Using powers that came into effect in late 2023, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is proactively seeking out companies who are breaching their positive duty to prevent sexual harassment.
At the recent National Safety Conference in Sydney, Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner Dr Anna Cody said that the AHRC are not waiting for incidents to “come to us” – instead, they are scrutinising media and research reports on sexual harassment and also looking at individual complaints from employees to inform prioritising of what enforcement activities to undertake.
Along with the AHRC, other regulators across the country are closely monitoring workplaces to ensure their systems are adequately preventing such hazards as sexual harassment and gendered violence.
SafeWork NSW’s Respect at Work strategy advises employers to examine their workplaces for recognised risk factors as workplace hierarchies, remote or isolated work, inappropriate use of alcohol and stereotypical gender roles.
Both WorkSafe ACT and WorkSafe WA report that when conducting investigations to reported incidences of sexual assault, they want to know about the systems in place at that workplace to manage the risks, including the reporting process.
Here in Victoria, WorkSafe has launched their Gendered Violence resources and information to guide employers in how to proactively address these hazards and ensure that systems are in place to maintain a safe workplace.
A proactive approach from regulators is crucial in the cultural shift required of management to fulfil their Positive Duty requirements – with only around 20% of victims of workplace sexual assault feeling supported and safe enough to engage in the reporting process, it is not enough to rely on those rare instances to prompt action from duty holders.
Read more: AHRC | Positive duty for employers: Commission's powers commence