SafeWork NSW is the first Australian WHS regulator to set up a dedicated team – the Respect at Work Taskforce – focused on preventing harmful gender-based workplace behaviours, including sexual harassment.
The Taskforce was set up in late 2023 in response to the landmark Australian Human Rights Commission 2020 Respect@Work Report, which found that sexual harassment was widespread and pervasive, impacting at least one in 3 Australian workers in the past 5 years. The Respect@Work Report called for an urgent need to raise awareness that sexual harassment is a WHS issue, and for a shift from the current reactive model to a proactive approach, requiring employers to take action to prevent sexual harassment before it occurs. In October 2023, SafeWork NSW launched a 4-year strategy for the prevention of harmful, gender based behaviours across NSW workplaces, with an initial focus on sexual harassment.
The regulator has developed the following resource to assist in the prevention, management and reporting of sexual harassment in the workplace:
- a reporting options guide for NSW workers
- a regulation map for NSW businesses, and
- three 15 minute webinars for businesses
Source: SWA newsletter