Employers urged to protect employees during festive season
The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and Safe Work Australia are urging employers to take proactive steps to protect employees from sexual harassment, aggression and workplace violence during the busy Christmas trading period. This call comes amid sharp rises in violent retail incidents, with a 66% increase in weapon-related crime, and a 39% rise in threatening events across the sector.
Both agencies warn that abusive behaviour toward frontline staff typically increases over the holidays. They emphasise that employers have a positive duty to eliminate, as far as possible, sexual harassment, sex-based harassment, discrimination and hostile workplace environments.
AHRC president Hugh de Kretser stressed that this responsibility extends to preventing harassment from customers. Leaders play a critical role in setting expectations, modelling respectful behaviour, and making clear that abuse will not be tolerated. Recommended actions include:
- Ensuring policies are implemented in practice
- Consulting workers about risks
- Providing support pathways
- Responding promptly to concerns.
Understanding rising workplace psychological injury
Psychological injuries are becoming more visible across sectors including healthcare, education, retail, and customer service. Experts say the increase reflects a growing willingness to report harm, and an actual decline in customer and client behaviour. Exposure to workplace violence has risen 76% since 2019, with younger and female workers disproportionately affected.
Abuse toward workers has intensified and broadened beyond traditional high-risk settings. Digital and remote communication channels have created new opportunities for aggression, with call centres, social media roles, and educators reporting escalating incidents.
Barriers to bystander action related to sexual harassment
A survey conducted by Unions NSW has highlighted barriers to and opportunities for ethical bystander action in relation to workplace sexual and gender-based harassment.
The survey results indicate that sexual and gender-based harassment is both common and persistent across Australian workplaces. A majority of workers surveyed reported witnessing sexual or gender-based harassment, with more than half observing such behaviour several times per year. Almost a third of respondents explicitly stated that sexual harassment is a problem in their workplace, underscoring ongoing cultural normalisation and systemic inaction. Barriers to bystander intervention included:
- Fear of retaliation
- Belief that employer would not take the issue seriously
- Uncertainty about how to respond or what to say
- Fear of damaging work relationships
- Concern about confidentiality or repercussion.
Council ordered to pay $2.3 million for psychiatric injury to employee
A Queensland council has been ordered to pay $2.3 million in damages to an employee after a fabricated email falsely portraying her as racist was circulated publicly and tabled in parliament. The Supreme Court found the email was maliciously altered to suggest the employee opposed an Aboriginal organisation taking over a lease.
Although the email was created and spread by third parties, the Court held the council breached its duty of care by failing to take reasonable steps to investigate and correct the fabrication once it became aware of it. Given the council knew the email was false and understood the sensitive context, it should have acted promptly to prevent its further dissemination.
This decision underscores that employers may be liable for employee psychiatric harm caused by third-party misconduct where proactive steps could have reduced foreseeable risk. It also highlights the need for thorough, timely internal investigations when allegations involving staff arise.
Female transport workers denied access to clean toilets
Recent findings from the Rail, Tram and Bus Union show that 73% of female transport workers in Australia are suffering from health issues as a result of being denied access to adequate sanitation facilities. 82% of women added that the lack of adequate facilities compromises their dignity and respect as workers.
Research reveals that a lack of access to clean and safe sanitation facilities can lead to compromised health outcomes, diminished dignity, restricted economic opportunities, and reinforced gender inequalities for female workers.
These challenges can in part be addressed by centring women’s health needs in workplace culture and reducing stigma around the topic.
School principals struggling with psychosocial hazards
A new national study has exposed the increasing emotional demands placed on Australia’s public-school principals who have reported insomnia, nightmares, physical illness, trauma, and symptoms consistent with PTSD.
The research confirms that public school principals are facing growing psychosocial hazards including violence, burnout, and emotional exhaustion that are not being adequately acknowledged or addressed. Stories of emotional labour, defined as the management of their emotions and that of others to meet professional expectations, is a critical but largely invisible aspect of school leadership.
The report also revealed that the emotional demands of leadership are gendered, racialized and classed, with women and principals in disadvantaged schools disproportionately affected.
Parliamentary workplace support criticised for changes to reporting
Transparency concerns have emerged following changes to how the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service (PWSS) reports serious misconduct. The shift means the true number of rapes, sexual assault and sexual harassment incidents are undisclosed and could be significantly higher. This has prompted criticism that the system may be obscuring the scale of harm in parliamentary workplaces.
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe, who has previously made allegations of sexual harassment within Parliament House, argued the revised approach hides misconduct and makes the workplace appear safer than it is. She said her own complaint to the PWSS stalled and was never resolved.
Other parliamentarians emphasised the need to balance confidentiality with meaningful transparency, noting that the Jenkins review was intended to improve accountability in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces.
Overall, the PWSS received 417 complaints last year, including high numbers of workplace conflict and mental health-related matters.
Impact of sexist humour in construction industry
New research suggests that sexist or sexualised humour may be undermining efforts to increase women’s participation in the Australian construction industry. Women in the industry reported encountering jokes that were sexist, discriminatory, or sexual in nature. These behaviours, often dismissed as “just humour,” negatively impacted women’s mental wellbeing and led many to avoid particular work situations.
More than one-third of respondents said they chose not to report unacceptable humour, largely out of fear of not fitting into entrenched workplace norms. Respondents also noted that “humour” was sometimes used as a euphemism for bullying or exclusion.
This study highlights the need for construction organisations to directly address workplace humour norms to ensure that sexist behaviour is not tolerated and that inclusion policies are effective in practice.
Indigenous Australians suffer higher rates of injury at work
According to the Australian Council of Trade Unions 2025 report Work Shouldn’t Hurt, Indigenous workers are twice as likely to be injured and three times more likely than non-Indigenous workers to face violence at work. It revealed that in the last 12-months almost 50% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers acquired a physical or mental injury at work – compared to 27% of non-Indigenous workers.
A Mununjali woman and a First Nations Workers Alliance representative, quit her career as a flight attendant because of her experiences of racism on the job. She said her workplace had no mandatory or compulsory training about racism or cultural awareness training even though she reported experiencing racism from customers and colleagues almost every day. She added that when she and other Aboriginal staff members raised concerns about racism from co-workers, it led to mediation but no disciplinary action.
She believes that strengthening workplace protections for Indigenous Australians is crucial to addressing this issue.
Senator suspended from senate after burqa stunt
Pauline Hanson, Senator and Leader of One Nation, was censured by the Senate and suspended from the chamber for seven days following her burqa stunt. She will also be barred from representing the parliament in overseas delegations.
The motion stated that Hanson’s actions were “intended to vilify and mock people on the basis of their religion” and were “disrespectful to Muslim Australians”. The censure motion called on Hanson “immediately to make an explanation or apology” for her actions.
Speaking in the Senate before the vote to censure Hanson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi said “this parliament drips now in racism”.
Law firm accused of bullying and discrimination
An anonymous lawyer has lodged general protections claim against a law firm, their national head of litigation, and director of people and development. The lawyer alleged adverse action was taken against her because she complained about her supervisors, career progression, leave entitlements, and alleged bullying behaviour by the head of litigation.
The statement of claim included an allegation that a partner “frequently imposed unreasonable deadlines” and gave her unclear instructions on the conduct of litigation. It further alleged that the law firm, and People and Development “did not fairly, adequately and independently investigate” complaints and failed to keep the lawyer from being subjected to psychological hazards.
As a result of the alleged conduct, the lawyer claimed to have been denied procedural fairness, was discriminated against when compared to other employees, and made to feel like her employment was not secure.
The Federal Court granted the lawyer an extension of time to file the claim. The law firm disputes the claim and has announced their intention to defend it.
Women in accounting face higher rates of workplace sexual harassment
A new Chartered Accountants ANZ (CA ANZ) survey shows that while discriminatory behaviour in workplaces has declined since 2021, women continue to experience significantly higher rates of negative conduct than men. Among 1,932 members surveyed:
- 13% of women reported experiencing sexual harassment in the past 5 years, more than double the rate for men (5%).
- Women reported 1.6 times more bullying
- Women were 1.6 times more likely to be unfairly spoken over.
The research also revealed that one in five women respondents indicated that they were likely to leave their current industry due to a lack of inclusion, and/or discriminatory experiences. Other ongoing areas of concern include ageism and LGBTQIA+ exclusion, with women aged 18-34 reporting rising rates of age-based discrimination. Nearly 60% of members supported further DEI initiatives, underscoring strong demand for education, and practical tools to build inclusive workplaces.
Rising psychological injury claims in workers’ compensation
Psychological injury is rapidly becoming a major challenge for NSW workers’ compensation, with icare’s latest report highlighting a clear increase in both the number and severity of mental health claims. These claims tend to last longer than physical injury claims, incur higher costs, and increasingly reach serious-injury thresholds.
For employers, effective psychosocial risk management is now central to workplace safety and insurance exposure. Preventing and addressing bullying, harassment, excessive workloads, and other mental health hazards directly influences claim outcomes and can impact future premiums. Early intervention, supportive policies, and proactive workplace culture are crucial tools in containing the rise of psychological injury claims.