As a manager in Australia, dealing with workplace harassment isn’t just part of your job, it’s your legal responsibility. You’re the first line of defence for your team, and how you handle these situations can make or break someone’s career, wellbeing, and your organisation’s reputation.
Understanding Your Legal Obligations
Here’s the thing: under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, you now have what’s called a “positive duty”. This means you can’t just sit back and wait for complaints to roll in. You’ve got to actively prevent harassment from happening in the first place. It’s a significant shift from the old reactive approach.
The stats are pretty sobering. One in three Australian workers has experienced sexual harassment in the past five years [1]. What’s worse? Only 18% actually report it. That means there’s a lot happening under your nose that you might not even know about.
You also have an obligation to maintain a safe workplace under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
When Someone Comes to You: Your Immediate Response
Listen Without Judgement
When someone approaches you about harassment, they’re often terrified. They’ve probably agonised over whether to speak up, worried about being believed, or concerned about retaliation. Your first job is simple: be quiet and listen.
Give them your full attention. Don’t interrupt, don’t make assumptions, and don’t immediately start thinking about how this affects you or the business. The person sitting across from you has likely found it incredibly difficult to raise this issue.
Document Everything
Take detailed notes immediately. Record dates, times, locations, people involved, and exactly what allegedly happened. I know it feels clinical when someone’s sharing something deeply personal, but proper documentation is crucial for any investigation that follows. It is also of importance because there are timeframes around when you have to report workplace harassment.
Be patient if they can’t recall everything perfectly straight away. Traumatic experiences often fragment memory, so give them time to tell their story.
Offer Support and Reassurance
Let them know about available resources, Employee Assistance Programs, counselling services, or other support your organisation provides. If your business doesn’t offer these sorts of benefits due to it’s size, simply letting the employee take time off as personal leave is sufficient. Make it crystal clear that retaliation for reporting harassment is absolutely unacceptable and that they’re protected from such action.
The Investigation Process
Act Quickly
You’ve typically got about three days to conduct and close an investigation. That might sound rushed, but delays can make things worse for everyone involved [2]. However, depending on the complexity of the situation, this may take more time and that is ok, as long as the business can show that it has been taking steps.
Choose the Right Investigator
Pick someone impartial, ideally a manager, HR representative, or external investigator who has no connection to the parties involved. If you’re a smaller business without HR, consider bringing in an external consultant.
The investigator needs to approach this without presumptions of guilt or innocence. Their job is to gather facts, not to validate anyone’s feelings or protect the organisation’s reputation.
Conduct Fair Interviews
Interview the complainant, the accused, and any witnesses. Questions should be open-ended, unbiased, and prepared in advance. Don’t promise specific outcomes to anyone during the process.
Remember, people’s versions of events will often differ. That’s normal. The investigator’s job is to assess the evidence and determine what most likely happened.
Review all the evidence
Make sure that you review what evidence you are given by the complainant and the accused. This could be email evidence, text messages, pictures or videos. You may also be required to review CCTV footage if it is available.
Taking Action Based on Findings
If the investigation substantiates the complaint, you’ll need to take appropriate action. This might include:
- Directing the person to stop the behaviour and monitoring compliance
- Providing additional training on workplace standards
- Offering mediation or conflict resolution
- Issuing formal warnings
- Transferring employees to different areas
- In serious cases, dismissal
The key is matching the response to the severity of the behaviour, there are afterall, possibilities for compensation. A combination of strategies often works best to prevent recurrence.
Creating a Prevention-Focused Culture
Set Clear Expectations
You need to model the behaviour you expect from your team. If you tolerate inappropriate jokes, sexist comments, or disrespectful behaviour, you’re essentially giving everyone permission to do the same.
Promote your workplace harassment policy actively [3]. Don’t just stick it in the employee handbook and forget about it, make it a living document that people actually know about.
Provide Regular Training
One-off training sessions don’t cut it. You need ongoing, interactive programs that address real workplace scenarios. Role-playing exercises can be particularly effective for helping managers practice responding to difficult situations.
Establish Multiple Reporting Channels
Not everyone will feel comfortable coming to you directly. Provide multiple ways for people to report concerns, HR, anonymous hotlines, or online reporting systems. The more options available, the more likely people are to speak up.
Practical Tips for Day-to-Day Management
Stay Alert to Warning Signs
Watch for changes in your team dynamics. Increased absences, declining performance, low morale, or people avoiding certain colleagues can all signal problems. Trust your instincts, if something feels off, investigate.
Address Issues Early
Don’t wait for formal complaints. If you witness inappropriate behaviour or suspect harassment, act immediately. Early intervention often prevents situations from escalating.
Support All Parties
Remember that harassment investigations affect everyone involved, including witnesses. Provide support throughout the process and monitor the workplace atmosphere afterwards.
Know When to Seek Help
You don’t have to handle everything alone. If the complaint involves senior management or presents significant legal risks, definitely bring in external expertise. Fair Workplace Solutions can help you navigate these tricky legal situations.
Handling workplace harassment isn’t just about legal compliance, it’s about creating workplaces where people can do their best work without fear. Your response to these situations defines your leadership and shapes your team’s culture.
Be proactive, be fair, and be human. The person reporting harassment needs to know they’ll be taken seriously and supported through the process. At the same time, ensure due process for everyone involved.
Most importantly, don’t see harassment complaints as problems to be managed away. See them as opportunities to strengthen your workplace culture and demonstrate your values in action. Your team is watching how you handle these situations, and your response will influence whether others feel safe coming forward in future.
The statistics show that harassment is happening in Australian workplaces every day. As a manager, you’re uniquely positioned to change that reality for your team. Take that responsibility seriously, your people are counting on you.
Sources:
[1] – https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/
