Parliament now flying the flag for workplace respect
The codes of conduct were a key recommendation from the Set the Standard report of the review I led for the Australian Human Rights Commission into the workplace culture at parliament in 2021. We heard from hundreds of current and former parliamentary workers about their experiences of abuse, harassment and discrimination. The review recommended a cross-party parliamentary leadership taskforce be charged with implementing 28 recommendations to improve the workplace culture. On Wednesday, the taskforce tabled its first progress report. Parliament has made many improvements in the past year, including better protections for staff against discrimination and unfair termination, new training and induction programs, and independent workplace support services.
Wednesday’s progress report indicated other changes are also well advanced, including a new human resources function for parliamentarians and staff, establishment of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission, and better accessibility and inclusion practices. The Members of Parliament (Staff) Act has also been reviewed, with recommendations yet to be implemented.
These reforms have been matched by cultural change. I have been heartened by many parliamentary workers who have told me parliament has improved as a workplace, to the surprise of many long-term staffers. Until now, the attitude for some has been, “put up with abuse or leave”. One told me in her long career at parliament she never thought she would see codes of conduct apply.
That’s not to say parliament is the perfect workplace. Many parliamentary workers, past and present, still carry the scars of their experiences and some – unacceptably – continue to face challenges. However, the parliamentary leadership taskforce is making excellent progress, having already implemented six recommendations from Set the Standard, and with 21 more either partly implemented or in progress.
We called the review report Set the Standard because parliament is a standard bearer for workplaces all around the country. If parliament can make these improvements – particularly given the embedded challenges of power imbalances, irregular employment conditions, and a longstanding culture of inappropriate behaviour – then surely any workplace in the country can introduce positive changes to achieve a more respectful work environment.
Such change is greatly needed in many workplaces. Last November, I published a major survey by the Australian Human Rights Commission, which found one in three workers had experienced sexual harassment in their workplace over the past five years. The report found rates of sexual harassment were particularly high in the media and telecommunications sector (64 per cent), arts and recreation services (44 per cent), electricity, gas, water and waste services (40 per cent), and retail trade (40 per cent).
No industry is immune from workplace sexual harassment. Just this week, the ABC’s Four Corners revealed healthcare workers who were known to have perpetrated serious sexual assault were allowed to continue practising. Many workplaces have already implemented good systems for addressing workplace sexual harassment when it occurs, but far more effort is required by employers to prevent incidents. In fact, all Australian employers now have a legal obligation to do exactly that.
In November, the government passed the Respect@Work Bill, which legislated a positive duty on employers to implement measures to prevent workplace sexual harassment. It shifts our system from being purely reactive to also being proactive, making employers responsible for preventing sexual harassment rather than just responding to it. Leaders in all Australian workplaces should look to the changes in parliament: it is time for respect to become the norm in all Australian workplaces.
Kate Jenkins is the national sex discrimination commissioner.
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After years of headlines about the toxic workplace culture at federal parliament, codes of conduct will for the first time apply to all parliamentarians and staffers. The codes were on Wednesday endorsed by the Senate (soon to be endorsed by the House) and a report was tabled showing great progress has been made towards transforming parliament’s workplace culture to one that is safe and respectful. It sets an example for workplaces across the country where proactive change is not only possible, but essential.