Accepting Respect@Work recommendations a step forward – but there’s more to be done to stamp out sexual harassment

9 April 2021

Developed by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins and informed by the stories and advocacy of thousands of victim–survivors, the Respect@Work report contains 55 recommendations that the Australian Government has now noted or accepted (in whole, in part or in principle).

We welcome the federal government’s commitment to implement some of these recommendations including:

• establishing a Respect@Work implementation taskforce to deliver a range of legislative and regulatory reforms
• extending the application of the Sex Discrimination Act to Members of Parliament, judges and public servants
• extending the time frame to make complaints of sexual harassment under the Sex Discrimination Act to 24 months
• funding a nationally representative survey every four years on the prevalence, nature, reporting, impacts and responses to sexual harassment to identify trends over time
• delivering a range of preventative actions at the national level, including education and training programs across a range of sectors, targeted research on prevention strategies and enhanced data collection mechanisms.

One important recommendation that the Australian Government is yet to commit to is the incorporation of a ‘positive duty’ into the Sex Discrimination Act. This positive duty would mean employers cannot sit back and wait for complaints of sexual harassment to occur; but must instead take proactive action to stop sexual harassment happening in the first place.

Victoria is currently the only jurisdiction in Australia with this important preventative duty in our equal opportunity legislation. It complements a positive duty under Victoria’s workplace health and safety law. Together these two positive duties create a legal framework in which employers must take reasonable and proportionate steps to eliminate sexual harassment, sex discrimination and victimisation.

For too long Australia’s laws have placed the burden on victims of sexual harassment to come forward and seek redress – often at great risk to their safety, wellbeing, career and economic stability. This needs to change. One way to do this is to ensure that our legal framework is as robust as possible at both federal and state and territory levels. We also need complementary protections and enforcement powers under both anti-discrimination law and workplace health and safety laws.

As Victoria’s regulator of sexual harassment, we look forward to contributing to the Respect@Work Council and supporting reform to prevent and address workplace sexual harassment into the future.

For further details, see our submission to the national inquiry and our five-point plan for addressing sexual harassment.

If you have experienced sexual harassment, you can contact the Commission’s Enquiry Line on 1300 292 153 for free, confidential information about your rights and how to make a complaint.