Before diving into the complexities of workplace harassment law, here’s what you need to know upfront: workplace harassment is illegal, well-defined by law, and you have multiple avenues for protection and recourse [1]. Whether you’re dealing with bullying, sexual harassment, discrimination, or intimidation, the law is on your side, and there are practical steps you can take to address these issues before they escalate into something more serious.
What Workplace Harassment Actually Means
Let’s start with the basics. Workplace harassment isn’t just someone having a bad day or being a bit rough around the edges. Harassment is defined as any behaviour that you don’t want, that offends, humiliates or intimidates you, and creates a hostile environment. It can be a pattern of behaviour over time, or it might just be one particularly serious incident that crosses the line.
Here’s the thing that many people don’t realise: it doesn’t matter how the person doing the harassing sees their behaviour or what anyone else thinks about it. If you find the behaviour offensive, humiliating or intimidating, and it relates to specific protected characteristics like your sex, race, age, disability, or other factors, then it’s harassment. You get to decide what crosses the line for you.
The law covers harassment based on your sex, pregnancy, breastfeeding, race (including colour, nationality, descent, ethnic or ethno-religious background), age, marital or domestic status, homosexuality, disability, transgender status, and carer’s responsibilities. What’s particularly important is that you can also be harassed because of these characteristics in your relatives, friends, work colleagues or associates – so if someone’s giving you grief because your partner comes from another country, that’s still illegal harassment.
Different Forms Harassment Can Take
Workplace harassment comes in many shapes and sizes. You might encounter verbal abuse like insults, threats, or repeated belittling. Sometimes it’s bullying, that repeated unreasonable behaviour that creates a hostile work environment. Discrimination based on your personal characteristics is another form, as is sexual harassment involving unwanted sexual advances or conduct.
The behaviour might include displaying offensive materials around your workplace, sharing inappropriate content electronically, using abusive language, telling offensive jokes, making threatening gestures, deliberately excluding you from workplace activities, or withholding information you need to do your job. In today’s digital world, harassment can happen through emails, social media, or other online platforms connected to work.
Your Legal Protections in NSW
You’ve got several layers of legal protection working in your favour. The Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) is your primary shield against harassment and discrimination. This Act specifically prohibits harassment based on the characteristics we mentioned earlier and gives you a clear path to make complaints when things go wrong.
The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) also protects you by requiring employers to ensure a safe workplace, free from harassment and psychological harm. Under this legislation, your employer has a positive duty to take proactive steps to prevent risks to your health and safety – including preventing harassment. They can’t just wait for problems to occur and then react, they need to actively create a culture where inappropriate behaviour isn’t tolerated.
The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) also provides protections against workplace bullying and covers adverse action claims. Sexual harassment at work under this Act happens when someone makes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, or engages in other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature [3].
What You Can Do About It
If you’re experiencing workplace harassment, you don’t have to suffer in silence. Start by keeping detailed records of what’s happening – dates, times, witnesses, exactly what was said or done. This documentation will be crucial if you need to take formal action later.
Your first step should usually be addressing the issue within your workplace if it’s safe to do so. Speak to your supervisor, human resources department, or use your company’s complaints process. Many workplaces have specific policies and procedures for handling harassment complaints, and your employer is legally required to take action when they’re made aware of harassment.
If internal processes don’t work or aren’t appropriate (perhaps because the harassment is coming from your boss), you have external options. You can file a complaint with Anti-Discrimination NSW within 12 months of the harassment occurring or with the Australian Human Rights Commission within 6 months. Both organisations will investigate your complaint and try to resolve it through conciliation before it potentially goes to a tribunal. You may also make a stop bullying application with the Fair Work Commission if you believe that your workplace has failed to investigate your compliant or you don’t agree with the outcome and you believe the harassment will continue. Alternatively, if you would like some support on your side and someone to guide you the entire way, contact the team at Fair Workplace Solutions, we specialise in this area of law and would be happy to help.
Your Employer’s Responsibilities
Your employer can’t just turn a blind eye to harassment in your workplace. They have clear legal obligations to prevent it from occurring and to respond appropriately when it does happen. Under work health and safety laws, employers must provide a clear policy that harassment isn’t acceptable, address incidents when they occur, ensure all employees know about anti-harassment policies and procedures, and make sure everyone follows these policies.
The law requires employers to take all reasonable steps to eliminate or minimise risks, which includes preventing harassment. This goes beyond simply responding to incidents after they’ve happened – they must actively create a workplace culture where inappropriate behaviour isn’t tolerated. If they fail in these duties, they can face legal consequences, including penalties and fines.
Recent changes have also introduced a “positive duty” under federal sex discrimination law, requiring organisations to take proactive and meaningful action to prevent sexual harassment, sex discrimination, and related conduct from occurring in the workplace. This represents a significant shift from reactive to preventative approaches to workplace harassment.
Special Considerations for Vulnerable Workers
Some workers face additional risks and deserve special mention. If you’re under 18, you’re particularly vulnerable to harassment due to power imbalances, less experience recognising inappropriate behaviour, and learning workplace norms in your first jobs. Sexual behaviour directed at workers under 18 may constitute child-based sexual offences, and employers must provide additional protections like extra supervision and specialised training.
Workers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, those with disabilities, migrant workers, and casually employed staff may also face higher risks due to various factors including power imbalances, language barriers, or less secure employment arrangements. The law recognises these intersectional risks and requires employers to consider how different forms of disadvantage can combine to increase vulnerability to harassment.
The Real Impact of Workplace Harassment
The effects of workplace harassment extend far beyond the immediate incident. You might experience decreased job satisfaction, loss of confidence and self-esteem, emotional reactions like anger and tearfulness, behavioural changes such as withdrawal, physical symptoms like headaches and tiredness, and serious health conditions including stress, depression, anxiety, or even post-traumatic stress disorder.
The economic impact is significant too. A 2018 Deloitte report estimated that workplace sexual harassment alone costs the Australian economy around $3.8 billion. For individuals, harassment can negatively impact career progression, productivity, and long-term earning potential.
Moving Forward
Understanding workplace harassment and your rights is the first step towards creating safer, more respectful workplaces for everyone. The laws provide robust protections, but they only work when people know about them and feel confident using them. Whether you’re experiencing harassment yourself, witnessing it happen to others, or you’re an employer wanting to do the right thing, there are clear pathways forward.
Remember, you don’t have to navigate this alone. Support services, legal protections, and advocacy organisations are available to help you through the process. The most important thing is recognising that workplace harassment is never acceptable, it’s not your fault, and there are people and systems in place to help you address it. Your right to a safe, respectful workplace isn’t just a nice idea – it’s the law, and it’s enforceable.
Sources:
[2] – https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/hazards-a-z/bullying/workplace-bullying
