Victoria to establish sexual harassment taskforce

The Andrews government will consider whether employers should be forced to report all incidents of sexual harassment to Victoria’s workplace watchdog.

To mark International Women’s Day, the government announced the formation of a new ministerial taskforce for sexual harassment which will investigate ways to prevent incidents of sexual harassment in the workplace.

As part of its work the taskforce will also investigate the ways employers respond to sexual harassment at work and potentially force bosses to report sexual harassment to WorkSafe, the government watchdog charged with workers' safety.

Current workplace laws require employers to provide a safe workplace for staff, but there is no way for the government to ensure cases of workplace sexual harassment are reported.

As part of its review, the taskforce will consider the threshold for mandatory reporting as well as ways to incentivise businesses to comply.

Acting Premier James Merlino said one in three people have been sexually harassed in the workplace in the past five years, a situation he described as “shocking”.

“No one should be subject to the disrespect, the humiliation, the intimidation of sexual harassment,” he said.

Melbourne bartender Grace Dowling, who has experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, welcomed the new taskforce. She said change was happening because workers were standing up and saying “enough is enough”.

“To end the normalisation of workplace sexual harassment is our shared goal and I really feel like we are on the way,” Ms Dowling said.

The state government announcement follows multiple allegations of rape in federal politics in recent weeks.

Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins alleged she was raped by a ministerial adviser in the office of her former employer, minister Linda Reynolds in 2019.

Attorney-General Christian Porter is currently on leave after it was alleged he raped a 16-year-old girl in 1988. He strenuously denies the allegations.

Victorian Workplace Safety Minister Ingrid Stitt was unable to say whether the new workplace laws, including the mandatory reporting of sexual harassment, would apply to MPs and staff working at Parliament House.

Ms Stitt pointed to a new code of conduct being considered by the Victorian Parliament which would see MPs fined or sacked for serious cases of bullying or harassment.

The taskforce will also look at strengthening the occupational health and safety framework to respond to sexual harassment, as well as clarifying the obligations of employers and staff and encouraging victims to speak up.

The review will also look at the use of non-disclosure agreements which can be used to silence sexual harassment victims.

Parliamentary Secretary for Workplace Safety Bronwyn Halfpenny and Liberty Sanger, a principal lawyer at Maurice Blackburn who specialises in workplace law, will co-chair the taskforce which will report back by the end of the year.

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