Know My Rights: Protection against sexual harassment

Under new laws implemented in March 2023, sexual harassment of workers is prohibited under the Fair Work Act.  

Workers are protected from sexual harassment by any person in their workplace. That can be a colleague – regardless of whether they’re senior or junior to you – or even third parties e.g. a customer or client. 

Your employer is legally obliged to put preventative measures in place to ensure your working environment is safe from sexual harassment.

Even if the perpetrator is, say, a customer or an external contract worker visiting your workplace, your employer still has that responsibility to protect you from harm. 

To fully protect workers, employers must have a thorough understanding of what can increase the risk of sexual harassment in a workplace. To achieve this understanding, employers must hear directly from workers and the Health and Safety Representatives. They simply can’t make well-informed decisions about your safety without asking you first.

To address a sexual harassment dispute under the Fair Work Act, an application needs to be made to the Fair Work Commission (FWC).

Unions can can make an application on a member’s behalf and also on behalf of a group of workers who have all been affected.  It must be lodged within two years of the incident occurring, or the latest occurrence of a series of incidents.

You should still contact your union. They will provide accurate information and advice about what you can do next.

Your Health and Safety Representative (HSR) is the best person to talk to if you want to be anonymous. You can send them an email from a non-work email address that doesn’t identify you or you could discreetly leave an anonymous note at their workstation.

If you don’t feel comfortable approaching the HSR for your particular work group, you can talk to an HSR from another work group.

By default, most unions record any calls they get. But you can ask for the conversation not be recorded at the beginning of the call and your union will respect this and end the recording then and there.

Yes, absolutely. Although Australian data shows that women are far more likely to be impacted by sexual harassment than men, men can also experience it or know someone else at work who has. Your union will not judge you at all.