A Guide To Workplace Bullying, Harassment And Discrimination

Creating a safe, respectful workplace isn’t just the right thing to do - in Australia, it’s a legal requirement. Whether you’re hiring your first employee or managing a growing team, you need clear systems to prevent and respond to bullying, harassment and discrimination.

If you’re unsure where to start, don’t stress. In this guide, we’ll explain what these terms actually mean under Australian law, your obligations as an employer, and the practical steps to prevent issues and handle complaints properly.

The goal is simple: give you a clear roadmap so you can protect your people and your business.

What Counts As Bullying, Harassment And Discrimination In Australia?

These terms are often used together, but they have different legal meanings. Understanding the definitions helps you respond consistently and lawfully.

Bullying

Workplace bullying generally means repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed at a worker (or group of workers) that creates a risk to health and safety. It can be carried out by managers, co-workers, contractors or even clients.

Examples include persistent insults, spreading rumours, excluding someone from work-related activities, or setting unreasonable deadlines designed to cause failure.

Reasonable management action (like performance feedback or lawful performance management) carried out in a reasonable way is not bullying, even if it’s uncomfortable.

Harassment (Including Sexual Harassment)

Harassment is unwanted conduct that humiliates, offends or intimidates a person. It can relate to a protected attribute (such as race or disability) or be sexual in nature (sexual harassment). It doesn’t have to be repeated - a single incident can be enough.

Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, sexual comments or jokes, or behaviour that makes someone feel unsafe. Recent reforms introduced a positive duty on employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sexual harassment, sex-based harassment and victimisation as far as possible.

Discrimination

Discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favourably because of a protected attribute. At the federal level, protected attributes include sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, pregnancy, marital status, family responsibilities, age, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, disability and religion (with variation across states and territories).

There’s also “indirect discrimination”, where a seemingly neutral practice disadvantages people with a protected attribute and isn’t reasonable in the circumstances.

Victimisation And Bystander Safety

Victimisation is unlawful. You can’t treat someone badly because they made a complaint, were involved as a witness, or asserted their workplace rights. Bystanders and witnesses also have the right to a safe workplace; employers should support them and ensure no retaliation occurs.

Psychosocial Hazards

Bullying and harassment are psychosocial hazards. Under work health and safety (WHS) laws, you must manage these risks the same way you would manage physical hazards - identify, assess and control them, then review your controls regularly.

Are Employers Legally Responsible For Preventing This Conduct?

In short, yes. Australian laws place clear duties on employers (and PCBUs under WHS laws) to provide a safe, healthy workplace. That includes preventing bullying, harassment and discrimination.

Work Health And Safety (WHS)

WHS laws require you to provide a work environment that is safe and without risks to health, so far as is reasonably practicable. This includes managing psychosocial risks like unreasonable job demands, poor support, and workplace conflict - not just physical hazards.

Fair Work Laws

Workers can apply to the Fair Work Commission for “stop-bullying” orders. There are also general protections provisions that prohibit adverse action because someone exercised a workplace right (like making a complaint or inquiry). Breaches can lead to orders, penalties and compensation.

Anti-Discrimination Laws

Federal and state laws prohibit discrimination and sexual harassment. Employers can be held vicariously liable for unlawful acts by employees unless they can show they took reasonable steps to prevent the behaviour (for example, implementing effective policies, delivering training, and responding swiftly to complaints).

Your Culture Matters

Laws are one side of the coin; culture is the other. Clear values, visible leadership and consistent consequences for misconduct all reduce risk and help demonstrate you’re taking “reasonable steps.”

How To Prevent Bullying And Harassment At Work

Prevention is always better than cure. A practical, proactive approach reduces harm, improves morale and productivity, and lowers legal and reputational risk.

1) Put Clear Policies In Place

Every business should have an Anti-Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination Policy that explains expected standards, examples of unacceptable conduct, how to report concerns, and how the business will respond.

It’s also smart to include a Code of Conduct, Social Media Policy and Grievance Procedure. Packaging these together in a single, accessible system makes it easy for staff to find and follow them.

Many teams roll these into a single Workplace Policy suite tailored to their business and industry.

2) Train Your Team (And Refresh Regularly)

Policies only work if people know and understand them. Provide induction and refresher training for all staff, plus additional training for managers on reasonable management action, handling complaints and escalation pathways.

3) Manage Psychosocial Risks

Look at workload, rostering, role clarity, support and change management. Consult workers, review incident trends and take steps to address hot spots (for example, better supervision at peak times, or improved reporting pathways after hours).

4) Set The Tone From The Top

Leaders should model respectful behaviour, call out issues early and back your policies with action. Promote bystander intervention - safe, practical ways team members can support colleagues if something isn’t right.

5) Bake It Into Your Employment Documents

Make sure your Employment Contract references your policies and sets out conduct expectations, confidentiality and processes for managing concerns. Many businesses also summarise standards and processes in a user-friendly Staff Handbook that sits alongside formal contracts.

How Should You Handle Complaints And Investigations?

A fair, timely and confidential process protects everyone involved - and it’s essential to meet your legal duties. Here’s a practical framework you can adapt to your business.

1) Provide Safe Reporting Channels

Offer multiple options (line manager, HR, an independent contact, or a dedicated inbox). Allow anonymous reports where possible. Make it easy for casuals, contractors and remote workers to speak up.

2) Protect Privacy And Confidentiality

Only share details on a strict need-to-know basis and store records securely. If you collect or store personal information through a hotline, form or HR system, ensure you have a clear and compliant Privacy Policy that explains how you handle that data.

3) Triage Promptly And Plan The Process

Assess seriousness, potential risks, and whether interim measures are needed to keep people safe. In some cases, this might involve standing down an employee pending investigation or adjusting rosters to separate parties during the process.

4) Conduct A Fair Investigation

Decide whether an internal or external investigator is appropriate. Interview the complainant, respondent and relevant witnesses. Give the respondent sufficient details and a realistic chance to respond. Consider documentary evidence (emails, messages) and be mindful of the legal limits around evidence-gathering - for instance, understand recording laws in Australia if someone provides a recording of a conversation or meeting.

5) Use Procedural Fairness Tools

Where allegations are substantiated and you’re considering disciplinary action, provide a show cause letter that outlines the concerns, the evidence and the potential outcomes, and invites a response before you decide.

6) Decide Outcomes And Implement Remedies

Options range from training and mediation to formal warnings or termination. Consider broader remedies too: moving teams, checking in on wellbeing, and addressing root causes (for example, team culture or rostering). Communicate the outcome to the complainant to the extent appropriate.

7) Keep Good Records And Review Controls

Document the process, findings and actions. After a matter closes, step back and review: what changes could prevent similar issues in future?

What If The Behaviour Continues Or Becomes Serious?

Your response should be proportionate to the conduct and the risks. However, some scenarios require urgent escalation.

When To Escalate

• Immediate safety risks - take prompt steps to separate parties or stand someone down while you assess.
• Serious misconduct - for example, threats of violence, assault, or severe harassment. Consider police involvement where appropriate.
• Repeated breaches - if informal steps and training haven’t worked, progress to formal disciplinary action with clear documentation.

Performance Management And Termination

Follow a fair process. Be consistent with your policies and contract, and provide the employee with the chance to respond at each stage. Even where there is serious misconduct, ensure you have adequate evidence and follow reasonable procedures before making a final decision.

For complex matters or where you foresee risk of an unfair dismissal or general protections claim, it’s wise to seek advice from an employment lawyer and ensure your letters, notices and timelines are correct.

Stop-Bullying Orders And External Complaints

If someone applies to the Fair Work Commission for a stop-bullying order, you’ll need to show what reasonable steps you’ve taken to prevent risks and address the issue. Clear policies, training records and evidence of your investigation process will be critical.

Wellbeing And Return-To-Work

Consider reasonable adjustments, EAP or counselling, and a thoughtful reintegration plan if team members return to work post-incident. Managing mental health at work is part of your broader WHS responsibilities.

Key Legal Documents To Put In Place

The right documents create clarity, set expectations and give you a solid foundation for prevention and response.

• Anti-Bullying, Harassment And Discrimination Policy: Sets out behaviour standards, reporting options and how complaints are handled. Often implemented as part of a broader Workplace Policy suite.
• Code Of Conduct: Plain-English rules for day-to-day behaviour, professionalism and use of company systems.
• Employment Contract: Ties behaviour expectations to your terms of employment and explains consequences for breaches. See Employment Contract.
• Staff Handbook: A practical guide for employees that sits alongside contracts and policies, including reporting pathways and support contacts. See Staff Handbook.
• Grievance And Complaints Procedure: A clear process for raising and resolving issues, including timeframes and confidentiality steps.
• Privacy Policy: Explains how you collect and handle personal information in complaints, investigations and HR systems. See Privacy Policy.
• Contractor Agreement: Extends your standards and obligations to contractors and labour hire arrangements, helping ensure a consistent culture and risk controls.

These documents work best when they’re tailored to your business size, risk profile and industry. They also need to be implemented - communicated clearly, supported by training and enforced consistently.

Key Takeaways

• Bullying, harassment and discrimination have specific legal meanings in Australia - and you have a duty to prevent and respond to them.
• Meet your WHS and Fair Work obligations by proactively managing psychosocial risks, setting clear standards and responding to complaints fairly and promptly.
• Strong policies, training and leadership are your best prevention tools, supported by contracts and clear reporting pathways.
• Handle complaints with confidentiality and procedural fairness: triage risks, plan your investigation, and use tools like a show cause letter where appropriate.
• Document your process and decisions, keep records secure, and review your controls after each matter to prevent recurrence.
• Putting in place a tailored Workplace Policy, Employment Contract and Staff Handbook will set you up for compliance and consistency from day one.

If you’d like a consultation on preventing and managing workplace bullying, harassment and discrimination in your business, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.