The onus will be on employers to prevent sexual harassment from occurring in the workplace, under new legislation set to be introduced in Federal parliament today.
A “positive duty” will be placed on employers to take measures to protect their workers from sexual harassment, while the Human Rights Commission will be given new powers to enforce compliance with the new requirement.
The Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) bill will be introduced to federal parliament on Tuesday by the Albanese government.
Under the changes, Commonwealth public sector organisations must also report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency on gender equality indicators.
The changes will mean the Human Rights Commission will be able to give compliance notices to employers who are not meeting their positive duty obligations to prevent harassment. The legislation will also prohibit any conduct that creates a hostile work environment on the basis of gender.
Minister for Women Senator Katy Gallagher announced on Tuesday that the new legislation would be introduced, as part of the government’s commitment to implement the recommendations from Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins.
In a statement with Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke, Senator Gallagher said the bill will help prevent workplace sexual harassment, an issue affecting many Australians.
“Over the past five years, one in three people experienced sexual harassment at work, with women experiencing higher rates of harassment than men,” the statement said.
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with a disability and members of the LGBTQ+ community are also, on average, more likely to experience workplace sexual harassment.
“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.
“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.”
According to 2021 data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, women were twice as likely to experience sexual harassment over their lifetime compared to men, while lower life satisfaction and financial stress were associated with higher rates of sexual harassment.
While the previous Morrison government did implement some of Kate Jenkins’ recommendations from the Respect@Work report, it was reluctant to introduce a positive duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment.