Preventing Workplace Harassment and Discrimination in Australia
Length
30 Minutes
Course Type
Helps to Satisfy Australian Employers’ Positive Duty Under the Sex Discrimination Act of 1984; Mobile Friendly
Audience
Supervisors and Non-Supervisory Employees
Empower Your
Workforce
Harassment Prevention Training That Protects People and Drives Performance in Australia
Creating a workplace free from sexual harassment and discrimination isn’t just a regulatory obligation—it’s a catalyst for stronger culture, innovation, and sustainable business results across regions and industries.
Compliance is the foundation, not the finish line. Real impact happens when training fosters empathy, awareness, and accountability, empowering employees to feel safe, respected, and able to thrive. SHIFT HR Compliance Training’s Prevention of Workplace Harassment and Discrimination for Australia course helps to satisfy Australian employers’ Positive Duty under the Sex Discrimination Act of 1984 and is designed to engage learners, shift mindsets, and promote lasting behavioral and cultural change to support people and performance at every level of your organization.
For answers to common questions about harassment prevention Australia harassment prevention, visit our FAQ section.
Comprehensive Compliance, Wherever You Work
SHIFT HR Compliance Training also offers a global version of this course along with country-specific courses for the U.S., Canada, the UK, and India, ensuring learners receive content tailored to the regulations and workplace expectations in their region. Additional locations are available upon request.
For organizations operating in the United States, this global framework translates into a streamlined U.S. course that replaces a patchwork of state and federal programs with one comprehensive harassment prevention program. It saves time, reduces administrative burden, and delivers learning that resonates across every location. The program covers federal, state, and local compliance requirements, while role-based tracks and adaptive technology ensure the right content reaches the right person at the right time.
Offerings also include industry-specific versions of our courses for retail, healthcare and manufacturing and trade to ensure content reflects the realities of each workplace.
In December 2022, the Australian Human Rights Commission introduced a new positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth). This change requires all organisations — regardless of size or resources — to take proactive steps to prevent unlawful conduct, not just respond after it happens. The duty applies to sole traders, small businesses, large enterprises, and government alike, reinforcing the need for safer, more respectful workplaces.
Under the Act, organisations must actively work to prevent:
Discrimination on the grounds of sex in a work context
Sexual harassment in connection with work
Sex-based harassment in connection with work
Conduct that creates a hostile workplace environment on the grounds of sex
Related acts of victimisation
This act is designed to create safer, more accountable workplaces in Australia. For more details, visit our FAQ section.
SHIFT’s Preventing Workplace Harassment and Discrimination in Australia course equips your employees and supervisors with the tools they need to foster a respectful, inclusive environment. Through interactive, real-world scenarios and current workplace issues, learners gain practical strategies to recognize, prevent, respond to, and report inappropriate behavior, empowering them to be part of the solution.
- Identify unlawful harassment, discrimination and retaliation, and develop effective strategies to prevent, address, and respond to them
- Recognize inappropriate behavior early and understand how to safely intervene and report concerns
- Clarify the difference between intent and impact to better assess workplace conduct before lines are crossed
- Empower employees with bystander intervention skills and proactive prevention techniques and real-life scenarios that drive sustainable behavior change, supported by positive feedback and coaching
We also offer our Preventing Workplace Harassment & Discrimination course in the following versions:
- A global version with country-specific versions tailored to meet compliance requirements in the U.S., UK, India, and Canada, with additional regions available upon request.
- A sensitive locations version, modified to align with local norms in regions where sensitivities to some content require changes.
- A streamlined U.S. version that simplifies complex training mandates, allowing learners to take a single course and select the location(s) where they work or manage. The intuitive platform also adapts dynamically to mandated time requirements, ensuring both flexibility and compliance.
- Industry-specific versions for retail, healthcare, and manufacturing and trade to ensure content reflects the realities of each workplace.
The Reality of Harassment and Discrimination
SHIFT can help you protect your employees, your customers, and your bottom line.
Global workers have experienced harassment or discrimination
Number of global workers who don't report discrimination
Women are twice as likely as men to experience sexual harassment at work
Course Details
| Format | Self-paced eLearning with interactive scenarios and reflection points Helps to Satisfy Australian Employers’ Positive Duty Under the Sex Discrimination Act of 1984 |
| Duration | 30 Minutes |
| Languages | English and Spanish (others available upon request) |
| Certification | Instant certificate download |
| Accessibility | WCAG 2.1 AA compliant, screen-reader compatible, closed captions included |
| Flexible Delivery Options | SCORM-ready training, hosted by SHIFT or on your LMS |
| Customization | Turnkey branding options |
| White Glove Implementation | Dedicated Project Manager |
SHIFT Your Expectations of Compliance Training
Stop settling for boring training that’s in one ear and out the other – discover innovative training solutions that drive lasting behavior change and business growth.
Why SHIFT HR Compliance Training
Minimize your risk exposure with training built by top-rate employment law attorneys with deep expertise in state, federal, and global mandates.
Boost course completion and knowledge retention with engaging and interactive training designed by Subject Matter Experts.
Achieve lasting change with empathy-based training that shifts mindsets and behavior, with additional learning resources for reinforcement.
Stay protected against emerging risks with courses that evolve alongside shifting workplace challenges, new regulations, and timely issues.
The industries' most advanced customization makes it easy to tailor content to your brand, your people, and your policy, driving greater employee buy-in and organizational impact.
Save valuable time and resources with our dedicated support team, ensuring a smooth and seamless implementation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What to consider when choosing the right Harassment & Discrimination Training Course for Australia
In Australia, there is no single law that mandates a set number of hours for sexual harassment training, but under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, all employers now have a positive duty to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sexual harassment, sex-based harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. Since December 2023, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has the power to monitor and enforce this duty, which means organizations must show evidence that they are taking proactive steps—like education, policies, and systems—to prevent misconduct, not just respond after it happens.
While training is not explicitly prescribed, it is considered an essential part of compliance. Best practice is to provide regular, tailored training for all employees, with additional programs for managers and leaders, and to refresh sessions annually or during onboarding. The AHRC and sector-specific codes of practice strongly encourage embedding training into a broader prevention strategy that includes updated policies, risk assessments, leadership engagement, and clear reporting mechanisms. In practice, this makes sexual harassment training effectively mandatory for compliance with the positive duty, even if not spelled out in the law.
Yes. SHIFT HR Compliance Training is fully adaptable, allowing organizations to tailor content to specific regions, industries, and workforce needs. Customization options include:
Turnkey Branding: Seamlessly incorporate your company’s logo, colors, and messaging to create a familiar and engaging learning environment.
Content Tailoring: Adjust scenarios, examples, and policies to reflect local regulations, industry norms, and real-world workplace situations.
Bespoke Development: Create unique content that mirrors your organizational culture and addresses the specific challenges your employees face.
This level of customization not only ensures compliance but also drives stronger employee engagement and retention. Training that feels relevant, practical, and aligned with your brand resonates more deeply with learners, boosting buy-in and fostering a culture of accountability, respect, and inclusion across your workforce.
Yes, all content is reviewed by legal experts in harassment and discrimination laws in Australia. In addition, SHIFT regularly reviews and updates all training materials to ensure they remain accurate, relevant, and aligned with current laws and best practices, so your employees always receive up-to-date guidance that supports compliance and reinforces a safe, respectful workplace.
Yes, the training can be customized to include your company policies or code of conduct.
Effective harassment and discrimination training is practical, relatable, and designed to drive behavior change, not just compliance. It uses real-world scenarios, role-specific guidance, and interactive content to help employees recognize, prevent, and respond to misconduct. Regular updates and inclusive design ensure it stays relevant and resonates with today’s workforce.
A protected characteristic is a personal trait that is legally safeguarded from discrimination, such as race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, and genetic information.
Examples of discrimination include denying a promotion based on race, paying employees differently because of gender, and refusing to provide reasonable accommodations for a disability.
Harassment can be verbal, physical, or visual, and includes sexual harassment (quid pro quo or hostile work environment). The behavior must be unwelcome and either severe or persistent enough to affect work conditions.
Offensive jokes or slurs about someone’s race or gender, unwanted sexual advances or comments, and displaying discriminatory images or symbols are all examples of workplace harassment.
