Work and Jobs

Workplace Bullying & Sexual Harassment in Australia: Your Rights & How to Report

· · 8 min read
Workplace Bullying & Sexual Harassment in Australia: Your Rights & How to Report

If you are being bullied or harassed at work in Australia, here is the short version: it is not something you have to tolerate, it is often against the law, and as an international student you have exactly the same protections as anyone else – including the right to report it without risking your visa. Australian law has changed significantly in recent years, and the balance has shifted firmly toward protecting workers. This guide explains what counts, what your options are, and how to act.

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The one-line summary

Workplace bullying, sexual harassment and discrimination are dealt with by different laws and different bodies – the Fair Work Commission, the Fair Work Ombudsman, the Australian Human Rights Commission, work health and safety regulators, and in serious cases the police. You do not need to know which one is right before you act. Start by documenting what is happening and seeking help; the right pathway becomes clear from there.

Bullying, Harassment, Sexual Harassment, Discrimination: Know the Difference

These words get used interchangeably, but in Australian law they are four distinct things, with different definitions and different remedies. Knowing which is which helps you find the right help faster.

TermWhat it meansKey feature
Workplace bullyingRepeated unreasonable behaviour toward a worker that creates a risk to health and safetyMust be repeated – a one-off is generally not “bullying” in the legal sense
Sexual harassmentUnwelcome sexual conduct – advances, requests, comments, messages – that a reasonable person would anticipate could offend, humiliate or intimidateOne incident is enough. It does not have to be repeated
DiscriminationBeing treated unfairly because of a protected attribute – race, sex, age, disability, religion, pregnancy and othersIt is about why you were treated badly
General harassmentOffensive, humiliating or intimidating behaviour, which may overlap with the aboveOften part of bullying or discrimination

The most important distinction: repeated vs one-off

Workplace BULLYING must be repeated to meet the legal definition. But SEXUAL HARASSMENT does not – a single unwelcome incident can be unlawful sexual harassment on its own. This matters enormously, because people often stay silent about a serious one-off incident thinking ‘it only happened once, so nothing can be done.’ For sexual harassment, that is wrong. One time is enough.

What bullying legally is – and is not

Under the Fair Work Act (section 789FD), workplace bullying is repeated unreasonable behaviour directed at a worker (or group) that creates a risk to health and safety. “Unreasonable” means behaviour a reasonable person would see as victimising, humiliating, undermining or threatening. It can include:

  • Repeated belittling, humiliating or insulting comments
  • Deliberately excluding someone from work activities
  • Setting impossible deadlines or constantly changing them to make someone fail
  • Withholding information needed to do the job
  • Spreading malicious rumours
  • Aggressive or intimidating conduct
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'Reasonable management action' is NOT bullying

This is the key limit, and it is fair. A manager giving you honest performance feedback, allocating your shifts, correcting your work, or even disciplining you fairly is NOT bullying – as long as it is done reasonably. Being managed, or being told you made a mistake, is not bullying just because it feels unpleasant. Bullying is about UNREASONABLE behaviour that creates a health-and-safety risk – not about a boss who is simply strict but fair. Understanding this line helps you make a credible complaint about behaviour that genuinely crosses it.

The Big Change: Employers Now Have a "Positive Duty"

This is the most important recent development, and most workers have never heard of it. Following the Respect@Work reforms, the Sex Discrimination Act now places a positive duty on every employer.

What that means: employers must take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate, as far as possible, sexual harassment, sex discrimination, sex-based harassment, hostile work environments and victimisation. It is no longer enough for an employer to react after something happens – they are legally required to proactively prevent it.

And it now has teeth: AHRC enforcement from 12 December 2023

Since 12 December 2023, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has had the power to ENFORCE the positive duty. It can investigate where it suspects non-compliance, issue compliance notices requiring an employer to act, accept enforceable undertakings, and go to the Federal Court to enforce them. In plain terms: an employer who ignores sexual harassment is not just failing you morally – they are potentially breaching a legally enforceable duty. This shifts real power toward workers.

For you, the practical takeaway is this: if your workplace has no policy, no training and no way to report sexual harassment, and something happens, the employer is not meeting its positive duty. That failure strengthens your position, not theirs.

Who Handles What: Your Reporting Options

Australia has several bodies that deal with this, and they do different things. You do not need to memorise them – but seeing them side by side shows you that there is almost always a door you can knock on.

BodyDeals withWhat it can do
Your employer (internal)Everything – first port of callInvestigate and fix it; they have a legal duty to act
Fair Work Commission (FWC)Bullying & sexual harassmentMake stop orders; deal with sexual harassment disputes
Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)Sexual harassment & discriminationInvestigate, conciliate, refer to court
Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO)Being punished for speaking upGeneral protections / adverse action
WHS regulator (e.g. SafeWork)Workplace safety, incl. psychologicalEnforce the employer’s safety duty
PoliceAssault, threats, stalkingCriminal investigation

Real-World Scenarios: How This Plays Out

The law is abstract until you see it in a real situation. The following are illustrative scenarios – common patterns in student jobs – showing which path fits and what tends to happen. They are examples to learn from, not accounts of specific real people.

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Scenario 1 — The bullying supervisor (repeated behaviour)

Maya works casual shifts at a cafe. Over two months, one supervisor repeatedly singles her out: mocking her accent in front of customers, giving her impossible closing tasks and then blaming her when they are not done, and excluding her from the staff chat where shifts are arranged. She dreads every shift and cannot sleep before them. THIS IS WORKPLACE BULLYING – repeated unreasonable behaviour creating a risk to her health. Path: document each incident, report internally first, and if it continues while she is still employed, apply to the Fair Work Commission for a STOP BULLYING ORDER. Because it is repeated and ongoing, the FWC’s stop-order power fits.

Scenario 2 — The one-off that people wrongly ignore

Daniel works in retail. At a staff function, a manager makes an explicit, unwelcome comment about his body and touches his shoulder in a way that makes him deeply uncomfortable. It happens once. Daniel tells himself ‘it was just one time, and it was at a party, so nothing can be done.’ HE IS WRONG. A single incident of unwelcome sexual conduct can be unlawful SEXUAL HARASSMENT on its own – it does not need to be repeated, and a work function is still connected to work. Path: he can report internally, and can take it to the Fair Work Commission or the Australian Human Rights Commission. He has up to 24 months to act.

Scenario 3 — Punished for complaining

Aisha reports that a coworker keeps sending her unwanted late-night messages. The week after she complains, her shifts are cut from 20 hours to zero, and the manager stops speaking to her. This is potentially a SECOND, SEPARATE breach: taking ADVERSE ACTION against her for exercising a workplace right. Path: this is a general protections matter – the Fair Work Ombudsman and Fair Work Commission. And note the deadline: if the retaliation amounts to a dismissal, she generally has only 21 DAYS to lodge. The original harassment and the retaliation are two claims, not one.

Scenario 4 — When it is a crime, not just a workplace issue

Sam is physically grabbed and threatened by a coworker during a shift. This is not only a workplace matter – physical assault and threats are CRIMINAL. Path: Sam’s safety comes first. This can be reported to the POLICE as a crime, entirely separately from any workplace process, and the two can run in parallel. No workplace ‘internal process’ replaces your right to report a crime to the police.

The Fair Work Commission Stop Order: The Catch to Understand

The FWC can make a stop bullying order or a stop sexual harassment order. These are powerful, but they have one defining feature you must understand:

Stop orders are about the FUTURE – so you must still be at the workplace

A stop order is preventative: it tells the FWC to order the behaviour to STOP so you can keep working safely. That means you generally must STILL be employed at, or connected to, that workplace to get one. If you have already quit or been let go, a stop order usually cannot help you – there is no future working relationship to protect. This is why acting WHILE you are still there matters, and why quitting on the spot, though understandable, can close off this particular avenue. If you have already left, other doors (the AHRC, or a sexual harassment dispute in the FWC) remain open.

When you apply, the FWC will usually refer the matter to conciliation – a facilitated conversation to try to resolve it – before any formal orders. Many matters resolve there.

Sexual Harassment: You Have More Than One Route, and Time to Use It

Sexual harassment has its own expanded protections, and crucially, you have options even if you have already left the job.

  • FWC stop sexual harassment order – to stop ongoing harassment while you are still connected to the workplace.
  • FWC sexual harassment dispute – a broader process that can lead to conciliation and, if unresolved, potentially a court. You do not have to still be employed for this.
  • AHRC complaint – the Australian Human Rights Commission can investigate and conciliate sexual harassment and discrimination complaints.
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You generally have up to 24 months for sexual harassment

Unlike the brutal 21-day dismissal clock, sexual harassment claims have a much longer window – generally up to 24 MONTHS from the incident (or the last incident) to bring a matter to the Fair Work Commission or the AHRC. That gives you time to recover, get advice, and decide – you do not have to make life-changing decisions in the immediate aftermath. But do not leave it indefinitely: evidence fades and the clock does run.

How to Recognise It Is Happening to You

Bullying and harassment often build slowly, and a common early sign is that you start doubting yourself – wondering if you are “too sensitive” or “imagining it.” You are usually not. Warning signs worth taking seriously:

  • You feel anxious or sick before shifts, or cannot sleep the night before
  • You are singled out for treatment others are not
  • You are being isolated – left out of information, chats or activities
  • Comments about your accent, appearance, race, religion or gender
  • Any unwelcome sexual comment, message, image or physical contact
  • You have started dreading a specific person

Trust that instinct. The law exists precisely because these experiences are real and harmful – not because you are weak for being affected by them.

Document Everything: Your Most Powerful Tool

Whatever path you eventually take, contemporaneous records – notes made at the time – are the single most valuable thing you can have. Start today, even if you are not yet sure you will act.

  • Keep a diary. For each incident: the date, time, place, who was there, exactly what was said or done, and how it affected you. Write it the same day.
  • Save everything written. Screenshot messages, emails, social media, rosters. Back them up to a personal device and email, not a work account.
  • Note witnesses. Who saw or heard it? Colleagues are often experiencing the same thing.
  • Keep evidence of the impact. If you saw a doctor or counsellor about stress, those records can matter.
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Facts, not feelings, in your record

When you write your diary, record what OBJECTIVELY happened – the exact words, the exact action – alongside how it affected you. ‘On 3 March at 6pm, in front of two customers, [name] said [exact words]’ is powerful. ‘He’s always horrible to me’ is not. Specific, dated, factual entries are what investigators, the Fair Work Commission and the AHRC can actually act on.

Your Step-by-Step Action Plan

  1. If you are in danger, get safe first. Physical assault, threats or stalking are crimes – contact the police. In an emergency call 000.
  2. Start documenting immediately, using the diary method above.
  3. Check your workplace policy. Most employers have a bullying/harassment policy and a nominated contact. Reporting internally is usually the first formal step – and the employer’s positive duty means they are legally obliged to act.
  4. Report internally, in writing. A calm, factual written complaint creates a record and triggers the employer’s duty to respond.
  5. Get free advice. The Fair Work Ombudsman, the Australian Human Rights Commission, a community legal centre, your union, or your university’s free student support and legal services can all guide you.
  6. Escalate to the right body. Ongoing bullying or harassment while employed – the Fair Work Commission (stop order). Sexual harassment – the FWC or AHRC (up to 24 months). Retaliation for complaining – general protections (act within 21 days if dismissed).

International Students: Your Visa Is Not a Weapon Against You

International students are disproportionately targeted for one reason: abusers assume you are too afraid of losing your visa to speak up. That assumption is based on a myth, and it is worth dismantling completely.

  • You have exactly the same protections against bullying, harassment and discrimination as any Australian worker. Your visa status does not reduce them by one inch.
  • Your employer cannot cancel your visa. Only the Department of Home Affairs can – a boss who threatens your visa to keep you silent is committing a further form of exploitation.
  • You can report without fear of visa cancellation. The Assurance Protocol between the Fair Work Ombudsman and Home Affairs means you can seek help even if you have breached a work condition, without your visa being automatically cancelled. We explain it fully in our guide to recovering underpaid wages and our Fair Work basics guide.

'I'll get your visa cancelled' is itself exploitation

If anyone at your workplace has threatened your visa, your studies or your job to keep you quiet about bullying or harassment, understand what that is: it is a deliberate abuse of the power imbalance, and it is exactly the behaviour Australia’s workplace protections exist to stop. It is not a reason to stay silent. It is, in itself, another thing worth reporting.

Look After Yourself

This is not only a legal problem – it affects your wellbeing, and that matters as much as any process. Be kind to yourself while you deal with it.

  • Talk to someone you trust – a friend, family member, or your university counsellor.
  • Most universities offer free, confidential counselling to enrolled students. You are already entitled to it.
  • Many workplaces have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offering free counselling.
  • For sexual harassment or assault, 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) offers free, confidential 24/7 support.
  • If you are struggling to cope, Lifeline (13 11 14) and Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636) are available any time.
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The bottom line

You came to Australia to study and build a life, not to be mistreated at work. The law is genuinely on your side, and it has only grown stronger – employers now have a positive duty to prevent sexual harassment, the Fair Work Commission can order bullying and harassment to stop, and your visa cannot be used as a weapon against you. Recognise it, write it down, get free advice, and act. You do not have to face it alone, and you do not have to simply endure it.

This guide is general information, not legal advice, and it does not cover every situation. For advice about your specific circumstances, contact the Fair Work Ombudsman, the Australian Human Rights Commission, a community legal centre, or a qualified professional.

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