In New South Wales, it is against the law for you to be harassed because of your:

sex; pregnancy; race (including colour, nationality, descent, ethnic or ethno-religious background); age; marital or domestic status;
homosexuality (actual or perceived); disability (actual or perceived, past, present or future); transgender status (actual or perceived); and carers’ responsibilities (actual or presumed) in employment only).

What is harassment?

In terms of anti-discrimination law, harassment is any form of behaviour that:
you do not want;
offends, humiliates or intimidates you; and
targets you because of your sex, pregnancy, race, age, marital or domestic status, homosexuality, disability, transgender (transsexual) status or carers’ responsibilities.

Depending on the circumstances, each of the following kinds of behaviour may be harassment:

material that is racist, sexist, sexually explicit, homophobic (anti-gay) and so on that is displayed in the workplace, circulated on paper or by email, or put on a computer or fax machine or on the internet, or in someone’s workspace or belongings;

verbal abuse or comments that put down or stereotype people because of their sex, pregnancy, race, age, marital status,homosexuality, disability, transgender status or carers’responsibilities;

offensive jokes based on sex, pregnancy, race and so on;

offensive gestures based on sex, pregnancy, race and so on;

ignoring, isolating or segregating a person or group because of their sex, pregnancy, race and so on;

staring or leering in a sexual manner;

sexual or physical contact, such as slapping, kissing touching or hugging;

intrusive questions about sexual activity;

sexual assault (also a crime under the Crimes Act);

unwelcome wolf whistling;

repeated sexual invitations when the person invited has refused similar invitations before; and

initiation ceremonies that involve unwelcome sexual, sexist, racist and so on behaviour.

What are my rights at work?

The law says that your employer must not harass you or any other employee at work. It also says that they must do their best to make sure that there is no harassment in their workplace. It is in fact an occupational health and safety issue because employers are required under occupational health and safety legislation in most states of Australia to ensure that the workplace is a safe environment in the sense that it is free of bullying and harassment. If you would like to discuss any concerns which you have in relation to a harassment matter be it as the victim or as someone accused of harassment, we can assist you to find a solution to your harassment issue. Please do not hesitate to contact us about this using the contact form to the right if you would like more information.