AHRC Hosts Positive Duty Webinar It’s only two weeks out from when the powers of the AHRC and their positive duty are live on the 12th December 2023. This webinar hosted by the AHRC is a great opportunity to hear what powers the Commission have, how they will use them and how a workplace can […]
Cost Reforms Introduced to Better Protect Applicants in Discrimination Matters On Wednesday this week, the Albanese Government introduced the Australian Human Rights Commission Amendment (Costs Protection) Bill 2023. The bill would implement the Government’s response to Recommendation 25 of the Respect@Work report. The report had previously found that applicants were “often deterred from proceeding to[…..]
Disability Services Minda Incorporated Fined $42,000 Following Sexual Assault of Worker SafeWork South Australia (SA) announced this week that Minda Incorporated (‘Minda’) was fined $42,000 after a worker was sexually and physically assaulted by a youth in their care. The investigation conducted by SafeWork SA found that Minda had “failed to provide a safe system[…..]
Bonuses and Pay Rises Can Be Withheld from Employees and Managers Employers will be able to withhold bonuses and pay rises from managers and employees in order to prevent sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. From December, employers have a positive duty to prevent sexual assault, harassment and similar discriminatory behaviour. The legislation shifts[…..]
Victorian Nurse Suspended for Sexually Harassing Colleagues A Victorian male nurse was suspended this week for a period of 8 months after sexually harassing female colleagues. Stephan Harris was found by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to have sexually harassed four women between 2015 and 2019 at a rural hospital. It was alleged[…..]
Decrease in Sexual Harassment in Australia, Not Sexual Violence Recent data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has shown that approximately 1.3 million women and more than 400,000 men have been subjected to sexual harassment in the last 12 months. According to the article, while women mostly reported inappropriate comments in relation to[…..]
South Australian Barbershop Applies for Exemption from Equal Opportunity Act A barbershop based in Adelaide has applied for an exemption under the Equal Opportunity Act to prevent women from entering the company’s premises. According to the article, the barbershop aims to provide clients with a “male sanctuary,” claiming that it is “Adelaide’s only male only[…..]
Former FIFO Worker Found Guilty of Raping Colleague at BHP Mine Site Fly-in fly-out (FIFO) worker Ryan Zabaznow was found guilty this week of raping a co-worker at a regional mine site in Western Australia. The case was highly publicised amongst several allegations of sexual harassment in the mining sector. Zabaznow was accused of sexually[…..]
Boards Central to End Sexual Harassment On 2 March 2022, Kate Jenkins spoke to the importance of boards in preventing sexual harassment in a company. Ms Jenkins is the Sex Discrimination Commissioner. She spoke at the Australian Governance Summit, noting that only 19% of Australian companies recognised the role of the board in being central[…..]
Increase in Sexual Harassment Complaints Since Covid-19 According to HCA Mag, the number of sexual harassment complaints has risen since the pandemic. Victoria, the state hit hardest by COVID-19, has seen one of the biggest increases in sexual harassment complaints, with reports up six per cent in the past twelve months. Commentators have speculated that[…..]