Last month, the Federal Government introduced the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation (Respect at Work) Bill 2022 into Parliament. This Bill aims to implement some of the 55 recommendations in the Respect@Work Report 2020, putting gender equality at the forefront.
Some of the proposed changes that will impact employers include:
• an express provision in the Sexual Discrimination Act that employers must protect people from hostile workplace environments on the grounds of sex. To better understand what fosters a workplace and how to prevent it, employers should assess the culture and dynamics within their workplace. Ways to improve workplace culture include investing in sexual harassment training for all employees and encouraging employees to speak out.
• a positive duty that employers take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate unlawful discrimination, including sexual harassment. Noting, if this Bill passes, there will likely be a 12-month delay to implement this, allowing employers to understand their responsibilities and implement long-lasting change by way of culture, policy and procedure.
Under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act, there will be greater cost protection provisions to allow more people to pursue legal action for instances of sexual harassment in the workplace. This is a cost-neutrality approach, whereby all parties bear their legal costs unless the court makes an order otherwise. These provisions come from complaints that applicants and respondents have great uncertainty about the costs of legal action. Further powers will also be allocated to the Australian Human Rights Commission to investigate systemic unlawful discrimination.
