New employer obligations in Queensland require proactive steps to prevent harassment and manage psychosocial risks.
What is a positive obligation
Positive duties seek to directly create change in the workplace by preventing unlawful conduct from occurring (rather than reacting to it after it has occurred).
Employer positive obligations
Employers have numerous positive obligations in respect of their workforce. Specifically, employers have statutory and non-delegable positive duties to:
- ensure the health and safety of their workers in the workplace (including psychosocial health and safety) (WHS Duty); and
- take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual discrimination, harassment and sex-based harassment in the workplace (Sexual Harassment Duty). This includes identifying the harassment, assessing the risks, implementing, maintaining and reviewing control measures, and investigating and responding to reports.
WHS Duty
From 1 September 2024, Queensland employers have had an express obligation to manage psychosocial risks that is, or includes a risk of, either sexual harassment or sex or gender-based harassment.
When determining control measures, employers must have regard to all relevant matters in relation to the risk of sexual harassment or sex or gender-based harassment, including characteristics of workers, the workplace and work environment. Employers must also review and revise control measures (if necessary) if a person reports sexual harassment or sex or gender-based harassment at work.
Sexual Harassment Duty
On 1 March 2025, the Queensland Government introduced further changes to employer positive obligations. Employers must now also prepare and implement a prevention plan to manage an identified risk to the health or safety of workers (or other persons) from either sexual harassment or sex or gender-based harassment.
A failure to:
- prepare;
- implement;
- ensure worker awareness; or
- review,
the prevention plan can each individually amount to a maximum penalty of 60 penalty units (or $10,014 as at the date of this article).
Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act
In addition to the above, reforms to modernise Queensland’s Anti-Discrimination Act were due to commence 1 July 2025. Relevantly, the amendments sought to introduce a new positive duty that would require employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate, as far as possible, discrimination on the basis of all protected attributes, sexual harassment, harassment on the basis of sex, and other objectionable conduct. This new positive duty was intended to intersect with (but be broader than) the Sexual Harassment Duty. However, on 30 April 2025, further amendments were made to delay the legislative reforms. As at the date of this article, no future date has been announced for the new laws (including the positive duty) to come into effect.
Considerations in your workplace:
For Hospitality:
General work health and safety, specifically sexual harassment, is a prevalent issue in hospitality venues, especially in licensed venues or where there is close customer contact with female employees.
For Schools:
Work health and safety, specifically sexual harassment, is a continually present risk across schools, which could arise at teacher conferences or school excursions, impact isolated workers, or be influenced by power imbalances.
To ensure your compliance with your positive obligations, we recommend you:
- ensure there are workplace policies in place (and reviewed), clearly setting out the standard of behaviour/conduct required. This includes implementing a prevention plan;
- ensure the requisite plans and risk incident forms are implemented;
- conduct workplace surveys, to ‘track’ and then anticipate the concerns of your workforce;
- engage in appropriate disciplinary meetings; and
- ensure appropriate workplace training is provided.