The boss of Victoria's emergency agency has apologised over claims of bullying levelled against senior staff in the organisation.
The Department of Justice and Regulation, which oversees Emergency Management Victoria employees, is investigating allegations of inappropriate behaviour by the agency's managers.
One complaint resulted in a former staff member receiving a $70,000 payout, the Herald Sun reported, while other alleged victims did not file official complaints and were in some cases moved to different government departments.
Agency Commissioner Craig Lapsley said the complaints were "concerning" considering the organisation was only formed three years ago
"If there has been any harm caused to anyone, I personally say sorry, there's no doubt about that," he told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.
"We've been working over the last period of time to ensure that we reset the tone of the organisation, and the claim that has been put to us we take very seriously."
Mr Lapsley said the claims were "tied up in confidentiality clauses" preventing him from giving specific details.
The justice department said it took the allegations extremely seriously, but would not comment on individual staffing matters.
"A cultural review of the workplace was conducted last year and this has formed the basis for improving the organisational management and governance of EMV," a department spokesman said.
Emergency Service Minister James Merlino said he made it clear in a conversation with Mr Lapsley that the government's expectation was that bullying would not to be tolerated.
