Members of the WA Greens maintained a crisis communications document on how to respond if concerns about senator Jordon Steele-John were made public.
The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that since 2016 WA Greens staff kept a 47-page document with methods to manage media coverage of any allegations made about Senator Steele-John, and instructed staff to monitor social media discussions by party members.
Greens leader David Shoebridge denied any previous knowledge of the document, saying he understood it be "from some seven years ago".
"I was not aware of the document and I was not aware of the allegations," he told the ABC.
Yesterday the same outlet reported that a number of current and former Greens members had written to Senator Shoebridge asking him to investigate concerns regarding Senator Steele-John's behaviour towards women.
The letter said women had been warned "not to be alone" with the senator and alleged there were "multiple" concerns about his behaviour "in the presence of women" spanning his career in parliament.
No specific allegation has been made against Senator Steele-John, who has said "utterly" rejects "this characterisation of me".
Senator Shoebridge said none of the authors of the letter "asserted to any direct knowledge of the matters involved".
"And of course that creates some additional complexity in dealing with it, but the matters concerned are taken seriously," he told ABC News Breakfast.
"The best way of dealing with this is a fair, an independent and a timely process commissioned by the WA Greens."
David Shoebridge says the complaints will be independently investigated. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)
In a statement, the co-convenors of the WA Greens said it "responded to allegations about Jordon Steele-John in 2016".
"The allegations were not substantiated and the named persons have never lodged a formal complaint."
"Reference has been made to an internal document that has been provided to the media. The document outlines the management of communications about this matter."
Leader's office denies knowledge
The ABC has confirmed the existence of the crisis communications document, which names several federal Greens members, including senior staff in the leader's office.
The Greens leader's office has denied previously seeing the document and says it has no record of ever receiving it.
"This is not a document made by, used by or seen by the leader's office," a spokesperson for the office said.
"The office is committed to having the matters comprehensively investigated with a fair, independent and timely process.
"Everyone deserves a safe workplace, and all complaints should be considered in a fair and robust process."
A senior staffer named in the document confirmed they had searched their record and found no record of the document ever being sent, shared or accessed by them.
Party members say it is not unusual for a document to identify individuals in the federal party as points of contact.
It is also standard for Greens senators to receive media training from the leader's office, as Senator Steele-John did when he entered parliament.
Senator Steele-John has taken a leave of absence and will not attend parliament while the investigation is underway.
"I utterly reject this characterisation of me, which tries to assert I am someone I am not," he said in a statement on Thursday.
"These claims are made without specifics, any allegation of this nature is extremely serious and must be treated accordingly. If someone has made an allegation, I am prepared to address it."
Senator Shoebridge said he did not know of the complaints until two weeks ago.
"I knew absolutely nothing until assuming this position as leader, and then when I received the correspondence I acted with what I think is timely and appropriate urgency," he said.