Workplace Bullying and Harassment Prevention Policy (Australia)

An Australian Anti-Discrimination and Diversity Policy is a formal workplace document that sets out an employer's commitment to preventing discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and vilification in the workplace, and to fostering a culture of inclusion and equal opportunity. It reflects obligations imposed on Australian employers by an interlocking framework of Commonwealth and state and territory anti-discrimination legislation, and articulates the practical steps the organisation will take to comply with those obligations. The principal Commonwealth laws governing workplace discrimination are the Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cth), the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth), the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth), the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth), and the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth). Together these Acts prohibit direct and indirect discrimination in employment on the grounds of age, disability, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, sex, pregnancy, marital or relationship status, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, and family responsibilities, among others. The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s 351 provides a separate avenue of protection under the general protections provisions, prohibiting adverse action against an employee because of any of those attributes. A landmark development occurred on 12 December 2022 when the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect@Work) Act 2022 (Cth) commenced, inserting s 47C into the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth). Section 47C imposes a positive duty on employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate, as far as possible, sexual harassment, sex-based harassment, discrimination on the ground of sex, and conduct that creates a hostile workplace environment on the ground of sex. The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been given enforcement powers in relation to this positive duty and has published a compliance framework identifying seven key standards against which employer conduct will be assessed: leadership, culture, knowledge, risk management, support, reporting and response, and monitoring, evaluation, and transparency. Every state and territory also has its own anti-discrimination legislation that applies to conduct occurring within that jurisdiction. These Acts extend protection to additional grounds such as sexual orientation and gender identity (in jurisdictions not yet covered by Commonwealth law), religious belief, political opinion, and criminal record, and may also govern areas beyond employment. Relevant state Acts include the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW), Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic), Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld), Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA), Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (SA), Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (Tas), Discrimination Act 1991 (ACT), and Anti-Discrimination Act 1996 (NT). A well-drafted Anti-Discrimination and Diversity Policy helps employers demonstrate compliance with both the reactive obligations under these Acts (responding appropriately to complaints) and the proactive positive duty under s 47C of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth). It also helps protect the organisation from vicarious liability: under ss 106 and 107 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) and equivalent provisions in other Acts, an employer will be vicariously liable for the discriminatory or harassing acts of its employees unless the employer can show it took all reasonable steps to prevent the conduct. This policy is suitable for businesses of all sizes in all industries operating in any Australian state or territory. It should be communicated to all workers upon commencement and following any update, supported by regular training, and reviewed at least annually.

An Australian Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) Policy is a formal document in which an employer commits to providing and maintaining a safe and healthy work environment for all workers and others affected by its activities. It sets out the organisation's WHS obligations under Australian law, defines the responsibilities of officers, managers, and workers, and establishes the systems and procedures the organisation will use to identify hazards, assess risks, and implement controls. The primary legislative framework governing WHS in Australia is the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) (the WHS Act) and the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 (Cth) (the WHS Regulation), developed by Safe Work Australia as model legislation. As of 2026, the model WHS Act has been adopted by the Commonwealth, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory, and Tasmania. Victoria and Western Australia have separate but substantially similar legislation (the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) and the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA)). The central obligation on employers is found in s 19 of the WHS Act. A person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers engaged by or caused to be engaged by the PCBU, and the health and safety of workers whose activities in carrying out work are influenced or directed by the PCBU. The 'so far as is reasonably practicable' qualifier requires the PCBU to weigh the likelihood and severity of a risk against the availability and cost of measures to eliminate or minimise it. Under s 27 of the WHS Act, officers of a PCBU (including directors and senior managers) have a positive duty to exercise due diligence to ensure the organisation complies with its WHS obligations. This includes acquiring and keeping up-to-date knowledge of WHS matters, understanding the operations and associated risks of the business, ensuring the PCBU has appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise WHS risks, and verifying that those resources and processes are being used effectively. Workers also have duties under s 28 of the WHS Act. They must take reasonable care for their own health and safety, ensure their acts or omissions do not adversely affect the safety of others, comply with any reasonable WHS instruction given by the PCBU, and cooperate with any reasonable WHS policy or procedure. The WHS Regulation 2017 (Cth) supplements the WHS Act by providing detailed requirements for managing risks, including the hierarchy of controls: elimination, substitution, isolation, engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment (PPE) as a last resort. Employers are required to consult with workers when identifying hazards, assessing risks, and making decisions about controls under Part 5 of the WHS Act. Notifiable incidents — including workplace fatalities, serious injuries or illnesses, and dangerous incidents as defined in ss 35 to 37 of the WHS Act — must be reported immediately to the relevant state or territory WHS regulator. The incident scene must be preserved until an inspector attends or authorises disturbance under s 39 of the WHS Act. Having a documented WHS Policy is a fundamental element of any effective WHS management system. It demonstrates the organisation's commitment to health and safety at the highest level, provides a framework for establishing WHS objectives and responsibilities, and supports compliance with the WHS Act and WHS Regulation. Employers with five or more employees are required to record significant findings of risk assessments in writing under the WHS Regulation. This WHS Policy is suitable for businesses of all sizes across all industries operating in Australia and should be reviewed at least annually, or whenever there is a significant change to operations, personnel, or legislation.

An Australian Whistleblower Policy is a formal document that explains to employees, officers, contractors, and other eligible persons how they can report suspected misconduct or wrongdoing, and what legal protections apply to them when they do. The policy is required by law for certain companies and must set out the key features of the whistleblower protection regime established under Part 9.4AAA of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). The whistleblower protection reforms in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) commenced on 1 July 2019, significantly expanding the protections available to whistleblowers in the corporate sector. Under s 1317AI, public companies, large proprietary companies, and proprietary companies that are trustees of registrable superannuation entities must have a whistleblower policy. The policy must be made available to officers and employees of the company. Failure to have a compliant policy is an offence attracting a civil penalty. The regime defines an 'eligible whistleblower' broadly under s 1317AA to include current and former employees, officers, contractors, suppliers, associates of the company, and their relatives or dependants. This wide definition ensures that those with genuine knowledge of misconduct — including former employees and supply chain workers — can come forward and receive protection. A disclosure qualifies for protection under s 1317AA(1) if the eligible whistleblower has reasonable grounds to suspect that the information concerns misconduct, or an improper state of affairs or circumstances, in relation to the company or a related body corporate. This includes suspected contraventions of the Corporations Act or the ASIC Act 2001 (Cth), conduct representing a danger to the public or the financial system, and tax-related misconduct under the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth). The key protections afforded to eligible whistleblowers who make qualifying disclosures include: confidentiality protection under s 1317AAE, making it a criminal offence to disclose the identity of a whistleblower without their consent; protection from detriment under s 1317AD, prohibiting dismissal, demotion, harassment, discrimination, or any other adverse action because of a disclosure; civil and criminal immunity under s 1317AB, meaning a whistleblower cannot be sued or prosecuted in respect of their disclosure; and compensation rights under s 1317AE for any loss, damage, or injury suffered as a result of unlawful detriment. The whistleblower policy must, under s 1317AI(3), include information about: the protections available to whistleblowers; the disclosures to which those protections apply; how disclosures can be made; how the company will support and protect whistleblowers, including confidentiality measures; how the company will investigate disclosures; how the company will ensure fair treatment of employees mentioned in disclosures; and how the policy will be made available to officers and employees. In addition to the Corporations Act regime, whistleblower protections for tax-related disclosures are provided under ss 14ZZC to 14ZZE of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth), administered by the Australian Taxation Office. The Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth) also provides a parallel regime for public sector whistleblowers. Best-practice whistleblower programs include independent external hotlines to allow anonymous reporting, regular training for managers and the Whistleblower Protection Officer on handling disclosures, clear procedures for managing conflicts of interest in investigations, and regular Board-level reporting on whistleblower disclosures. ASIC has published regulatory guidance (RG 270) providing detailed guidance on implementing whistleblower policies in practice. This Whistleblower Policy template covers all mandatory elements required by s 1317AI of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), including eligible whistleblowers and disclosures, protections from detriment and breach of confidentiality, how to make a disclosure to internal and external recipients, the investigation process, fair treatment obligations, and Board authorisation.

An Australian Employee Handbook Acknowledgment is a formal document signed by an employee to confirm that they have received, read, and understood the employer's employee handbook (also called a staff handbook or policies and procedures manual). It creates a written record that the employee was made aware of the employer's workplace policies at a defined point in time, which is valuable evidence for employers if disciplinary or legal proceedings arise. In Australia, the legal framework governing employment is primarily established by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) for employees covered by the national workplace relations system, which covers the vast majority of private sector employees. The Fair Work Act establishes the National Employment Standards (NES), which are the minimum entitlements that apply to all national system employees regardless of any award, enterprise agreement, or employment contract. Key NES entitlements include maximum weekly hours of work, requests for flexible working arrangements, parental leave and related entitlements, annual leave, personal and carer's leave and compassionate leave, community service leave, long service leave, public holidays, notice of termination and redundancy pay, and the Fair Work Information Statement (FWIS). The Fair Work Information Statement is a document prepared by the Fair Work Ombudsman that employers must provide to each new employee before or as soon as practicable after the employee commences employment, under s 125 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The FWIS sets out information about the NES, modern awards, enterprise agreements, individual flexibility arrangements, the right to request flexible working arrangements, termination of employment, and the roles of the Fair Work Commission and Fair Work Ombudsman. Many employers include a confirmation that the FWIS has been received within the employee handbook acknowledgment form. An employee handbook acknowledgment serves several important practical functions. It establishes a clear record that the employee received the specific version of the handbook on a defined date, which is important when handbook policies are updated over time. It provides evidence that the employee was informed of key workplace policies — including anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies, WHS obligations, confidentiality requirements, and codes of conduct — before the relevant events giving rise to a dispute. In unfair dismissal proceedings before the Fair Work Commission, employers frequently rely on acknowledgment forms to demonstrate that the dismissed employee was aware of the policy they were found to have breached. It is important to note that an employee handbook does not ordinarily form part of the employee's contract of employment unless it is expressly incorporated by reference in the employment contract. Many policies in a handbook, such as disciplinary procedures and bonus schemes, are considered to be policies of general application that may be amended by the employer from time to time, rather than contractual terms. However, certain provisions — particularly those that confer specific entitlements — may acquire contractual force if they are sufficiently certain and are intended to be binding. Employers should be precise in their handbooks about which policies are contractual and which are discretionary. The acknowledgment form should identify the specific version of the handbook being acknowledged, the date of acknowledgment, the employee's name and role, and the format in which the handbook was provided. Employers covered by the Fair Work Act should also confirm that the handbook is consistent with, and does not purport to exclude or reduce, the employee's minimum entitlements under the NES, any applicable Modern Award, or Enterprise Agreement. This acknowledgment form also includes optional sections for confirming receipt of the Fair Work Information Statement, workplace health and safety obligations under s 28 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth), and confidentiality obligations. It is suitable for all types of employees in Australia, including full-time, part-time, casual, and fixed-term employees.

An Employee Warning Letter is a formal written document issued by an Australian employer to notify an employee of a conduct or performance concern and to warn the employee that further disciplinary action — including dismissal — may follow if the required improvement is not achieved. Under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), a properly issued written warning is a critical step in the progressive discipline process and forms part of the procedural fairness that employers must demonstrate before terminating employment on performance or conduct grounds. What is an Employee Warning Letter? An Employee Warning Letter (also called a formal written warning, a written notice of unsatisfactory performance, or a conduct warning) is a documented disciplinary notice placed on an employee's personnel file. It sets out the specific conduct or performance concern, the employee's response, the improvement required, and the potential consequences of failing to meet those requirements. Unlike informal counselling or a verbal warning, a written warning creates a formal record that can be relied upon in Fair Work Commission proceedings. When is an Employee Warning Letter Needed? An Employee Warning Letter is needed whenever an Australian employer wishes to formally address a matter of unsatisfactory work performance, misconduct, a breach of workplace policy, attendance or punctuality issues, or failure to follow a reasonable and lawful direction. It is particularly important before any consideration of termination on performance grounds, because the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s 387(e) requires that, in assessing whether a dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable, the Fair Work Commission must consider whether the employee was previously warned about their unsatisfactory performance before being dismissed for that reason. Key Elements of an Australian Employee Warning Letter A compliant Australian Employee Warning Letter should include the following elements: 1. Employer and employee identification: Full legal names, job titles, department, and commencement date. 2. Warning level: Whether this is a first, second, or final written warning. Progressive discipline is recognised as best practice under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). 3. Nature and classification of the issue: A clear description of whether the concern relates to performance, misconduct, attendance, policy breach, or another category. 4. Factual description of the incident: An objective, date-specific account of the conduct or performance issue, including any witnesses and any policy or rule breached. 5. Prior disciplinary history: A summary of any prior formal or informal warnings relevant to this matter. 6. Opportunity to respond: Under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s 387(b), an employee must be given an opportunity to respond to allegations before a decision to warn or dismiss is made. The letter should record when this opportunity was given and summarise the employee's response. 7. Right to a support person: Under s 387(d) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), an employee is entitled to have a support person present at any meetings related to the disciplinary process. The letter should confirm this right was offered. 8. Required improvement: Specific, measurable corrective actions and a review date by which improvement must be demonstrated. 9. Consequences of non-improvement: A clear statement that further disciplinary action — including termination — may follow if the required standard is not achieved. This satisfies the warning requirement under s 387(e) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). 10. Employee acknowledgement: A signature line for the employee to acknowledge receipt of the letter. Acknowledgement does not constitute agreement with the warning. Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) — Procedural Fairness Requirements Australian employers covered by the national workplace relations system must comply with the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) when managing employee performance and conduct. Under s 387 of the Act, the Fair Work Commission must consider several criteria when determining whether a dismissal was unfair, including whether the employee was notified of the reason for dismissal (s 387(b)), given an opportunity to respond (s 387(b)), permitted to have a support person (s 387(d)), and warned about unsatisfactory performance (s 387(e)). A written warning letter that complies with these procedural steps reduces the risk of an unfair dismissal claim succeeding before the Commission. This template is designed for use across Australia, including New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory, and the Northern Territory, for employers in the national workplace relations system.