staff Misconduct Investigations

Allegations of misconduct - workplace bullying, harassment, breach of policy - require a fair and impartial investigation to establish the facts. Our independent investigation service is trusted to deliver an impartial and legally defensible outcome without causing undue stress to those involved.

Student Misconduct Investigations

Student misconduct investigations are increasing in frequency and complexity - bullying, sexual assault, violence. Investigating these issues is time-consuming and stressful. Tim has experience working with children and young people as a teacher and as an investigator. He's able to deliver fair investigations in a trauma-informed manner.

Independent Reviews

A review is a process used when there are no specific allegations against individuals but there is still a requirement to assess and report on a specific issue, incident, or concern affecting your organisation. The process generally involves document reviews and interviews and results in a written report to inform your decision-making.

Tim Sterne has more than 10 years investigation experience
Our Process

How it works

Book a Free Consultation

Book in a free 30 minute initial consultation online or by phone. Brief us on your situation in complete confidence.

Get Onboard

We'll draft the paperwork for you to read and sign as soon as possible. You'll usually need to supply us with some initial information to get started.

Let Us Find Facts

We generally draft terms of reference which are shared with the key parties before commencing the investigation process. We complete the investigation as efficiently as possible and produce a written investigation report for you.

FAQ

Most investigations can be handled in-house but sometimes you do need to go external. This is usually when you want to avoid perceptions of bias, the allegations are particularly serious, or you simply don't have the time or skills. If in doubt, we recommend obtaining legal advice before committing to an investigation.

Tim Sterne is the Founding Director of Basalt Solutions
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