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Sexual Harassment Prevention and Positive Duty

The positive duty means an employer has to prevent sexual harassment, not just respond to it. This is the course that shows a whole team what that looks like and what to do when they see it.
What You Will Learn
- Recognise the behaviours that constitute sexual harassment and harassment on the ground of sex at work
- Explain the positive duty to eliminate sexual harassment under the Sex Discrimination Act following the Respect@Work reforms
- Describe how the positive duty sits alongside work health and safety duties
- Take safe and effective bystander action when you witness or learn of harassment
- Identify the internal and external reporting pathways and support available to workers
Course Content
- Sexual harassment prevention and the positive duty
- By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Sexual harassment is unlawful, and preventing it is now a legal duty
- Sexual harassment at work is common, and most of it is never reported
- The Respect at Work law changes reshaped how Australia tackles harassment
- Which laws protect you
- Sexual harassment has a specific legal meaning
- Sexual harassment takes many forms
- The law also covers harassment on the ground of sex
- Respectful conduct and sexual harassment are not the same thing
- It counts as work-related wherever the work connection reaches
- The positive duty means acting before harm happens, not after
- The positive duty covers five related harms
- A workplace meeting the duty can usually show these things
- The positive duty does not replace work health and safety duties
- The Commission can now enforce the positive duty
- Bystanders decide whether harassment is challenged or normalised
- You can act safely using the five Ds
- Your safety and the affected person's wishes come first
- Helpful bystander responses look very different from unhelpful ones
- If harassment happens, you have several ways to report it
- Reporting and complaint pathways
- Victimising someone for speaking up is itself unlawful
- Where to take an external complaint
- Support is available whether or not you make a formal report
- Now put it together on a real Friday night
- After the team drinks
- Five things to carry away
Who This Course Is For
All employees, managers, supervisors, HR and contact officers and business owners who want to understand sexual harassment, the positive duty and their part in a safe, respectful workplace.
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 25 official sources. Legal and regulatory references checked between 15 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 15/08/2026
- LegislationAustralian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth)As at 15/08/2026
- LegislationEqual Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic)As at 15/08/2026
- LegislationAnti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022 (Cth)As at 29/08/2026
- LegislationFair Work Act 2009 (Cth)As at 30/08/2026
- Regulator guidanceAustralian Human Rights Commission, Time for Respect: Fifth national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplacesAs at 02/09/2026
- LegislationPrivacy Act 1988 (Cth)As at 31/08/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth)As at 31/08/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)As at 31/08/2026
- LegislationAnti-Discrimination Act 1977 No 48 (NSW)As at 03/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2011 No 10 (NSW)As at 03/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW)As at 03/10/2026
- Code of PracticeCode of Practice: Sexual and gender-based harassment (NSW), SafeWork NSW, June 2024As at 03/10/2026
- Code of PracticeCode of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work (NSW), SafeWork NSW, May 2021As at 03/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2011 (ACT)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (ACT)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 (NT)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Regulations 2011 (NT)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA)As at 13/09/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Regulations 2012 (SA)As at 13/09/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2012 (Tas)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Regulations 2022 (Tas)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022 (WA)As at 31/10/2026
- LegislationWork Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)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
$39.00 per seat, inc GST
Total inc GST$195.00
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.
Level: Beginner
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