Court Orders $53,00 To Former Worker After Sexual Harassment and Racial Discrimination In Workplace VCAT provides yet another example of its firm approach to sexual harassment claims – Lexology Link to case: Kumari v Bervar Pty Ltd (Human Rights) [2023] VCAT 21 (9 January 2023) (austlii.edu.au) judgement: On 9 January 2023, the Victorian Civil and […]
Australia: People Of African Descent Living Under Siege Of Racism, Say UN Experts African people in Australia are exposed to many forms of racial discrimination, xenophobia and systemic racism. This exists in all white dominated spaces in Australia. A group of UN experts came to Australia for an official 10-day visit and expressed serious concern[…..]
‘Punch Her In The …’: Filthy Police Threat Exposed At Inquiry It has been revealed that senior policemen in the Queensland Police helped each other hide sexual assault incidents on junior female officers. The conspiracy came to light during an inquiry into police culture that was made before Judge Deborah Richards. The inquiry focused on[…..]
Is Your Workplace Ready to Protect Against Psychosocial Hazards? The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations in Victoria are expected to come into effect in July 2022. It will introduce new definitions relating to ‘psychosocial hazards’. This will be defined to mean “any factor or factors… that may arise in the working environment and may cause[…..]
New Targeted Campaign and Support to Help People With Disability Land Jobs On 21 March 2022, the Department of Social Services announced a national employment campaign to promote disability inclusivity. The campaign will engage more than 100,000 people with disability in big Australian businesses. The Minister for Families and Social Services, Anne Ruston, said that[…..]
Rio Tinto Admits Culture Of ‘Bullying, Sexual Harassment, Racism’ On 1 February 2022, Rio Tinto published an internal report that confirmed that sexual assault, bullying and racial discrimination are widespread throughout the company. 21 women had reported actual or attempted rape or sexual assault in the last five years. One third of women employed said[…..]
Morrison Government to Take Action On Jenkins Inquiry Into Toxic Culture Before Parliament Returns The finance minister, Simon Birmingham, has announced a timeline for implementing recommendations from the Jenkins review that highlighted toxic behaviours in federal parliament. The 2 recommendations being implemented are to establish a leadership taskforce and develop a statement on workplace trauma.[…..]
A Call to Make Sexual Harassment a Criminal Offence Commentators are calling for sexual harassment to be dealt with as a crime. Currently, sexual harassment is a legal wrong that gives its victims an entitlement to sue for damages. In other words, sexual harassment carries the same culpability as unfair dismissal, discrimination and bullying claims.[…..]
Australia’s First Claim For ‘Reproductive Leave’ Gets ACTU Backing Victoria’s Health and Community Services Union (VHCSU) is pushing for employers to grant leave and flexibility around reproductive health issues. Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) president, Michele O’Neil, has stood in support of the claim that employees undergoing treatments – such as assisted reproduction, termination[…..]