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Bullying, Harassment and Respect at Work

Bullying and harassment are psychosocial hazards an employer has to manage under WHS law, and the positive duty on sexual harassment sits on top. This course gives a whole team the same definitions, the same reporting paths and a clear statement of what is not bullying.
What You Will Learn
- Define workplace bullying, harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination and explain how they differ
- Explain why these behaviours are psychosocial hazards that a PCBU (or employer) must manage under WHS law
- Describe the positive duty to eliminate sexual harassment and who enforces it
- Distinguish unlawful conduct from reasonable management action taken in a reasonable way
- Identify reporting pathways, safe bystander action, and the role of Fair Work and anti-discrimination bodies
Course Content
- Four words with four different legal meanings
- By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Naming the conduct correctly is the first step to responding well
- The four behaviours differ on 'repeated' versus 'single act'
- Bullying needs two elements: it must be repeated AND unreasonable
- Harassment and discrimination can each arise from a single act
- The same conduct can breach more than one law at once
- Bullying and harassment are WHS hazards, not just HR problems
- A psychosocial hazard is anything about work that can cause psychological harm
- The PCBU must eliminate or minimise psychosocial risk, so far as is reasonably practicable
- Managing psychosocial risk means designing work and systems, not just writing a policy
- How the psychosocial duty applies where you work
- Ignoring a known bullying problem can itself breach the primary duty of care
- The positive duty shifts the law from reacting to complaints to preventing harm
- The positive duty comes from the Sex Discrimination Act, amended after Respect@Work
- 'Positive' means you cannot wait for a complaint. You must act first
- The AHRC's guiding standards frame what compliance looks like
- Who enforces the positive duty where you work
- Since December 2023 the AHRC can actively enforce the positive duty
- Not every unwelcome experience at work is bullying
- Reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable way is not bullying
- The line is drawn by reasonableness of both the action and its delivery
- A manager can be firm and still be fair
- Bullying, harassment and discrimination cause real, costly harm
- There are several ways to raise unacceptable behaviour, and a record makes any report stronger
- Safe bystander action does not mean confronting or endangering yourself
- The Fair Work Commission can order bullying or sexual harassment to stop
- Federal and state pathways, and which applies
- The right pathway depends on the conduct, and more than one may apply
- Now put it all together
- Respect at work: a team leader's dilemma
- The five things to carry away
Who This Course Is For
All workers, supervisors, managers, HR and contact officers and anyone who wants to understand their rights and responsibilities around respect, bullying and harassment at work.
Written by Kam Askari, Managing Director of Creative Directions Management Consulting Pty Ltd, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 Lead Auditor. MBA, Graduate Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety, MAICD. Checked against the sources listed below.
Sources and Legal References
This course is aligned to 23 official sources. Legal and regulatory references checked between 12 August 2026 and 31 October 2026.
Sources and Further Reading
This course draws on the following official sources. Always rely on the current version on the regulator’s website.
- LegislationSex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth)As at 12/08/2026
- LegislationAustralian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth)As at 12/08/2026
- LegislationFair Work Act 2009 (Cth)As at 12/08/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)As at 12/08/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)As at 12/08/2026
- LegislationOccupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic)As at 12/08/2026
- LegislationOccupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 (Vic)As at 12/08/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth)As at 02/09/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (Cth)As at 02/09/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)As at 02/09/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022 (WA)As at 02/09/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Regulations 2012 (SA)As at 02/09/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Regulations 2022 (Tas)As at 02/09/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (ACT)As at 02/09/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Regulations 2011 (NT)As at 02/09/2026
- LegislationEqual Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic)As at 12/08/2026
- Regulator guidanceSafe Work Australia, Managing Risks to Health and Safety at the WorkplaceAs at 31/08/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2011 (ACT)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)As at 13/09/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 (NT)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA)As at 13/09/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2012 (Tas)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA)As at 31/10/2026
Always rely on the current version on the regulator’s website.
Seven day refund if you have not started
Or
For employers and teams
Buy Seats for Your Team
$49.00 per seat, inc GST
Total inc GST$245.00
Or
What You Get
Certificate of Completion
This is to certify that
has successfully completed
All learning modules and the final assessment
Kam Askari
Director, Creative Directions Management Consulting Pty Ltd
This is a certificate of completion of a non-accredited professional development course. It is not a nationally recognised qualification, a VET statement of attainment, a competency card, a licence, or evidence of competency. It is issued by Creative Directions Management Consulting Pty Ltd, which is not a Registered Training Organisation.
Sample layout. Certificate ID WP-SAMPLE-0001 verifies as Hazardous Manual Tasks and Manual Handling Safety.
- Certificate verified by its ID
- 100% online, self-paced
- Six months of access
Bought for yourself: six months of access from the day you pay. Team seat: six months from the day the worker activates their code.
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