Understanding in-country labor laws in Australia is vital to ensure compliance with employer regulations. The anti-discrimination and harassment laws in force provide employees with vital protections from workplace abuse, so it’s important to stay ahead of changes and ensure your organization is in compliance with the updated requirements.
What are the Discrimination and Harassment Laws in Australia?
The Australian laws governing discrimination and harassment in the workplace are the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, and the Age Discrimination Act 2004. These laws were designed to protect employees from discrimination or harassment based on sex, race, disability, and age.
The Respect@Work bill was introduced in 2021 to strengthen and modernize Australia’s workplace discrimination and harassment laws. Some of the key expansions of the bill include:
- Updated definition of sexual harassment: The new bill broadens the definition of sexual harassment to include any behavior that a reasonable person would expect to be offensive, humiliating, or intimidating, regardless of the intention
- A moral obligation for employers to prevent harassment: The bill places a “positive duty” on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment from occurring in the workplace rather than reacting to complaints once they occur
- Increased penalties for non-compliance: The bill increases the penalties for non-compliance with the new law, including fines and potential criminal charges in serious cases
Changes to the bill puts more responsibility on employers to take a proactive stance to prevent and address discrimination and harassment in the workplace. The bill also makes consequences for non-compliance more significant.
How will the new Labor Laws Protect Employee Rights?
The updates to discrimination and harassment laws in Australia are designed to protect employee rights by prohibiting employers from engaging in discriminatory or harassing behavior and providing employees with legal recourse if they experience such behavior in the workplace. If employees experiences discrimination or harassment at work, they can take the following steps:
- Speak to the Employer
Employees can raise concerns with their manager or employer and request the behavior to stop. These conversations should be documented in writing for future reference. - File a Complaint
If the unwanted behavior continues, employees can file a complaint with their HR department or relevant state or federal anti-discrimination agencies. - Seek Legal Advice
Employees may wish to seek legal advice from a qualified employment lawyer to determine their legal rights and options if the behaviors continue. - Lodge a Claim
Employees can lodge official complaints to the relevant tribunal or court if the employer does not resolve the issue internally. - Union Support
Employees who are members of a union can seek support and guidance from their union representatives, who may be able to provide legal representation and advocacy on their behalf.
It is important for employers to ensure new labor law updates are followed and HR teams are prepared to ensure compliance. If you have employees in Australia, we can help with HR labor law and compliance for your team. To learn more about our global HR services, click here
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