Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00326:body:0:p9
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00326
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 23727–26771

and workers' compensation laws, Specific statutory codes of conduct may also apply, such as the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct, the Parliamentary Service Code of Conduct, and the Australian Federal Police Code of Conduct.

Positive duty in the Sex Discrimination Act (Respect@Work)

The Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (SDA) also includes a positive duty to prevent sexual harassment (and other related unlawful conduct) which operates concurrently with WHS duties. PCBUs must take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate, as far as possible, certain discriminatory conduct that is unlawful under the SDA, including:

    -                      sex discrimination in a workplace context

    -                      sexual harassment in connection with work

    -                      sex-based harassment in connection with work

    -                      conduct that amounts to subjecting a person to a hostile work environment on the grounds of sex, and

    -                      certain acts of victimisation.

The PCBU must eliminate, as far as possible, unlawful conduct in the workplace carried out by the PCBU themselves, workers, the PCBU's agents and, in some circumstances, third parties such as customers, clients, patients, services users, patrons, suppliers, students, parents, carers and visitors. See the Australian Human Rights Commission for further information and guidance on the duties under the SDA.

Your obligations under the SDA are in addition to your existing WHS duties as a PCBU. While there are similarities between duties under the SDA and WHS laws, the duties are different. Complying with the SDA requirements alone will not necessarily ensure that you are meeting your WHS duties.

2.          Risk management process
To meet your duties to ensure health and safety, you, as the PCBU, must eliminate or minimise the risk of sexual and gender-based harassment so far as is reasonably practicable. To achieve this, just as for any other hazard, you can apply the risk management process described in the Work Health and Safety (How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks) Code of Practice 2015 (Cth).
Figure 1 Risk management process
The risk management process involves four steps:
    1.         Identify hazards - find out what could cause harm.
    2.         Assess risks, if necessary - understand the nature of the harm the hazard could cause, how serious the harm could be and the likelihood of it happening. This step may not be necessary if the risks and controls are known.
    3.         Control risks - implement the most effective control measures that are reasonably practicable in the circumstances and ensure they remain effective over time. This means you must:
     -            eliminate risks, if reasonably practicable to do so
     -            if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the risks, minimise the risks so far as is reasonably practicable in the circumstances by assessing the risks and implementing appropriate control measures, and