Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

HISHOLM (—Assistant Minister for Education, Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Deputy Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (): Senator B Pocock, I thank you for your interest in this area, and I acknowledge your longstanding history of working in this space as well. I think it is an important aspect of this legislation. Stamping out workplace sexual harassment is central to achieving safe, productive and gender-equitable workplaces. That is what the government is committed to.

Under the previous government's laws there was no express prohibition on sexual harassment under the Fair Work Act and stop-sexual-harassment orders were only available to some workers. We will fix these issues. Firstly, we will broaden the scope of stop-sexual-harassment orders to make clear that the Fair Work Commission has the power to make orders preventing sexual harassment for all workers, including sole traders, employees of state governments, local government employees, workers in community organisations and workers in workplaces such as amateur sporting clubs. Examples of stop-sexual-harassment orders could include an order that individuals treat each other with respect or do not make contact with each other, or orders for companies to provide all staff with anti-sexual-harassment training or to arrange a health and safety inspector to attend meetings and parties. This is a key measure of how we can make workplaces safer.

Secondly, we will add the new prohibition on sexual harassment and a complaints process which will allow all workers, including those sexually harassed in the past, to apply to the Fair Work Commission for a remedy. Workers will have access to conciliation and arbitration by consent. Thirdly, our new provisions are broader in scope than the previous government's laws applying to conduct that occurs in connection with work and are consistent with protections in the Sex Discrimination Act. This means that protections will clearly apply to workplace sexual harassment that occurs outside of working hours or in employer provided accommodation, and to prospective workers as well.

These changes send a clear message that workplace sexual harassment will not be tolerated. Our changes will open a new pathway for people to get an outcome without having to go through the court system, which can be slow, costly and traumatic. That's a huge barrier for many workers, particularly those in lower-paid or insecure jobs. Our changes mean that every worker—whether they're a nurse in Tamworth, a plumber in Perth, or an office worker in Canberra—can ask the Fair Work Commission to deal quickly and effectively with their complaint of sexual harassment, whether the harassment occurred in the past, is ongoing or both. The new provisions also allow for the national workplace relations regulator, the Fair Work Ombudsman, to investigate and assist with compliance.

Importantly, these reforms fully implement recommendation 28 of the Respect@Work report, complementing the Attorney-General's reforms to the Sex Discrimination Act, which passed the parliament. The bill also strengthens the Fair Work Act's antidiscrimination protections to include gender identity, intersex status and breastfeeding, bringing it in line with other Commonwealth antidiscrimination laws.

The government is serious about ensuring Australian workplaces are free from sexual harassment in all forms of discrimination, and if we successfully pass this bill I think it will send an important message to the Australian people as well.