Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00326:body:0:p8
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00326
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 21114–23985

must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, workers and other persons are not exposed to risks to their psychological or physical health and safety, including risks from psychosocial hazards such as sexual and gender-based harassment. A PCBU must eliminate health and safety risks at work, or if that is not reasonably practicable, minimise these risks so far as is reasonably practicable.
A range of other duties apply to managing the risk of sexual and gender-based harassment, such as duties for consultation and the duties of officers, workers and other persons at the workplace.
If you have management or control of a workplace, you have additional duties under WHS laws.

WHS Act section 27

Duty of officers

Officers, such as departmental secretaries or company directors, must exercise due diligence to ensure the business or undertaking complies with its WHS duties. This includes taking reasonable steps to ensure the PCBU has and uses appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise risks of sexual and gender-based harassment. For example, ensuring the PCBU has safe systems of work and safe work environments to eliminate or minimise the risk.

WHS Act section 28

Duties of workers

Workers must take reasonable care for their own psychological and physical health and safety and take reasonable care not to adversely affect the health and safety of other persons. Workers must comply with reasonable health and safety instructions, as far as they are reasonably able, and cooperate with reasonable health and safety policies or procedures that have been notified to workers. For example, not sexually harassing anyone in the workplace.

WHS Act section 29

Duties of other persons at the workplace

Other persons at the workplace must take reasonable care for their own psychological and physical health and safety and must take reasonable care not to adversely affect other people's health and safety. For example, a customer in a customer service centre must not sexually harass staff. They must comply, so far as they are reasonably able, with reasonable instructions given by the PCBU to allow them to comply with the WHS Act and WHS Regulations.
Further details of duties applying to psychosocial hazards including sexual and gender‑based harassment can be found in the Work Health and Safety (Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work) Code of Practice 2024 (Cth).
Other legal frameworks applying to sexual and gender-based harassment
WHS laws do not operate in isolation and other laws may also apply. For example, workplace relations, criminal, anti-discrimination, privacy 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