New requirement to implement a sexual harassment prevention plan

Sexual harassment prevention plan | image of a young professional woman making stop hand gesture at camera

Background: Sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment are psychosocial hazards known to cause physical and psychological harm. Sexual harassment means any unwelcome sexual behaviour that a reasonable person could anticipate may make another person feel offended, intimidated or humiliated in that situation. Sex- or gender-based harassment means the harassment of a person on the basis of the person’s sex or gender, by unwelcome conduct of a demeaning nature, with the intention of offending, humiliating the person or in circumstances where a reasonable person would have anticipated the person would be offended, humiliated or intimidated by the conduct.

What has changed?

Amendments to the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 expand on the existing psychosocial risk provisions by requiring persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) to specifically manage the risk of sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment at work.

These regulations make it clear that workplaces need to be proactive about preventing sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment. PCBUs can manage these risks through proactive identification of risks, the implementation of control measures in accordance with the hierarchy of controls, reviewing control measures and implementing a prevention plan.

Since March 2025, PCBUs must prepare a sexual harassment prevention plan to manage identified risks to the health or safety of workers, or other, from sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment at work.

What hasn’t changed?

PCBUs are already required to proactively manage the risk of sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment as part of their duty to manage psychosocial risks. This has not changed.

What has changed is that the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 is now more explicit in stating that the risk of sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment must be managed, the matters to consider when determining control measures and that PCBUs must record and implement a prevention plan for any identified risks.

What circumstances do the regulations apply to?

The new regulations apply to the management of the risks of sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment at work.

A ‘workplace’ means a place where work is carried out for a business or undertaking and includes any place where a worker goes, or is likely to be, while at work. This means sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment at work can happen:

at a worker’s usual workplace
in a place where the worker is undertaking work at a different location (such as a client’s home)
where the worker is engaging in work-related activities such as work trips or if the PCBU hosts a work-related social activity such as a Christmas party
by phone, email or online (such as through social media platforms)
at worker accommodation (such as accommodation provided at fly-in, fly-out sites).

What do employers need to do?

PCBUs must manage the risk to the health and safety of a worker, or other person, from sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment at work.

As sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment are psychosocial risks, this means these risks must be managed under Part 3.1 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011, with additional requirements prescribed in sections 55A to 55H.

This means PCBUs must:

identify reasonably foreseeable hazards—identify when and where sexual harassment or sex or gender-based harassment could occur (e.g. at the usual workplace; while making deliveries; via email; through use of shared accommodation/amenities); how it could occur (e.g. from contact with customers or the public, or from other workers); the potential nature of the harassment (e.g. verbal or physical, overt, subtle), and who is likely to be affected
eliminate the risk so far as is reasonably practicable and if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the risk, minimise the risk so far as is reasonably practicable in accordance with the hierarchy of controls
maintain and review control measures—this may include developing a reporting process or other improvements
do all these things in consultation with workers and health and safety representatives (HSRs) if required.

In addition to these requirements, sections 55A to 55H of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 provide specific obligations in relation to:

matters that must be considered when determining control measures
additional triggers for when control measures must be reviewed
the preparation of a prevention plan where a risk of sexual harassment or sex or gender-based harassment has been identified.