New laws put onus on business to tackle workplace harassment
Legislation to crack down on sexual harassment in the workplace is set to be introduced to parliament on Tuesday.
The laws would put in place seven recommendations as outlined in Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins’s Respect@Work report.
Under the legislation, employers will need to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sex discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation as far as possible in the workplace.
The Australian Human Rights Commission will also be beefed up with new powers to enforce the new requirements, and will be able to give compliance notices to employers not meeting the obligations.
Conduct resulting in hostile work environments based on sex will be banned, while federal public sector organisations will also be required to report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency on gender equality indicators.
The Respect@Work report was carried out by Ms Jenkins and made public in March 2020.
The report laid out 55 recommendations to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
Women’s Minister Katy Gallagher said the government was prioritising implementing all the report’s recommendations.
“Sexual harassment is by no means inevitable and the passage of this bill will move Australia forward in our efforts to prevent workplace sexual harassment from happening in the first place,” she said in a statement.
“Everyone has the right to a safe and respectful workplace and the fact that workplaces have not been safe or respectful for so many Australians is unacceptable.”
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It’s estimated one in three people have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the past five years.
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke is also set to carry out separate changes to include a ban on sexual harassment in the Fair Work Act.
The new legislation is expected to be referred to a Senate committee to be scrutinised before becoming law.
