WHS Sexual Harassment
Introduction
Sexual harassment and sex or gender based harassment are now treated in Queensland as psychosocial hazards under the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Queensland Government, 2011b). They are recognised as risks to health and safety that can cause physical and psychological harm to workers and other persons at work. The duty to manage those risks sits with the person conducting a business or undertaking and is not limited to responding after an incident has occurred.
The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 imposes a primary duty to ensure health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable (Queensland Government, 2011a), and the Work Health and Safety (Sexual Harassment) Amendment Regulation 2024 makes the obligations explicit (Queensland Government, 2024). Prevention is a proactive duty to identify, assess and control the risk, consult with workers, and document how the risk is managed. From 1 March 2025 a written prevention plan is required where a risk is identified.
A Prevention Plan Is Required With or Without a Complaint or Incident
Prevention under Queensland WHS law is not triggered by a complaint. The person conducting a business or undertaking must manage the risk of sexual harassment and sex or gender based harassment as part of the duty to manage psychosocial risks, and must review control measures as soon as practicable after a report is made. The duty exists even where no report has been received.
Section 55H of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 requires a prevention plan to be prepared where an identified risk exists (Queensland Government, 2011b). The plan must be implemented and workers must be made aware of it and know how to access it. The plan must be reviewed if a report is made, if a health and safety committee or health and safety representative requests a review, or at least every three years. This creates a continuous cycle of identification, control and review, not a reactive response.
Power Imbalance Can Increase the Risk
Section 55F requires the person conducting a business or undertaking to have regard to matters relating to characteristics of workers when determining control measures (Queensland Government, 2011b). Relevant matters include age, gender, sex, sexual orientation and disability.
Power imbalance, lack of diversity in the workplace generally or in decision making positions, and workplace systems that permit unacceptable behaviour are also relevant. Examples in the regulation include a hotel workplace where patrons may be affected by drugs or alcohol, or a workplace where a worker’s casual status leaves them exposed to permanent staff with supervisory authority (Queensland Government, 2011b). Identifying these factors allows controls to be targeted at the source of risk rather than generic policies.
Don't Rely on Data Alone
Incident data alone will understate the risk of sexual harassment and sex or gender based harassment. Many workers do not report, and the harm can occur before a formal complaint is made. A WHS risk management approach requires proactive hazard identification through consultation, worker surveys, observation of work design, and review of workplace culture and work environment (Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, 2022).
Section 55D requires control measures to be determined with regard to relevant matters (Queensland Government, 2011b). That assessment must be informed by consultation under Part 5 of the Act (Queensland Government, 2011a) and by an understanding of how work is actually performed, who is exposed, and what conditions may enable harassing conduct. Relying only on reported incidents risks missing the conditions that allow the risk to persist.
Change the Culture If It Puts Others at Risk
A work environment that may give rise to a workplace culture, or system of work, in which unacceptable or inappropriate behaviour is, or may be, permitted is a relevant matter under section 55F (Queensland Government, 2011b). Culture is not a soft issue in WHS terms; it is a control factor.
Where consultation identifies tolerance of sexist jokes, gendered double standards, or a reluctance to challenge inappropriate behaviour, the person conducting a business or undertaking must treat those findings as evidence of risk. Controls may need to address leadership behaviour, recruitment and promotion practices, training, reporting pathways, and how reports are handled. Changing culture is achieved through consistent action, visible commitment, and controls that are applied at the source of the risk.
What the Prevention Plan Must Contain (Section 55H)
Section 55H of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) commenced on 1 March 2025 under the Work Health and Safety (Sexual Harassment) Amendment Regulation 2024 (Qld). Where a risk is identified, a PCBU must prepare a written prevention plan, and section 55H(2) sets out what that plan must contain (Queensland Government, 2024).
1. In writing
The plan must be a written document, not an informal understanding or verbal arrangement.
2. State each identified risk
It must state each identified risk of sexual harassment or sex or gender-based harassment to workers or other people at the workplace.
3. Identify the control measures for each risk
It must identify the control measures implemented, or to be implemented, to manage each identified risk.
4. Identify the matters considered
It must identify the matters the PCBU considered in determining those controls, including the relevant matters under section 55F(1) and any other relevant matter under section 55D(2).
5. Describe the consultation undertaken
It must describe the consultation carried out with workers under Part 5, Divisions 1 and 2 of the Act.
6. Set out the procedure for dealing with reports
It must set out how a person may make a report, how the report will be investigated, that the person may be represented, how they and other parties will be informed of the results, and that they may also use the issue resolution and dispute resolution processes in Part 5, Divisions 5 and 7A of the Act.
7. Be readily accessible and understandable to workers
It must be set out and expressed so that workers can readily access and understand it.
The plan must then be implemented, workers must be made aware of it and know how to access it, and it must be reviewed after a report is made, on request from a health and safety committee or a health and safety representative, or otherwise at least every three years (Queensland Government, 2011b).
Other matters to consider (section 55D)
Section 55H requires the plan to record the matters considered when determining controls. Beyond the sexual harassment matters in section 55F, section 55D(2) requires the PCBU to have regard to all relevant psychosocial matters, including the following (Queensland Government, 2011b).
Protect the Person's Wellbeing, Then Investigate
A report of sexual harassment or sex or gender based harassment triggers a duty to review and, as necessary, revise control measures under section 55G (Queensland Government, 2011b). The immediate priority is the health and safety and wellbeing of the person who made the report and other affected workers.
Support should be provided, interim controls implemented to prevent further exposure, and the investigation conducted in a way that is fair, timely and respectful. The prevention plan procedure must make clear how reports will be handled and that the person may be represented. Protecting wellbeing first builds trust in the system and supports the duty to consult safely and effectively.
On Shared Sites, Agree Who Is Responsible
On shared sites or where multiple persons conduct a business or undertaking, duties can overlap. The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 requires each duty holder to manage risks so far as is reasonably practicable and to consult, cooperate and coordinate with others (Queensland Government, 2011a).
Early agreement on who is responsible for identifying the risk of sexual harassment and sex or gender based harassment, who will lead consultation, and who will maintain the prevention plan reduces gaps and duplication. Written arrangements should record responsibilities for training, reporting pathways, investigation, and review of controls, and ensure workers from all businesses have access to the relevant prevention plan.
How to Verify Whether the Plan Is Working
Verification is not limited to checking that a document exists. The person conducting a business or undertaking must take reasonable steps to ensure workers are made aware of the prevention plan and know how to access it, and must review the plan on the prescribed triggers (Queensland Government, 2011b). Effectiveness should be assessed through leading indicators such as completion of training, participation in consultation, and use of reporting channels, and lagging indicators such as reports and outcomes.
Review should also consider whether control measures remain effective, whether new hazards have emerged, and whether consultation indicates a need for change. If a control measure is not working, it must be reviewed and revised. Documenting these checks provides evidence of compliance with the duty to manage the risk so far as is reasonably practicable.
Conclusion
In Queensland, workplace sexual harassment is a work health and safety risk that must be prevented, not just responded to. The legal framework requires proactive identification of risk including power imbalance and culture, safe consultation, controls applied at the source, and a written prevention plan under section 55H that is implemented, accessible and reviewed (Queensland Government, 2011b). Verification of controls completes the cycle and demonstrates that prevention is being managed as a core health and safety obligation.
References
Queensland Government. (2011a). Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld), including ss 19, 27 and 46–49. Queensland Legislation. https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2011-018
Queensland Government. (2011b). Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld), including ss 38 and 55BA–55H. Queensland Legislation. https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/sl-2011-0240
Queensland Government. (2024). Work Health and Safety (Sexual Harassment) Amendment Regulation 2024 (Qld), Subordinate Legislation 2024 No. 173. Queensland Legislation. https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/asmade/sl-2024-0173
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland. (2022). Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022. Queensland Government. https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/laws-and-compliance/codes-of-practice/managing-the-risk-of-psychosocial-hazards-at-work-code-of-practice-2022
