Personal Harassment

Personal harassment describes unwelcome conduct directed at someone for reasons personal to them rather than because of a protected attribute.

That distinction matters more than it sounds, because it changes the route a complaint takes.

Discriminatory harassment, tied to race, sex, age, disability or religion, engages anti-discrimination law. A single incident can be enough, and the Commission and state bodies are available.

Personal harassment engages work health and safety law and the Fair Work bullying provisions instead. Those generally require repeated behaviour, so a pattern has to be established.

The practical consequence for anyone experiencing it is that records matter more here than anywhere else. One serious incident may not be enough on its own, and the case is built from dated notes accumulated over months.

Safe Work Australia covers psychosocial hazards. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s workplace bullying course and respect at work training.