The Australian Human Rights Commission is taking action to make Australian workplaces safer for everyone. We have started formal inquiries, developed proactive compliance strategies, and worked with organisations and businesses to meet their legal obligations to prevent and respond to work-related sexual harassment, sexist behaviour, sex discrimination and related victimisation.
What we're doing now
We started four formal inquiries in the 2024-25 financial year into businesses in the Retail Trade, Accommodation and Food Services (Hospitality), Finance, and Transport, Postal & Warehousing industries. Together these four businesses are responsible for about 7,500 workers. Evidence indicates some workers have been exposed to serious unlawful conduct. We have gathered information from a variety of sources to trigger our compliance powers, including information from workers, other regulators and media reports.
We also worked with 35 other employers to help them understand and meet their positive duty obligations in the Sex Discrimination Act. These businesses operate across 12 different industries in Accommodation and Food Services, Retail Trade, Arts & Recreation, and Professional, Scientific & Technical services.
Where we're focusing next
In the 2025-26 financial year, the Commission will proactively focus on two high-risk industries: Retail Trade and Accommodation & Food Services. These industries employ large numbers of workers who face significant risks of work-related sexual harassment. We will launch proactive compliance and enforcement strategies in September 2025.
New resources and tools
We have updated our online learning resources about the positive duty and will release new educational animations in July. These animations explain sex discrimination, victimisation, and other harmful behaviours that organisations and businesses must both respond to and prevent.
We will promote these resources to organisations and businesses across industry, government and community sectors. The resources work alongside our Small Business Resource to help small business operators create safer workplaces.
Understanding the retail industry
We are developing a compliance survey for medium and large retailers. The survey will check how well these businesses are meeting the seven standards in the positive duty guidelines and target senior leaders of medium and large retail businesses. It will help us understand what challenges retailers face, what they need to know, and what resources would help them comply with the law. We will consult with industry and worker organisations before we finalise the survey. This approach is planned to roll out across other industries, with Accommodation and Food Services the next industry to be surveyed.
Supporting senior leaders
We are creating an education package specifically for senior leaders of large retailers to reduce concerns about regulatory burden while helping leaders understand their responsibilities. This approach aligns with the government's regulatory reform agenda, follows best practice principles for regulators, and will focus on practical toolkit resources to support compliance.
Bringing regulators together
In September 2025, the Commission will host our second National Regulator Roundtable. The two-day event will focus on measuring and reporting on regulatory effectiveness and impact. We first held this roundtable in Melbourne in 2024. It brings together staff from federal, state and territory regulators who work on workplace conduct issues, including people from anti-discrimination commissions, equality bodies, the fair work jurisdiction and workplace health and safety agencies.
Why this matters
The positive duty requires organisations and businesses to take reasonable and proportionate steps to eliminate sexual harassment, sexist behaviour, sex discrimination, and victimisation connected to work. This means organisations and businesses must act to prevent problems, not just respond after they happen.
This means a significant shift in how we approach workplace safety and equality. By working proactively with organisations and businesses and acting when needed, we can create workplaces where everyone feels safe and respected.
Looking ahead
Our work in 2024-25 shows we are serious about making workplaces safer. Through formal inquiries, voluntary compliance work, new resources and industry focus, we are addressing the problem from multiple angles.
We will continue to work with organisations and businesses who want to do the right thing while taking action against those who don't meet their legal obligations. Every Australian worker deserves to feel safe at work, and we are committed to making that a reality.
