Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697636979291.pdf (Australia)
Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change Submission to the Senate Education and Employment Committee Inquiry into the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021 (Cth) Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 Acknowledgement of Country This submission was written on the land of the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation.
We acknowledge and pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Traditional Custodians throughout Victoria, including Elders past and present.

We also acknowledge the strength and resilience of all First Nations people who today are still arrested and imprisoned at rates far higher than other Australians.
Victoria Legal Aid - i - Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – 9 July 2021 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 Contents Executive Summary Recommendations to improve legislative protection against gendered violence and harassment 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.
2.

3.

4.

5.

Harassment on the ground of sex – an inclusive protection that prevents the harm of sexist workplaces An enforceable positive duty under anti-discrimination laws to reduce the burden on victim-survivors A Fair Work system that effectively prevents and addresses sexual harassment Protecting victim-survivors from the heavy legal costs of complaints An effective regime for stop sexual harassment orders 6.
Other changes to strengthen legislative protections against gendered violence Annexure 1: Victoria Legal Aid, our work and our clients Annexure 2: Power to Prevent Joint Statement 3 5 6 9 11 12 13 14 18 20 Key contacts Rowan McRae Executive Director Civil Justice, Access & Equity www.legalaid.vic.gov.au Connect with Victoria Legal Aid Melanie Schleiger Program Manager, Equality Law Program Civil Justice, Access & Equity © 2021 Victoria Legal Aid.
Reproduction without express written permission is prohibited.

Written requests should be directed to Victoria Legal Aid, Strategic Communications, 570 Bourke St, Melbourne Vic 3000.
Victoria Legal Aid - 2 - Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – 9 July 2021 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 Executive Summary Everyone deserves to feel safe and respected at work and to live free from gendered violence and harassment.1 Gendered violence and harassment, including sexual harassment, causes harm to individual workers, workplaces and society.
As a community, we have invested a significant amount of energy and resources in identifying how to prevent gendered violence and harassment at work and improve support for victim-survivors.

We must now implement these solutions and commit to doing things differently so that everyone can be safe at work.
The report (Respect@Work) of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s (AHRC) National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces (AHRC’s National Inquiry) is a comprehensive report based on extensive research and consultations.2 The 55 recommendations made in Respect@Work present strategies to better prevent gendered violence and harassment at work, hold perpetrators accountable, and support victim-survivors to recover and receive redress.
Respect@Work takes a system-wide approach that lifts some of the burden of achieving these goals from the individual, and has the potential to drive cultural and behavioural change.

However, the recommended solutions cannot work in isolation – they are a complementary and mutually reinforcing suite of reforms that will only be effective if they are comprehensively implemented as a whole.

It is VLA’s strongly held view that all 55 recommendations made in Respect@Work must be implemented.
Victoria Legal Aid, our clients and our commitment to preventing and addressing gendered violence Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee (Committee) about the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021 (Cth) (Bill).
VLA’s comments and recommendations are informed by our direct practice experience advising people who have experienced sexual harassment at work and assisting them to take legal action (see Annexure 1).

Over the past five years we provided over 6,720 legal advice sessions regarding discrimination matters, including 1,058 advice sessions about sexual harassment and sex discrimination.

Approximately 80% of clients who we assisted with a workplace sexual harassment complaint were women.
This submission includes the stories of our clients, whose words highlight a system that fails both to prevent workplace sexual harassment, and to adequately address it when it does occur.3 In addition to the evidence from our legal work, and the insights of our clients, our submission is informed by our research and consultation with leading organisations across the legal, health, community and government sectors.
Together, we have worked to make sure our advocacy is informed by best practice and cross-sector perspectives, recognising that sexual harassment is not just a legal issue; sexual harassment is a complex social problem that requires cultural and systemic 1 ‘Gendered violence’ refers to harmful acts directed at an individual based on their gender.

It is rooted in gender inequality, the abuse of power and harmful norms.
For further information see WorkSafe Victoria, https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/resources/work-related-gendered-violence-sexual-harassment, accessed on 3 December 2020, 1-2.

2 Respect@Work: National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplace Report, Report by the Australian Human Rights Commission (2020) (available at: https://humanrights.gov.au/our- work/sexdiscrimination/publications/respectwork-sexual-harassment-national-inquiry-report-2020).
3 Names and some identifying details of clients have been changed throughout this submission.

Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 3 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 change.

In February 2019 this collaboration culminated in a joint statement of over 100 organisations: Power to Prevent: Urgent Actions Needed to Stop Sexual Harassment Joint Statement (Annexure 2), which was submitted to the AHRC’s National Inquiry.
VLA also made a detailed submission to the AHRC’s National Inquiry: Change the Culture, Change the System: Urgent Action Needed to End Sexual Harassment at Work (Change the Culture, Change the System report).
The Change the Culture, Change the System report shares the stories of eight clients, highlights systemic failures of our laws, culture and complaints systems to prevent sexual harassment, and makes detailed recommendations for reforms to prevent and address sexual harassment.4 Many of the recommendations in the Change the Culture, Change the System report are supported in Respect@Work.
Strengthening the Bill to ensure an effective framework for preventing and addressing gendered violence VLA recognises that the scope of the Committee’s inquiry is limited to the Bill and options for Federal law reform.
We welcome the positive changes that the Bill will implement, including increasing the time limit for making a complaint of sexual harassment to the AHRC from 6 months to 24 months, prohibiting sex-based harassment, empowering the Fair Work Commission to make stop sexual harassment orders, and including miscarriage as a permissible occasion for compassionate leave.
However, the Bill falls far short of achieving the legislative reform recommended in Respect@Work or our Change the Culture, Change the System report.

In particular, it fails to implement the following recommendations made in Respect@Work: • Recommendation 17 – Amend the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (Sex Discrimination Act) to include a positive duty on employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sex discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation, as far as possible.
• Recommendations 18 and 19 – Amend the Sex Discrimination Act and the Australian Human Rights Commission Act (Cth) (AHRC Act) to give the AHRC the power to undertake systemic investigations (for example, where there is a pattern of sexual harassment in a sector or workplace) and assess compliance with the new positive duty.

• Recommendation 28 – Review the Fair Work system to ensure and clarify that sexual harassment is expressly prohibited.
• Recommendation 23 – Amend the AHRC Act to allow public interest actions to be brought to court by representative bodies such as unions.

• Recommendation 25 – Amend the Australian Human Rights Commission Act to ensure costs may only be ordered against a party if the proceedings are vexatious or unreasonable.

These reforms are necessary to ensure that employers take steps to prevent sexual harassment and the burden of responding to unlawful sexual harassment is not carried by victim-survivors alone.
Without these changes, gendered violence and harassment at work will continue to harm large numbers of women and prevent full workforce participation.
This is particularly true for certain groups, including First Nations people, who experience sexual harassment at higher rates and face additional and compounding barriers to reporting.5 Accordingly, we urge the Committee to undertake 4 Change the Culture, Change the System: Urgent Action needed to End Sexual Harassment at Work, Submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces (February 2019) (available at: https://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/law-reform/building-better-justicesystem/change-story-change-system-urgent- action-needed-to-end-sexual-harassment-work).
5 See Respect@Work, above n 2.

Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 4 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 direct consultation with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations about the Bill and the reforms required.

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss our recommendations further, and to provide additional information.
Recommendations to improve legislative protection against gendered violence and harassment Informed by our work with victim-survivors of gendered violence and harassment at work, we make the following 13 recommendations to improve legislative protection against gendered violence and harassment in Australia.

Harassment on the ground of sex – an inclusive protection that prevents the harm of sexist workplaces 1.

Amend the Sex Discrimination Act to: a.


Change the proposed definition of ‘harassment on the ground of sex’ from ‘seriously demeaning’ to ‘demeaning’.

b.

Prohibit ‘creating or facilitating an intimidating, hostile, humiliating or offensive environment on the basis of sex’.

2.

Amend the Sex Discrimination Act to ensure the prohibition of harassment on the ground of sex also prohibits harassment on the ground of gender identity and intersex status.
An enforceable positive duty under anti-discrimination laws to reduce the burden on victim- survivors 3.

Amend the Sex Discrimination Act to impose an enforceable positive duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment, supplemented by guidelines for compliance.

4.
4.

Amend the AHRC Act to give the AHRC powers and resources to effectively address sexual harassment and other forms of gendered violence at work, including greater investigation powers, the power to enter into enforceable undertakings and issue compliance notices, and the power to take court action and seek penalties against those who contravene the Sex Discrimination Act.

A Fair Work system that effectively prevents and addresses sexual harassment 5.
Amend the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Fair Work Act) to introduce a stand-alone civil remedy provision for sexual harassment to protect workers, enable the Fair Work Commission to receive complaints, and empower the Fair Work Ombudsman to tackle sexual harassment.

6.

The Australian Government publish details of the scope and timeline of its proposed review into the Fair Work system in the context of sexual harassment.

Protecting victim-survivors from the heavy legal costs of complaints 7.
Amend the AHRC Act to limit costs orders against unsuccessful applicants to instances where the application is frivolous, vexatious or without foundation.

8.

The Australian Government publish detail of the scope and timeline of its proposed review of costs procedures in sexual harassment matters.

Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 5 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 An effective regime for stop sexual harassment orders 9.
Amend the Fair Work Act to ensure that stop sexual harassment orders can be made in the fullest range of work-related circumstances possible, including the circumstances set out in section 28B of the Sex Discrimination Act.

10.

Amend the Fair Work Act to remove the requirement that the Fair Work Commission must be satisfied that there is a risk that the worker will continue to be sexually harassed at work in order to make a ‘stop sexual harassment order’.
Other changes to strengthen legislative protections against gendered violence 11.

Amend the Sex Discrimination Act to: a.

Include in the objects ‘to achieve substantive equality between men and women’.

b.

Extend the protections against sexual harassment to all areas of public life.

c. Shift the burden of proof to the employer once a worker has established a prima facie case.
d. Recognise that different aspects of identity protected by other Federal anti- discrimination laws and the Fair Work Act (including race, sexual orientation, disability and national or social origin) intersect to affect victim-survivors’ experiences of gendered violence and harassment.

12.
12.

Amend the Sex Discrimination Act and the Fair Work Act to improve protection and redress for people who complain of sexual harassment and suffer detriment because their employer or other duty holder fails to respond reasonably or fails to conduct a reasonable investigation.

13.

Amend the AHRC Act to allow unions and other representative groups to bring representative claims to court.

1.
Harassment on the ground of sex – an inclusive protection that prevents the harm of sexist workplaces VLA welcomes the proposed amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act, which introduce a new concept of ‘harassment on the ground of sex’ in section 28AA, and make ‘harassment on the ground of sex’ unlawful.6 This reflects Recommendation 16(b) of Respect@Work, which found that although conduct falling short of sexual harassment may constitute sex discrimination, the law is unclear and not readily understood by the community.
However, VLA is concerned that the proposed definition of ‘harassment on the ground of sex’ in the Bill is limited to conduct of a ‘seriously demeaning nature’.

The Explanatory Memorandum states the new provision is intended to ‘merely clarify the existing case law’ and ‘would not capture mild forms of inappropriate conduct...that are not of a sufficiently serious nature’.
VLA is concerned that this high threshold is not supported by evidence nor by the findings of Respect@Work, which made no findings that only ‘seriously demeaning’ conduct should be prohibited.
6 Section 28AA(1) reads: ‘For the purposes of this Act, a person harasses another person (the person harassed) on the ground of sex if by reason of: (i) the sex of the person harassed; or (ii) a characteristic that appertains generally to persons of the sex of the person harassed; or (iii) a characteristic that is generally imputed to persons of the sex of the person harassed; the person engages in unwelcome conduct of a seriously demeaning nature in relation to the person harassed; and the person does so in circumstances in which a reasonable person, having regard to all the circumstances, would have anticipated the possibility that the person harassed would be offended, humiliated or intimidated.’ Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 6 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 Our practice experience reflects that rigid gender and sexuality norms in society play a contributing role to driving sexual harassment.7 Further, while ‘milder’ incidents of sex-based harassment may not have an impact in isolation, the compounding effect of repeated slights is significant.
According to Professor Belinda Smith et al: An organisational climate that is sexist and tolerates sexual harassment also causes direct harm to the broader workforce.
A recent meta-analysis of studies examining women’s occupational wellbeing concluded that ‘the more frequent, less intense, and often unchallenged gender harassment, sexist discrimination, sexist organizational climate, and OTSH [organizational tolerance of sexual harassment] appeared at least as detrimental for women’s well-being’ as low-frequency, individualised and targeted acts of harassment, such as sexual coercion.
The authors concluded that the organisation-wide impacts of this kind of conduct may be much larger, though less obvious.8 In our Change the Culture, Change the System report we highlighted Jessica’s story, which shows how a culture that facilitated inappropriate jokes about violence against women and gender stereotypes was interlinked with her experience of sexual harassment.

Jessica’s story I don’t have many happy memories of my time at university.
I undertook tertiary studies in a male-dominated field of study and I frequently experienced sexist remarks and sexual harassment from both students and staff.

It was often done in a joking manner, but I found it very isolating.

It made me feel unsafe.

I would constantly ask people to stop making these remarks, which would include jokes about family violence and gender stereotypes, including women’s place being in the kitchen.
I came very close to withdrawing from my studies because I was worried that the same blokey, sexist culture would continue when I commenced work in the industry.

I spoke up and made an internal complaint.

I really wanted to try and change the culture.

I asked the University for better policies, awareness training, intervention and help.

I spoke to numerous lecturers who did nothing.

One lecturer subsequently reprimanded me when I escalated my complaints above them.
I did all I could to make the University take it seriously, but I was treated like I was a trouble maker.

The victimisation I experienced after speaking up changed me as a person.

My mental health suffered significantly and I truly struggled to complete my degree.

In the end, my complaints were lodged as a grievance.

This was a tiresome, lengthy and mentally tormenting process.
Although the University ultimately agreed to introduce new policies to address the behaviour, this wasn’t consistently or meaningfully implemented.

I had to engage a lawyer to obtain an outcome to address the harm I had suffered.

VLA is concerned that if the culture and conduct experienced by Jessica occurred in a work setting, it may not meet the Bill’s proposed threshold of ‘seriously demeaning’.
This threshold could exclude people from being able to bring complaints about behaviour and conduct that seriously impacts their health and safety, but falls short of sexual harassment.

7 As submitted in Initial Submission to the AHRC’s National Inquiry by Professor Paula McDonald, QUT and Professor Sara Charlesworth, RMIT University, p 10.
8 B Smith, M Schleiger and L Elphick, ‘Preventing Sexual Harassment at Work: Exploring the Promise of Work Health and Safety Laws’ (2019) Australian Journal of Labour Law, 219-249, 226, citing VE Sojo, RE Wood and AE Genat, ‘Harmful Workplace Experiences and Women’s Occupational Well-Being: A Meta-Analysis’ (2016) 40 Psych Women Q 10 at p 31.
Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 7 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 Further, it is unclear whether subsection 28AA(2), which sets out the circumstances to be taken into account for the purposes of subsection 28AA(1), is supposed to provide guidance on how ‘conduct of a seriously demeaning nature’ should be interpreted.
VLA is also concerned that there is no guidance in the legislative materials as to what would constitute conduct of a ‘seriously demeaning nature’.

Overall, VLA is concerned that this provision is ambiguous, and minimises the impact of less intense but still harmful sex-based harassment, which may create barriers to justice for people who have experienced harassment on the ground of sex, gender identity or intersex status.
It is also important to implement Recommendation 16(c) of Respect@Work: ‘amend the Sex Discrimination Act to ensure that creating or facilitating an intimidating, hostile, humiliating or offensive environment on the basis of sex is expressly prohibited.’ We note that the Australian Government’s Roadmap for Respect indicates that the Government agrees in principle to this recommendation.9 As Jessica’s story illustrates, an environment that tolerates generalised hostility towards women causes harm even if the conduct is not directed towards any individual.
The evidence supports this observation: A study on the effects of sexual harassment by Sorenson, Mangione-Lambie and Luzio found that it is an ‘emotionally devastating event’ for bystanders, as well as direct victims.

There was no statistically significant difference in the negative effects of sexual harassment on victims and bystanders, with both reporting that they experienced depression and loss of motivation.
Likewise, a study by Glomb et al found that ‘ambient sexual harassment’ — measured by the frequency of sexual harassment experienced by other women in a workgroup — had a detrimental impact on the psychological conditions of individuals in that workgroup.
Women who are simply ‘members of work groups where ambient sexual harassment is prevalent ... report higher levels of absenteeism, intentions to quit, and are more likely to leave work early, take long breaks, and miss meetings’.10 Recommendation 1 Amend the Sex Discrimination Act to: a.

Change the proposed definition of ‘harassment on the ground of sex’ from ‘seriously demeaning’ to ‘demeaning’.

b.
b.

Prohibit ‘creating or facilitating an intimidating, hostile, humiliating or offensive environment on the basis of sex’.
VLA is also concerned that the definition of ‘harassment on the ground of sex’ in section 28AA(1) fails to anticipate harassment that occurs on the ground of gender identity or intersex status.11 These 9 A Roadmap for Respect: Preventing and Addressing Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces (8 April 2021) Department of the Attorney-General, Australian Government (available at: https://www.ag.gov.au/rights-and- protections/publications/roadmap-for-respect).
10 B Smith et al, above n 8, citing RC Sorenson, MG Mangione-Lambie and RC Luzio, ‘Solving the Chronic Problem of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: An Empirical Study of Factors Affecting Employee Perceptions and Consequences of Sexual Harassment’ (1998) 34 Cal West L Rev 457 at p 460 and TM Glomb et al, ‘Ambient Sexual Harassment: An Integrated Model of Antecedents and Consequences’ (1997) 71 Organ Behav Hum Decis Process 309 at p 322.

11 Sex refers to a person’s designated sex at birth.
Gender identity means the gender‑related identity, appearance or mannerisms or other gender‑related characteristics of a person (whether by way of medical intervention or not), with or without regard to the person’s designated sex at birth.

Intersex status means the status of having physical, hormonal or genetic features that are neither wholly female nor wholly male; or a combination of female and male; or neither female nor male: Sex Discrimination Act, section 4.
Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 8 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 attributes are protected under the Sex Discrimination Act, and are often misunderstood to have the same meaning as sex.
Respect@Work found that transgender and intersex workers may be more likely to experience sexual harassment in the workplace,12 and that sex-based (or gender-based) harassment and sexual harassment often occur together.13 In practice, defining section 28AA(1) based on ‘sex’ alone may mean that transgender and gender diverse women cannot benefit from these proposed protections.
For example, consider a transgender woman who is known to her colleagues as a woman and who identifies her gender as female, but whose biological sex is male.

As the Bill is currently drafted, she would be unable to prove ‘harassment on the ground of sex’ unless the harassment was on the ground of her male sex.

Harassment directed at her on the ground that she is female, or has characteristics generally imputed to women, would not be prohibited as her sex is not female.
Recommendation 2 Amend the Sex Discrimination Act to ensure the prohibition of harassment on the ground of sex also prohibits harassment on the ground of gender identity and intersex status.

2.

An enforceable positive duty under anti-discrimination laws to reduce the burden on victim-survivors The Bill misses a crucial opportunity to legislatively require employers to take proactive and preventative steps to provide a working environment free from sexual harassment or discrimination.
VLA recommends that the Bill be amended to introduce a positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act for all employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sex discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation as far as possible.
This reform was recommended by the Respect@Work,14 and also in our Change the Culture, Change the System report.15 The Australian Government rejected these recommendations on the basis that a positive duty in the Sex Discrimination Act may create ‘complexity, uncertainty or duplication in the overarching legal framework’, given the existing duty to provide a safe workplace in work health and safety laws.16 We agree that there is crossover between the positive duty under work health and safety laws and the positive duty that we propose under the Sex Discrimination Act.
While work health and safety regulators now accept that sexual harassment falls within their remit and steps are being taken by employers to address this hazard, the pace of change is likely to differ substantially from state to state, and there have been no sexual harassment-related prosecutions to date.
Further, significant organisational and operational changes are required by work health and safety regulators across Australia before they are likely to be effective in reducing sexual harassment and discrimination.

In any case, the positive duties under work health and safety laws and the Sex Discrimination Act would not perform identical functions, and we do not consider duplication to be problematic.

It is 12 Respect@Work, above n 2, p 19.

13 Respect@Work, above n 2, p 457.


14 Respect@Work, above n 2, Recommendation 17.

15 Change the Culture, Change the System report, above n 4, Recommendation 3.

16 Roadmap for Respect, above n 9, p 12.

Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 9 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 important to treat sexual harassment as a workplace hazard and take a work health and safety approach to eliminating the risks.
However, it is equally important to acknowledge that sexual harassment is a form of discrimination that occurs beyond the workplace and must also be addressed from an anti-discrimination perspective.

The AHRC has unique expertise in this area that it can contribute – if adequately funded – to support employers to prevent sex-based discrimination and gendered violence and create more inclusive workplaces.
Further, a breach of the positive duty under work health and safety law is a criminal offence that must be proved beyond reasonable doubt (the criminal standard of proof).

This is likely to limit action being taken under that framework to only the most extreme and criminal cases of employers failing to prevent sexual harassment.
In contrast, a contravention of the positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act would be a civil breach, which more accurately reflects the nature of the wrong in most circumstances.

While a failure to prevent sexual harassment has very serious consequences, we do not consider that an employer’s failing in this regard is commonly at a criminal level of culpability, although punitive consequences may be warranted.
A civil positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act, made visible through enforcement by the AHRC, is likely to lead to more employers making greater efforts to prevent gendered violence and harassment.

Pursuing sanctions should not be the primary activity of a regulator, however the threat of punishment for non-compliance can help efforts to persuade compliance with the law.
As a result, it is important to have a positive duty to eliminate sexual harassment that is actually enforced, and that the AHRC has the full suite of regulatory powers to do so.17 VLA considers that this should include providing the AHRC with greater investigation powers, the power to enter into enforceable undertakings and issue compliance notices, and the power to seek sanctions against those who breach the Sex Discrimination Act.18 Respect@Work further recommended that the AHRC be empowered with a broad inquiry function to inquire into systemic unlawful discrimination, including systemic sexual harassment.19 VLA supports this recommendation.
Without these powers, the legal, social and financial consequences for contravening anti- discrimination laws are minimal, as legal action is rarely pursued by victim-survivors.

Currently, individual victim-survivors of sexual harassment bear the burden of enforcing the Sex Discrimination Act, but there are high financial, social and emotional costs involved in doing so, and contraventions are often difficult for an individual to prove.
Even if an applicant succeeds in proving discrimination, they may be left out of pocket financially because awards of compensation are often low (particularly if the applicant was in a low-paid job) and the cost of litigation is so high.

Individual victim-survivors of gendered violence and harassment at work should not be solely responsible for holding perpetrators to account and changing workplace practices.
The responsibility to prevent sexual harassment should be shared, by introducing a positive duty in the Sex Discrimination Act, complemented by stronger enforcement powers for the AHRC.

17 For further discussion see Change the Culture, Change the System report, above n 4, pp 29-30.

18 Respect@Work, above n 2, Recommendation 18; Change the Culture, Change the System report, above n 4, Recommendation 5.

19 Respect@Work, above n 2, Recommendation 19.


Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 10 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 Recommendation 3 Amend the Sex Discrimination Act to impose an enforceable positive duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment, supplemented by guidelines for compliance.
Recommendation 4 Amend the AHRC Act to give the AHRC powers and resources to effectively address sexual harassment and other forms of gendered violence at work, including greater investigation powers, the power to enter into enforceable undertakings and issue compliance notices, and the power to take court action and seek penalties against those who contravene the Sex Discrimination Act.

3.
3.

A Fair Work system that effectively prevents and addresses sexual harassment Both Respect@Work and our Change the Culture, Change the System report recommended changes to ensure that sexual harassment is prohibited in the Fair Work Act and within the Fair Work system.20 The Change the Culture, Change the System report called for the introduction of a stand- alone civil remedy provision to enable the Fair Work Commission to receive complaints and the Fair Work Ombudsman to tackle sexual harassment.
As set out in the Change the Culture, Change the System report, our experience suggests that changes to the Fair Work Act would reduce the need for employees to bring multiple claims, offer a faster process for resolving sexual harassment complaints at the Fair Work Commission, increase community understanding of rights and obligations relating to sexual harassment, and empower the Fair Work Ombudsman to educate and enforce matters relating to sexual harassment.21 The Australian Government has committed to review the Fair Work system.22 However, the Bill’s failure to amend the Fair Work Act is a missed opportunity to promptly and expressly protect employees from sexual harassment.
In any case, VLA calls on the Australian Government to release details of the scope and timeline of its review into the Fair Work system.

20 Respect@Work, above n 2, Recommendation 28; Change the Culture, Change the System report, above n 4, Recommendation 8.

21 Change the Culture, Change the System report, above n 4, 35.

22 Roadmap for Respect, above n 9, p 14.


Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 11 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 Recommendation 5 Amend the Fair Work Act to introduce a stand-alone civil remedy provision for sexual harassment to protect workers, enable the Fair Work Commission to receive complaints, and empower the Fair Work Ombudsman to tackle sexual harassment.
Recommendation 6 That the Australian Government publish details of the scope and timeline of its proposed review into the Fair Work system in the context of sexual harassment.

4.
4.

Protecting victim-survivors from the heavy legal costs of complaints Respect@Work and our Change the Culture, Change the System report both recommended that costs protections be created for victim-survivors of sexual harassment who bring complaints to the Commission.23 Despite the Australian Government’s commitment to reviewing cost procedures in sexual harassment matters,24 the Bill is silent on this issue.
The Change the Culture, Change the System report found that victim-survivors of sexual harassment are deterred from bringing complaints due to the risk of incurring an adverse costs order if they lose their case.
This approach to costs is contrary to the approach to legal costs in the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act as well as under State and Territory anti-discrimination laws.25 VLA considers the deterrent effect of the current costs rule could be improved by limiting costs orders against applicants who have been unsuccessful in their complaint under the Sex Discrimination Act to instances where the application is frivolous, vexatious or without foundation.26 The Bill should be amended to introduce such a provision in the AHRC Act, to make the complaints process fairer and more accessible for victim-survivors of sexual harassment.
Recommendation 7 Amend the AHRC Act to limit costs orders against unsuccessful applicants to instances where the application is frivolous, vexatious or without foundation.

Recommendation 8 That the Australian Government publish detail of the scope and timeline of its proposed review of costs procedures in sexual harassment matters.

23 Respect@Work, above n 2, Recommendation 25; Change the Culture, Change the System report, above n 4, Recommendation 12.

24 Roadmap for Respect, about n 9, p 15.


25 Change the Culture, Change the System report, above n 4, p 39.

26 Ibid.

Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 12 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 5.
An effective regime for stop sexual harassment orders VLA welcomes the proposed introduction of a ‘stop sexual harassment order’ regime into Part 6-4B of the Fair Work Act, as recommended by Respect@Work.27 The proposed regime in Part 6-4B of the Fair Work Act enables a worker to seek redress if, while the worker is ‘at work’, one or more individuals sexually harasses the worker.28 The meaning of ‘at work’ is not defined in the Fair Work Act and is subject to judicial interpretation.
Existing case law about the meaning of the phrase ‘at work’29 indicates that it is not sufficiently broad to cover the complex nature of work arrangements and interactions, such as communicating with colleagues through social media and the blurring of boundaries that can occur when working from home.
Limiting stop sexual harassment orders to conduct ‘at work’ will also fail to cover certain situations that we know involve a higher risk of gendered violence and harassment occurring, such as work- related travel and social events.

VLA is concerned that without broadening the application of stop sexual harassment orders, the regime will fail to address conduct in contexts where sexual harassment is rife.
Respect@Work found that sexual harassment often occurs away from the usual workplace, while travelling for work, restaurants, conferences and function spaces, hotel rooms, in lunchrooms, at cafés, restaurants and bars, at end-of-year parties, and other similar functions.30 Accordingly, VLA recommends that the Fair Work Act be amended to ensure that stop sexual harassment orders can be made to deal with gendered violence and harassment at work in the fullest range of circumstances possible.
This should reflect, at a minimum, the circumstances set out in section 28B of the Sex Discrimination Act, which prohibits persons from sexual harassing others in a range of employment relationships, irrespective of where the sexual harassment takes place.
For example, section 28B makes it unlawful for an employee to sexually harass a fellow employee or prospective employee, and it is unlawful for a workplace participant to sexually harass another workplace participant at a place that is a workplace of either or both of those persons.31 This amendment would provide more certainty and clarity, which ultimately supports access to justice for victim-survivors.
It would also clarify that employers are empowered to implement policies and disciplinary procedures that contemplate sexual harassment outside of the physical workplace.

Recommendation 9 Amend the Fair Work Act to ensure that stop sexual harassment orders can be made in the fullest range of work-related circumstances possible, including the circumstances set out in section 28B of the Sex Discrimination Act.
VLA is also concerned about the Bill’s proposal that a stop sexual harassment order may only be made if ‘there is a risk that the worker will continue to be sexually harassed at work by the individual 27 Respect@Work, above n 2, Recommendation 29.

28 Bill, Part 1(22) of Schedule 1.

‘Worker’ has the same meaning as in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth).
29 See eg ‘What does ‘at work’ mean?’, Anti-Bullying Benchbook (2021) Fair Work Commission (available at: https://www.fwc.gov.au/anti-bullying-benchbook/when-worker-bullied-at-work/what-does-at-work-mean.)

30 Respect@Work, above n 2, pp 135-136.

31 Workplace participant is defined in s28B of the Sex Discrimination Act to mean an employer, employee, commission agent, contract worker, or a partner in a partnership.
Workplace is defined as a place at which a workplace participant works or otherwise carries out functions in connection with being a workplace participant.
Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 13 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 or individuals’.32 If the sexual harassment occurred and the victim-survivor is fearful of it occurring again, then a stop sexual harassment order could provide the victim-survivor the comfort and protection necessary to enable them to maintain their job.
The current wording in the Bill is consistent with the existing language in the Fair Work Act relating to ‘stop bullying orders’.33 In our view that language reflects the nature of bullying, which is explicitly defined in the Fair Work Act as conduct that is repeated and that creates a risk to health and safety.34 In contrast, sexual harassment need not be repeated and may be a one-off act.35 VLA is therefore concerned that the proposed requirement – that a worker must demonstrate a risk of continuing sexual harassment for a stop sexual harassment order to be made – misconceives the nature of sexual harassment.
It may have the unintended effect that one-off instances of sexual harassment, even if serious, cannot be addressed through a ‘stop sexual harassment order’, as one- off conduct might not be sufficient to satisfy the Fair Work Commission that there is a continuing risk of sexual harassment.

However, the victim-survivor of sexual harassment may have an ongoing fear of the sexual harassment recurring, which a stop sexual harassment order could address.
In any case, the requirement that the Fair Work Commission be satisfied of a continuing risk fails to promote the policy objective that any instances of sexual harassment at work, including one-off instances, are unacceptable.

Recommendation 10 Amend the Fair Work Act to remove the requirement that the Fair Work Commission must be satisfied that there is a risk that the worker will continue to be sexually harassed at work in order to make a ‘stop sexual harassment order’.

6.
6.

Other changes to strengthen legislative protections against gendered violence The Bill fails to address several other Federal law reform recommendations made in the Change the Culture, Change the System report and Respect@Work.

These include: i.

Amend the objects of the Sex Discrimination Act to include ‘to achieve substantive equality between men and women’ Substantive equality and equality of opportunity are not the same.
For example, female and male workers may be granted the same opportunity to take three weeks of parental leave, however the impact of this minimal leave entitlement on a biological mother who has given birth and is breastfeeding a newborn will be different to the impact on a father of 32 Bill, Part 1(24) of Schedule 1.

33 Fair Work Act, section 789FF, provides that a ‘stop bullying order’ may only be issued if ‘there is a risk that the worker will continue to be bullied at work by the individual or group’.
34 Fair Work Act, section 789FD(1).

35 Respect@Work, above n 2, p 454, citing Johanson v Michael Blackledge Meats [2001] FMCA 6, 85; Aldridge v Booth (1988) ALR 1; Hall v A & A Sheiban Pty Ltd (1989) 20 FCR 217, 231.

Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 14 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 a newborn.
In order to achieve substantive equality, difference must be recognised and adjustments made to promote substantive gender equality where required.

ii.
Expand protection from sexual harassment to all areas of public life As set out in the Change the Culture, Change the System report, the limitation of sexual harassment protections to certain areas of public life can leave employees without protection in circumstances related to their employment.36 Queensland has extended protection from sexual harassment to all areas of public life, making it unlawful for any person to sexually harass another person.37 VLA calls for a similar reform to be made to the Sex Discrimination Act through the Bill, to improve access to justice for all employees.
iii.

Shift the burden of proof to the employer once the employee has established a prima facie case of sexual harassment or discrimination The Sex Discrimination Act does not start from the position of believing victim-survivors of sexual harassment; rather, the victim-survivor has the burden of proving that they are telling the truth.
As set out in the Change the Culture, Change the System report, our experience in discrimination claims brought under the Fair Work Act (where there is a reverse burden of proof) is that shifting the burden of proof to the employer improves the prospect of the matter resolving by agreement.
The Bill should be amended to further remove barriers to victim-survivors pursuing complaints, by introducing a reverse burden of proof in the Sex Discrimination Act similar to the burden of proof used in section 361 of the Fair Work Act.

iv.

Recognise that different aspects of identity intersect to affect victim- survivors’ experiences of gendered violence and harassment The AHRC has found that inequalities other than sex and gender also play a pivotal role in driving sexual harassment.
It found that experiences of ‘intersecting’ forms of discrimination (such as the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, LGBTQI people and people of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds) can increase the risk of experiencing sexual harassment, and make it harder for victim-survivors to report it.38 Respect@Work recommended that further research, support and funding be provided to address this intersectional discrimination.
VLA supports these recommendations, and also calls for legislative reform to recognise and address these experiences.

Currently, each protected attribute and type of discrimination is protected by a different piece of anti-discrimination legislation.

While it is open to courts to join contraventions of separate Acts into the one claim, this is at the court’s discretion and there is limited case law providing guidance.

This could reduce 36 Change the Culture, Change the System report, above n 4, p 37.
37 Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld), section 118.

38 Respect@Work, above n 2, p 92; AHRC, Discussion paper: Priorities for federal discrimination law reform (2019) (available at: https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/publications/discussion-paper-priorities-federal- discrimination-law), p 7.
Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 15 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 access to justice for marginalised people who experience sexual harassment, along with discrimination based on other protected attributes.39 Recommendation 11 Amend the Sex Discrimination Act to: a.

Include in the objects ‘to achieve substantive equality between men and women’.

b.
b.

Extend the protections against sexual harassment to all areas of public life.

c. Shift the burden of proof to the employer once a worker has established a prima facie case.

d. Recognise that different aspects of identity protected by other anti-discrimination laws (including race, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and national or social origin) intersect to affect victim-survivors’ experiences of gendered violence and harassment.
v. Improve protections for people who complain of sexual harassment and suffer detriment because their employer fails to respond reasonably or conduct a reasonable investigation It is crucial that people feel safe to report sexual harassment and other forms of work- related gendered violence.

Victim-survivors and those who report sexual harassment commonly experience retaliation for speaking up or taking action against sexual harassment.
Further, many victim-survivors of sex discrimination and sexual harassment experience victimisation in the form of employer responses that are humiliating, undermining and completely inadequate.

There is often no available redress for this harm.

Penny’s story, as told in the Change the Culture, Change the System report, demonstrates how harmful this can be.

Penny’s story I worked as a retail assistant at a clothing store.

I was sexually assaulted by my manager after work hours.
He also sent me text messages containing sexual comments that were quite controlling and confronting.

I complained, and my employer investigated the conduct.

I felt that at the time I was not supported as I had to tell the story a few times to different people.

It felt like an interrogation.

I told them that I was anxious and unwell as a result.

I said I hadn’t asked for anything, I just didn’t want him to work there anymore.
They came back with a decision that there wasn’t enough evidence to support my complaint, but they would relocate him.

I knew I would still have contact with him through the work phone and email.
I told them that they haven’t provided me with 39 See also Law Council of Australia, Submission National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces (26 February 2019) (available at: https://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/resources/submissions/national-inquiry-into-sexual- harassment-in-australian-workplaces) p 52; Women with Disabilities Victoria, Submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces (2019) (available at: https://humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-05/submission_312_-_women_with_disabilities_victoria.pdf), p 9.
Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 16 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 a safe workplace and I put in a letter of resignation as I could no longer work here.

The way that management handled the situation highlighted that the workplace did not have the framework to handle complaints as I felt dehumanised from the investigation process and it turned me off wanting to pursue legal matters further.
It was all too much, even living at that point was a struggle.

Nothing that I said was believed.

VLA calls for the Bill to be amended to improve protection and redress for people who complain of discrimination or sexual harassment under the Sex Discrimination Act and suffer detriment, because their employer or other duty-holder fails to respond reasonably or conduct a reasonable investigation.
VLA also calls for the Australian Government to consider regulating workplace investigations to strengthen procedural fairness for all parties, and facilitate an appropriate balance between privacy and transparency.

Recommendation 12 Amend the Sex Discrimination Act and the Fair Work Act to improve protection and redress for people who complain of sexual harassment and suffer detriment because their employer or other duty holder fails to respond reasonably or fails to conduct a reasonable investigation.
vi.

Allowing unions and other representative groups to bring representative claims to court Respect@Work found there are sound public policy reasons to enable appropriate organisations with a legitimate interest in a particular subject-matter to commence and pursue discrimination proceedings.
This is important given the significant social, emotional and financial costs for individuals who pursue a legal claim of sexual harassment, and the chilling effect that these costs have on victim-survivors taking action.
VLA calls for the Bill to be amended so that the AHRC Act allows unions and other representative groups to bring representative claims to court, consistent with the existing provisions in the AHRC Act that allow unions and other representative groups to bring a representative complaint to the AHRC.

Recommendation 13 Amend the AHRC Act to allow unions and other representative groups to bring representative claims to court.
Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 17 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 Annexure 1: Victoria Legal Aid, our work and our clients Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) is a Victorian statutory agency responsible for providing information, advice and assistance in response to a broad range of legal problems.
VLA assists people with legal problems such as family separation, child protection, family violence, discrimination, criminal matters, fines, social security, mental health and tenancy.

In 2019–20, VLA provided assistance to over 88,000 unique clients across Victoria.

As the image below shows, our clients from the 2019–2020 financial year are diverse and experience high levels of social and economic disadvantage.
Almost half of our clients are currently receiving social security and more than one in three of our clients receive no income at all.

Over 22,000 people disclosed having a disability or experiencing mental health issues.

Almost one-quarter of our clients identified being from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and 30% were living in regional or rural Victoria.
VLA has a free specialist discrimination law service, the Equality Law Program, which promotes and protects substantive equality by addressing individual and systemic discrimination through advice, casework, legal education, and strategic advocacy.

We work to enable people to obtain and retain employment, to remain engaged with key service and education providers, to receive fair compensation, and to use the law to help stop discrimination and sexual harassment occurring again in the future.
As part of this work, over the past five years we provided over 6,720 legal advice sessions regarding discrimination matters, including 1,058 advice sessions about sexual harassment and sex discrimination.

Approximately 80% of clients who we assisted with a workplace sexual harassment complaint were women.
Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 18 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 19 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 Annexure 2: Power to Prevent Joint Statement Power to Prevent: Urgent Actions Needed to Stop Sexual Harassment at Work Joint statement We are a group of diverse organisations, unions, researchers, peak bodies, health professionals and lawyers who have come together to say we need to do more to stop sexual harassment in workplaces.
Our organisations and research efforts see the effects of sexual harassment on people around Australia every day and how our systems are not working to respond to the issues.

Everyone deserves to be safe at work and in their community.

Yet the rates of sexual harassment in Australia are alarming, particularly for women, with 85% having experienced it in their lifetime.

Sexual harassment is about more than just individual behaviour.
It is a problem that is deeply entrenched within our society and occurs because gender inequality is ingrained in our social and cultural norms, structures and practices.

It’s time that employers and workplaces stamp out sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment causes significant harm to individuals, workplaces and society.

We know what the solutions are, but we need governments and employers to implement them.

We need strong action to prevent and respond to sexual harassment, and we need it now.
We call on State, Territory and Federal Governments across Australia to take urgent and coordinated action to implement the following solutions.

1.

Dedicated prevention efforts to address the underlying gendered drivers of sexual harassment, which should be part of a holistic strategy to prevent violence against women and promote gender equality in line with Change the story: A shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia.

2.
2.

Stronger and clearer legal duties on employers to take proactive steps to prevent sexual harassment at work, and strong and effective regulators that have the full suite of regulatory tools and resources necessary to effectively tackle sexual harassment, including as a cultural, a systemic and a health and safety issue.

3.
3.

Access to fair, effective and efficient complaints processes, including a new right of action under the Fair Work Act, extended time limits, increased transparency of conciliation outcomes where appropriate, and other amendments and resources necessary to address the unique barriers that currently prevent workers who experience sexual harassment from taking effective legal action.

4.
4.

Appropriate advocacy and support for workers who experience sexual harassment, including access to information, counselling and legal services that are appropriately resourced and coordinated.

5.

Accessible reporting tools, including piloting an online reporting tool that assists people to report and address problem behaviour and seek support, and identifies trends to assist with prevention and enforcement efforts.

We stand together to call for change to create sexual harassment free workplaces.
Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 20 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 List of Signatories (as at October 2019) Alice Springs Women’s Shelter Annie North Inc Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union - Victoria Branch Australian Council for International Development Australian Council of Social Service Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group, Academic forum Australian Education Union - Victoria Australian Lawyers’ Alliance 1.
2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Australian Manufacturing Worker’s Union Victorian Branch 11.

Australian Services Union Victorian and Tasmanian Authorities & Services Branch 12.

Australian Women Against Violence Alliance 13.

Basic Rights Queensland 14.

Centres Against Sexual Assault Forum 15.

CFMEU Construction and General Division Victoria and Tasmanian Branch 16.

Community and Public Sector Union - PSU Group 17.

Community Broadcasting Association of Australia 18.
Community Legal Centres’ NSW 19.

Disability Discrimination Legal Service 20.

Djirra 21.

Domestic Violence NSW 22.

Domestic Violence Victoria 23.

Dr Alysia Blackham, Academic 24.

Dr Belinda Smith, Associate Professor of Sydney Law School, University of Sydney 25.

Dr Cristy Clark, Legal Academic 26.

Dr Dominique Allen, Legal Academic 27.

Dr Karen O’Connell, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, UTS 28.

Dr Paula McDonald, Legal Academic 29.

Dr Sara Charlesworth, Legal Academic 30.


Drummond Street Services 31.

Emeritus Professor Margaret Thornton of Australian National University College of Law 32.

Emma Coetsee, Human Rights Consultant 33.

Equality Rights Alliance 34.

Fair Agenda 35.

Federation of Community Legal Centres 36.

Finance Sector Union of Victoria 37.

Fitted for Work 38.

Gender Equity Victoria (GEN VIC) 39.

Gippsland Sexual and Reproductive Health Alliance 40.

Gippsland Women’s Health 41.


Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand 42.

Gordon Legal 43.

Health and Community Services Union 44.

Human Rights Law Centre 45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

Karen Willis, Executive Officer, Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia 51.

Kingsford Legal Centre 52.

Liam Elphick, Legal Academic 53.

Maritime Union of Australia 54.


Maurice Blackburn Independent Education Union Victoria and Tasmania International Women’s Development Agency Job Watch Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, UTS Justice Connect Victoria Legal Aid - 21 - Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – 9 July 2021 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 55.

Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance 56.

Migrant Workers’ Centre 57.

Minus18 58.


National Association of Community Legal Centres (NACLC) 59.

National Working Women’s Centres 60.

Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission 61.

Not in My Workplace 62.

NOW Australia 63.

NT Working Women’s Centre 64.

Professor Beth Gaze, Academic 65.

Public Health Association of Australia 66.

Public Interest Advocacy Centre 67.

Rail Bus and Tram Union 68.

Redfern Legal Centre 69.

RMIT Centre for People, Organisation & Work (CPOW) 70.
Ruby Gaea Darwin Centre Against Sexual Violence 71.

Sexual Assault Support Service Inc 72.

Shop Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA) National 73.

Slater & Gordon Lawyers 74.

St Kilda Legal Service 75.

Switchboard Victoria 76.

Thorne Harbour Health 77.

Unions NSW 78.

United Voice 79.

University of Melbourne Students Union 80.

Victoria Legal Aid 81.

Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service 82.

Victorian Council of Social Service 83.

Victorian Multicultural Commission 84.


Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) 85.

Victorian Women’s Lawyers 86.

Victorian Women’s Trust 87.

Villamanta Disability Rights Legal Service Inc. 88.

WestJustice 89.

Women in Adult and Vocational Education (WAVE) 90.

Women with Disabilities Victoria 91.

Women’s Electoral Lobby 92.

Women’s Health and Wellbeing Barwon South West 93.

Women’s Health Goulburn North East 94.

Women’s Health in the South East (WHISE) 95.

Women’s Health NSW 96.


Women’s Health Victoria 97.

Women’s Health West 98.

Women’s Information and Referral Exchange Inc 99.

Women’s Legal Centre ACT 100.

Women’s Legal Service NSW 101.

Women’s Legal Service Victoria 102.

Women’s Legal Services Australia 103.

Women’s Property Initiatives 104.

Working Women Queensland 105.

Working Women’s Centre South Australia Inc 106.

Young Workers’ Centre 107.

Youth Affairs Council Victoria 108.
YWCA Australia Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 22 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 23 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27 Victoria Legal Aid Respect at Work: Ensuring Real Change – July 2021 24 Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021Submission 27