Australia’s Antarctic program plagued by sexual harassment, systemic sexual discrimination, bullying, exclusion and cultural leadership failings, review finds

Australia’s Antarctic program has been plagued by sexual harassment, systemic sexual discrimination, bullying, exclusion and cultural leadership failings, a major review has found.

Australia’s Casey research station in Antarctica. Picture: Chris Crerar

Australia’s Antarctic program has been plagued by widespread sexual harassment, systemic sexual discrimination, bullying, exclusion and cultural leadership failings for years, a major review has found.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek released the damning findings of the independent ­review into the Australian Antarctic Division on Monday, describing them as “serious” and “unacceptable”.

“Let me be absolutely clear: there is no place for sexual harassment or inappropriate behaviour in any workplace,” Ms Plibersek said. “The AAD is no exception. Our remote stations in Antarctica are no exception.”

Ms Plibersek, who ordered the review after an earlier damning survey highlighted sexual harassment problems at the AAD, said both reports showed there were “systemic cultural issues” at the Hobart-based institution.

Led by consultant Leigh Russell, the review consulted 40 per cent of staff and found almost 25 per cent of women had experienced sexual harassment.

Tanya Plibersek. Picture: Dan Peled

“Harmful behaviour, including intentional exclusion, gender discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment occurs between employees, managers and leaders at Antarctic and Kingston (Hobart) workplaces,” the review found.

“The AAD’s unique features create risk factors, including a hierarchical and male-dominated culture, alongside the individual environmental factors of living and working in Antarctica.

“A significant number of participants do not believe the AAD is psychologically safe and there are negative consequences for speaking up in the workplace.”

The Independent Review of Workplace Culture and Change at the AAD found 15 per cent of staff had experienced workplace sexual harassment, including 24 per cent of women.

Most sexual harassment incidents – 55 per cent – occurred in Antarctica, while 79 per cent of victims did not report it.

More than 40 per cent had experienced bullying in the past 12 months, 70 per cent of whom did not report it, many because they did not have confidence in the reporting system or were worried about repercussions.

About 43 per cent of staff did not believe it was safe to raise “problems and challenging issues” at the AAD, and almost half did not believe their opinions were valued when they spoke up.

Ms Plibersek’s department issued a statement acknowledging the “unacceptable” culture and processes and vowed to implement all the report’s recommendations, to be overseen by an advisory body.

These include cultural changes, new and more supportive reporting mechanisms and treating the risk of psychological harm in a similar way to physical safety threats.