No Comments

On 2 September 2021, the Federal Government passed the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Act (the Act) 2021.

The Respect at Work Act adopted 6 of the 55 recommendations contained in the Respect@Work Report, and made various technical amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 and the Fair Work 2009. These various amendments were designed to provide greater protections to employees and other individuals against Sexual Harassment, and reflect the increasingly low societal tolerance for such conduct in the workplace.

The changes introduced by the Act include:

Sex Discrimination Act 1984:

  • extending the protections under the Act to all members of State and Federal Parliament, State and Territory public servants, and judges along with their staff and consultants;
  • replacing the language of ‘employee’ and ‘employer’ with ‘worker’ and ‘person’ conducting a business or undertaking – thereby affording protections against workplace sexual harassment to interns, apprentices, volunteers, and self-employed persons;
  • the requirement that sexual harassment must occur during the performance of work in order for it to be actionable has been removed; and
  • accessorial liability provisions have been introduced to include any person who “causes, instructs, induces, aids or permits sexual harassment and sex-based harassment’;

Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986:

  • extending the time for complaints from 6 months to 24 months to allow those affected by sexual harassment and/or sex-based harassment to combat the pressures they face by drawing attention to the fact that they have experienced such harassment;

Fair Work Act 2009:

  • empowering the Fair Work Commission to hear claims of sexual harassment in addition to workplace bullying;
  • incorporating the established statutory definition of sexual harassment from the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 into the Fair Work Act 2009;
  • explicitly stating that sexual harassment in connection with a person’s employment can be a valid reason for dismissal; and
  • allowing employees 2 days paid compassionate leave (unpaid for casuals) if they or their partner suffer a miscarriage.

Action Items

As a consequence of the above changes, employers MUST:

  • ensure that explicit workplace policies dealing with sexual harassment, discrimination and bullying are drafted and provided to all employees;
  • carefully review their existing policies to identify potential gaps and ensure that existing workplace policies are consistent with current laws;
  • provide adequate training to all employees in relation to appropriate workplace behaviour including what behaviour constitutes prohibited sexual harassment and their obligations to report such behaviour; and
  • ensure that managers have the appropriate training and guidance to help them assist victims of sexual harassment in the workplace.