Victoria to establish sexual harassment taskforce

The Victorian government will establish a task force to scrutinise reporting of workplace sexual harassment across all industries.

Victorian Minister for Workplace Safety Ingrid Stitt announced a new WorkSafe taskforce to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Paul Jeffers

The Victorian government will establish a task force to scrutinise reporting of workplace sexual harassment across all industries, but refused to confirm whether any recommendations handed down would also apply to members of parliament.

Acting premier James Merlino and workplace safety Minister Ingrid Stitt established the task force on International Women’s Day to prevent and to “better respond” to issues of workplace sexual harassment, although they could not say the same rules would apply to MPs.

“There is work being undertaken by presiding officers as I understand it in the Victorian parliament to look at a code of conduct for MPs, that work is continuing,” Ms Stitt said.

“What I would say is that every worker regardless of where they work deserves to work in an environment that is free of sexual harassment,” she said.

1 in 3 people were sexually harassed at work in the past 5 yrs. The majority of allegations go unreported.

This is unacceptable.

We’re setting up a Taskforce to develop reforms to prevent & better respond to sexual harassment at work https://t.co/3WXwJKgoyB#IWD2021#springstpic.twitter.com/qgQAx0Xvlj

— Ingrid Stitt MP #StaySafe (@IngridStitt) March 8, 2021

When asked if the government thought there should be different “streams” for parliament and other businesses, Ms Stitt said: “No”.

“The task force will be looking at what obligations ought to be strengthened in Victorian workplaces but complementary to that there is work going on alongside … to look at strengthening the policies within the parliament of Victoria,” she said.

It came after the Morrison government appointed Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins as head of an independent inquiry into workplace culture at Parliament House and how allegations of sexual harassment and assault are handled.

The inquiry was called for after former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins accused another staffer of rape in 2019.

After Ms Jenkins said MPs should not automatically report sexual assaults to police, when probed Ms Stitt said any allegations that are criminal in nature “ought to be the subject of police investigation” and Monday’s announcement would not change that.

News of the task force also followed a historical rape allegation made against Attorney-General Christian Porter – an accusation he has denied – but it intensified scrutiny of parliamentary culture.

The Victorian task force, chaired by Parliamentary Secretary for Workplace Safety Bronwyn Halfpenny and workplace injury lawyer Liberty Sanger, will report back to the Ms Stitt by the end of the year.

Currently businesses are required to report fatalities or serious accidents to WorkSafe Victoria. Now the state government want the task force to consider adding sexual harassment to the list.

It has been instructed to consult on “mandatory incident notification” of sexual harassment, which would mean an employer would be required to report to any incident of sexual harassment to WorkSafe.

It will also strive to improve Victoria’s occupational health and safety framework to address the “scourge” of sexual assaults.

The task force will also be asked to define a “threshold” for when a company would be required to report an incident and how businesses could be made to comply with recommendations, for example by legislation or regulation.

A spokesman for the leader of the opposition Michael O’Brien said “parliament should be as safe for women as any other workplace in Victoria”.

“The Andrews Labor Government often imposes new rules on small business without being held to the same standard itself,” he said.

“Labor MPs should be willing to be subject themselves to the same requirements they expect others to follow”.