Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature.  It does not need to involve repeated acts, although repeated acts often assist in demonstrating that conduct was unwelcome. The law in relation to sexual harassment is very similar under state and Commonwealth law.  The decisions as to which regime to commence a complaint under is made by reference to:

• whether there is any other action being contemplated (if there is, a claim under Commonwealth law will generally be preferred as it can be brought in the Federal Court or Federal Circuit Court)
• whether the employee is a state public sector employee.  Such employees may not be entitled to bring claims under the Commonwealth law.

The prohibition against sexual harassment is not limited by gender or sex. Both men and women can be sexually harassed, by either a man or a woman. However sexual harassment of women by men remains by far the most common. Some forms of sexual harassment may constitute a crime and should be reported to the police. This includes stalking and sexual assault in the workplace. Your employer should have internal policies on sexual harassment and address any complaints made to them on such matters. In the event that the employer is the offender, you may still make a claim under state or federal laws. Notably, even if a certain conduct is not considered sexual harassment, it may still be considered bullying or discrimination, depending on the acts involved and the situation.