Approval of Commonwealth Code of Practice on sexual and gender-based harassment

The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Senator the Hon Murray Watt, has approved the Commonwealth Work Health and Safety (Sexual and Gender-based Harassment) Code of Practice 2025, under section 274(1) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.  

The Code provides practical guidance to anyone who has a duty of care in the Commonwealth jurisdiction on meeting their obligations under WHS laws in relation to sexual and gender-based harassment. A copy of the Code of Practice can be found at www.legislation.gov.au/F2025L00326/asmade/text 

The Code of Practice supports implementation of recommendation 35 of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Respect@Work: Sexual Harassment National Inquiry Report, which recommended that work health and safety (WHS) ministers develop a code of practice on sexual harassment. 

The Code of Practice adopts the model Code of Practice on Sexual and Gender-based Harassment, published by Safe Work Australia, with minor modifications for the Commonwealth jurisdiction to: 

• include recent research on workplace technology-facilitated sexual harassment 

• ensure consistency with the approach in the Commonwealth Work Health and Safety (Managing Psychosocial Hazards in the Workplace) Code of Practice 2024, and 

• incorporate minor or technical feedback from stakeholder consultation.