Victorian Public Sector Sees Little Progress in Reducing Workplace Sexual Harassment
The Victorian Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector has found that workplace sexual harassment has not decreased over the past five years, despite legislative reforms requiring organisations to proactively prevent it.
In 2025, 6.4% of women and 3.5% of men reported experiencing sexual harassment at work, broadly unchanged from 2021. The rate for non-binary and gender-diverse employees increased significantly, from 12.7% to 16.9%. The highest rates for women were recorded in police and emergency services (11.8%), transport (10.6%) and community and cultural services (10.2%).
The report also identified significant gaps in reporting systems. More employees said they had formally reported sexual harassment than appeared in organisations’ workforce data, suggesting disclosures are not always being properly recorded or escalated. The Commission has called on employers to treat sexual harassment as a psychosocial and WHS risk, rather than simply a complaints or misconduct issue, and to implement systems that ensure disclosures are captured, employees feel safe reporting and organisations can identify and address recurring risks.
Five Years of Victorian Data Shows Gender Equality Laws Are Driving Progress
Victoria’s Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector has released a report examining five years of data regarding gender equality across approximately 300 public sector organisations, covering around 500,000 employees. The full report is available here. The findings suggest that legislating gender equality obligations can produce measurable progress, although significant disparities remain.
Key findings include:
- Women’s representation in senior leadership increased between 2021 and 2025, with four of 11 industries now achieving proportional representation, compared with two in 2023.
- Governing bodies have remained gender balanced for almost a decade.
- Sexual harassment rates have remained relatively stable for women and men but increased among non-binary and gender-diverse employees, rising from 12.7% in 2021 to 16.9% in 2025.
- Men’s parental leave uptake continues to lag significantly behind women’s, with men taking approximately one week for every five weeks taken by women.
The report warns that workforce restructuring, budget pressures and increased use of AI could reinforce existing inequalities unless gender equality is deliberately incorporated into new workplace systems and policies.
Major Australian Network Provider Stands Down Employees Over Support for Convicted Rapist
A major Australian company has stood down three employees who provided character references for a colleague convicted of raping a co-worker during a work trip. The employees are now subject to an internal investigation and potential disciplinary action.
The case raises significant workplace conduct and sexual harassment issues, particularly around employees’ responsibilities when serious misconduct occurs within the workplace. Western Power has also commenced a review of its code of conduct, leadership training and sexual harassment and misconduct policies.
For employers, the incident highlights the importance of clear expectations around sexual harassment, misconduct and supporting colleagues accused of serious workplace wrongdoing, as well as having effective reporting, investigation and disciplinary processes.
Air Traffic Control Culture Raises Bullying and Sexual Harassment Concerns
Airservices Australia, a government-owned service provider, is facing renewed scrutiny over allegations of bullying, sexual harassment and a toxic workplace culture. The concerns follow a 2020 culture review which found unacceptable levels of bullying and sexual harassment and triggered 36 investigations into potential workplace code of conduct breaches.
Former employees and union representatives have described a workplace characterised by favouritism and an entrenched ‘old-school boys’ club’ culture. The concerns are compounded by severe staffing shortages, with controllers reportedly working extensive overtime and experiencing fatigue and burnout.
The CEO acknowledged that there is ‘more to do’ on workplace culture. The situation highlights the connection between psychosocial hazards, workplace culture, excessive workloads and fatigue, particularly where longstanding bullying and harassment concerns remain unresolved.
People at Work Survey to Close as Psychosocial Risk Obligations Increase
The government’s People at Work (PAW) psychosocial risk survey will be permanently decommissioned on 2 October 2026, leaving more than 5,000 Australian businesses that use the tool to find alternative ways of monitoring psychosocial hazards.
The change comes as WHS laws increasingly require employers to actively identify, assess and control psychosocial risks, including bullying, sexual harassment, excessive workloads and risks associated with remote work. Employers are being encouraged to move beyond annual surveys and undertake more regular assessments to identify emerging risks and demonstrate that appropriate action is being taken.
There is increasing personal accountability of senior officers for serious WHS failures. Where officers knowingly disregard identified psychosocial hazards and this contributes to serious harm, significant personal penalties may apply, reinforcing the need for employers to have effective systems for monitoring and addressing psychosocial risks.
Victoria Police Targets Psychosocial Hazards Through New Workplace Safety Program
Victoria Police has partnered with Griffith University on a $1.76 million WorkSafe-funded program aimed at preventing psychosocial hazards affecting both sworn and unsworn staff. The three-year initiative will focus on organisational risks such as workload, job demands, role clarity, workplace culture and management support, rather than treating psychological harm solely as an individual issue.
The program will introduce a central system for identifying and monitoring psychosocial risks, alongside specialised leadership training. The initiative comes amid Victoria’s strengthened psychological health and safety obligations, highlighting employers’ responsibility to proactively identify and control psychosocial hazards and not simply respond when employees become unwell.
AI-Driven Redundancies Raise Consultation and Psychosocial Risk Obligations
The increasing use of AI in Australian workplaces may lead to redundancies, but employers must still comply with the Fair Work Act, consultation, WHS and redeployment obligations. While there is currently no specific federal employment law regulating AI-driven job losses, introducing AI does not remove existing legal protections.
An AI implementation may constitute a genuine redundancy where the employer genuinely no longer requires the role to be performed. However, employers must demonstrate that the role has actually been eliminated rather than simply changed, comply with applicable consultation requirements and consider whether reasonable redeployment is available within the organisation or an associated entity.
It is also important to be aware of psychosocial risk management during AI-related restructures. Employers should assess risks such as uncertainty, workload changes, job insecurity and organisational change early, and consult affected employees. The Fair Work Commission can closely scrutinise an employer’s redeployment efforts, while WHS regulators are increasingly moving from education towards enforcement of psychosocial obligations.
FWC Finds Salon Worker Was Not Forced to Resign
The Fair Work Commission has dismissed a salon worker’s general protections claim after finding that her resignation did not amount to a constructive dismissal (forced resignation). The senior hairdresser claimed she had been forced to resign following unresolved bullying complaints, workplace stress, pay concerns and allegedly aggressive conduct by management.
The FWC found that the employer had responded to her complaints reasonably and within a reasonable timeframe, with some delay explained by the Christmas shutdown. The worker was also given an opportunity to return to work and participate in further discussions but chose not to do so. The Commission found that none of the employer’s conduct left her with no real or effective choice but to resign.
The decision highlights that employee dissatisfaction, workplace conflict or delays in resolving complaints will not necessarily amount to constructive dismissal. Employers should ensure complaints are properly documented, addressed promptly and followed by clear opportunities for employees to participate in resolving workplace issues.
Vaccination Encouragement Linked to Compensable Workplace Injury
The South Australian Employment Tribunal has found that an occupational therapist’s COVID-19 vaccination injury was compensable, despite her employer never mandating vaccination and the vaccination occurring on her day off. The worker developed myopathy and complex dysphagia following vaccination, with medical evidence accepted as establishing a causal link.
The key issue was whether the vaccination arose out of her employment. The Tribunal found that:
- The employer had encouraged staff to be vaccinated, despite there being no formal mandate or policy at the time.
- Staff understood that vaccination was likely to become mandatory and the worker believed vaccination was necessary to keep her job.
- The worker would not have received the vaccination when she did but for her employment and the employer’s encouragement.
Employment was therefore a significant contributing cause of the injury under the Return to Work Act 2014 (SA). The worker’s late claim was also accepted because she was unaware she could make a claim and the delay did not substantially prejudice the compensation authority.