Managing workplace sexual harassment: A guide for Queensland employers

From 1 March 2025, every employer in Queensland is legally required to have a prevention plan to manage the risk of sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment at work. 

The provision is part of Work Health and Safety (Sexual Harassment) Amendment Regulation 2024 that strengthened laws around workplace sexual harassment, requiring organisations to proactively identify and manage risks, implement preventive measures, and regularly review their policies and practices.

All Australian employers have a positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act to eliminate (as far as possible) unlawful behaviour related to sex discrimination, sexual harassment, sex-based harassment, and conduct that creates a hostile work environment based on sex.

This means every organisation is required to actively prevent sexual and sex-based harassment, rather than relying on employees to report harassment and to respond after harm has occurred.

Queensland's new sexual harassment regulations

The Queensland government’s amendments to the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 require persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) to proactively eliminate or minimise the risks that sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment pose to the health and safety of workers.

Specifically, PCBUs must:

• Identify foreseeable risks.
• Implement control measures.
• Review control measures.
• Implement a prevention plan (from 1 March 2025).

WorkSafe.qld.gov.au has more details about employer obligations.

Creating a sexual harassment prevention plan

Every Queensland employer must prepare and implement a prevention plan to manage identified risks of sexual and sex or gender-based harassment.

The plan must be in writing and cover these key components:

• Identified risks: Employers must identify the specific risks of sexual harassment or sex-based harassment within their workplace. This could include environmental factors, cultural attitudes, or areas of the business where harassment may be more likely to occur.
• Control measures: You are required to specify the control measures you will implement to address and mitigate each risk you identify. Control measures could include training programs, clear reporting mechanisms, or changes to workplace policies.
• Considerations for control measures: You must document the matters you considered when determining which control measures to implement. This may involve consulting with employees, reviewing workplace data, or considering best practices from other enterprises.
• Consultation with workers: It is essential that you engage in meaningful consultation with your employees and other relevant parties in determining the control measures. This ensures that the prevention plan is reflective of the concerns and experiences of those directly affected.
• Dealing with reports: You must outline the procedure for dealing with reports of sexual harassment or sex-based harassment. This includes how workers should report incidents and how those reports will be investigated and addressed.
• Accessibility and awareness: Your prevention plan must be presented in a way that is easy for workers to access and understand. This ensures that all your team members know sexual harassment is prohibited, they're aware of the steps being taken to prevent harassment, and are confident in how to report issues if they arise.

In addition to creating the prevention plan, employers have several ongoing obligations:

• Implementing the plan: You must take reasonable steps to ensure that the prevention plan is implemented effectively in the workplace.
• Awareness: You must ensure that workers are aware of the prevention plan and know how to access it.
• Reviewing the plan: You must review the prevention plan as soon as practicable after a report of harassment is made or if requested by a health and safety committee or representative. You must also review the plan every three years, or sooner if circumstances change.

Why compliance is so important

For employers, the introduction of these new obligations highlights the importance of proactively managing workplace sexual harassment risks. Sexual harassment and sex-based harassment are not just moral or ethical issues, but significant health and safety concerns.

If an employer fails to develop and implement a sexual harassment prevention plan and an employee lodges a complaint or an investigation is launched by the regulator or the Queensland or Australian Human Rights Commission, the organisation may face increased penalties in court.

Additionally, the Work Health and Safety Regulator can issue infringement notices, improvement notices, or prohibition notices to businesses that fail to meet their obligations.

Failure to comply with both the positive duty under federal law and the Queensland state requirement for a prevention plan could also be seen as a failure to provide a safe workplace, which could lead to reputational damage, legal costs, and potential financial penalties.

How MyHR can help SMEs develop workplace sexual harassment prevention plans 

For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Queensland, the complexities of these new legal requirements might seem daunting.

MyHR can assist employers by providing tailored advice and support to ensure you can accurately identify and manage the risks posed by workplace sexual or sex or gender-based harassment.

We can help you:

• Determine specific harassment risks in your workplace.
• Develop and implement effective control measures.
• Create a clear and comprehensive sexual harassment prevention plan.
• Ensure the prevention plan is accessible and understood by all employees.
• Review and update the prevention plan in response to changes in the workplace or after a reported incident.

Get in touch with MyHR today.