You have 0 free articles left this month.
Register for a free account to access unlimited free content.

Lawyers Weekly - legal news for Australian lawyers

Powered by MOMENTUM MEDIA
lawyers weekly logo

Powered by MOMENTUM MEDIA

Advertisement
Goodbye job applications, hello dream career
Seize control of your career and design the future you deserve with LW career

Government’s sexual harassment road map falls ‘significantly short’ of standards

Amid rising public pressure to respond to recommendations of the Respect@Work report, the federal government has finally given in and announced its intention to implement all 55 in some shape or another – but while this is welcome news, the lack of details has led to it falling “significantly short” of expectations.

user iconNaomi Neilson 13 April 2021 Big Law
Parliament
expand image

One of the major criticisms to come out of the announcement that Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Attorney-General Michaelia Cash would spearhead implementing the recommendations either in full or partially was the lack of details they provided during the press conference and in media interviews in the days following. 

Law Council of Australia (LCA) president Jacoba Brasch QC cautioned that not only are the legislative changes not clear as of yet, but it is also not known how it will be drafted either. The reforms are expected to be introduced before the budget sittings in June 2021 with no word as of yet on when legal groups will see them in full. 

Experts with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Kingsford Legal Centre said that it is important to remember that Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins found that sexual harassment was not inevitable and is preventable and that the way the government responds now will determine future experiences. 

“For the roadmap to respond effectively to her damning findings, it must deliver radical change to ensure workplace equality in reality,” director Emma Golledge, principal solicitor Dianne Anagnos, research assistant Madeleine Causbrook and solicitor Sean Bowes commented in The Conversation. “That said, there is no doubt the groundswell of condemnation has meaningfully shaped government response.”

Positive measures announced during the press conference included extending the time limit for making a complaint, clarifying definitions around sexual harassment and closing the loophole that exempted politicians and judges from the workplace laws. 

A key hope from the Respect@Work report was that the government may strengthen legal obligations on employers to prevent harassment, but they have indicated that they believe this duty already exists in current work health and safety laws. 

“Given Ms Jenkins’ finding of ‘endemic’ sexual harassment in Australian workplaces, this approach has clearly not worked. Furthermore, work health and safety laws are complex and unlikely to be an entirely appropriate approach for dealing with sexual harassment matters,” the four Kingsford Legal experts commented.

They added that it is important to remain mindful of the needs of people who have experienced sexual harassment to receive a just outcome. Given the size of the challenge, “we should look to strengthen the Sex Discrimination Act with a positive duty on employers to prevent this type of behaviour”. 

Kingsford Legal said it is also important to “watch and ensure” recommendations are followed with budgetary increases, including everything from preventative education work through to strengthening the support systems that are available for victims.

“The Australian Human Rights Commission should be properly empowered to take on the mammoth task of seeing this challenge through to the end,” they added. 

Naomi Neilson

Naomi Neilson

Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly. 

You can email Naomi at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

You need to be a member to post comments. Become a member for free today!