The End of the Grace Period: Australia’s New Positive Duty Standards
Could your organisation demonstrate to the AHRC tomorrow that you're actively preventing sexual harassment? It’s no longer enough to just have policies in place; you must prove you’ve identified risks, implemented controls, and have evidence your systems actually work.
According to Our Watch, 40% of workplace leaders aren’t aware of their legal obligations to prevent sexual harassment, and only 76% know that it’s illegal. Meanwhile, 41% of women and 26% of men report experiencing workplace harassment in the five years leading to 2022. This gap costs the Australian economy an estimated $3.8 billion annually and yet only 18% of those affected file formal complaints.
The Shift to Proactive Prevention
Since December 2022, the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) has required all Australian businesses – regardless of size - to take “reasonable and proportionate” measures to eliminate sexual harassment before it occurs. This “positive duty” shifts the focus from investigating complaints to proactively identifying and controlling risks.
For Australian employers, the grace period is over. 2024-25 marked the first full year of active compliance monitoring, with the AHRC conducting four formal inquiries and 35 employer engagements involving 7,500 workers across sectors like hospitality, retail and healthcare.
The Seven Standards for Compliance
The AHRC Guidelines set a national benchmark through seven key standards:
The WHS Convergence
Australian employers now face dual compliance pressure. As of March 2025, the Work Health and Safety Code of Practice classifies sexual and gender-based harassment as a “psychosocial hazard”. Similarly, Victoria’s 2025 regulations require psychological health risks to be managed with the same rigour as physical hazards – essentially treating a toxic culture with the same legal weight as a faulty forklift.
While the AHRC looks for safe, anonymous reporting, WHS regulators expect incident registers and hazard controls. An integrated platform that captures reports, documents responses and tracks patterns serves both requirements simultaneously.
Building Prevention Architecture
The regulatory environment is tightening. The AHRC has called for civil penalties for positive duty breaches and stricter limits on NDAs in harassment cases. Nationally, the states are leading the charge:
- Queensland now explicitly requires a written "prevention plan" if psychosocial risks are identified.
- NSW became the first Australian jurisdiction to empower a state-based tribunal to award monetary damages (up to $100,000) specifically for workplace bullying and sexual harassment.
- Victoria passed legislation to restrict the use of NDAs to prevent the silencing of workplace victims.
Navigating positive duty means finding an approach that fits your specific business size and industry. While requirements scale with your resources, the need for evidence is universal. The goal isn't perfection on day one but demonstrating a systematic approach to prevention. By keeping detailed records of policies, training, and consultations, businesses are building a roadmap for continuous improvement.
Veremark's workplace trust platform helps Australian organisations meet AHRC positive duty and WHS Code requirements through connected screening, monitoring and speak-up systems. Talk to us about building prevention architecture that demonstrates compliance.
FAQs
FAQs
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