Workplace Compliance Systems

Workplace compliance systems are the connected tools an Australian employer uses to set the standard of behaviour, train people against it, and prove both if something goes wrong. Policy management, training assignment and record keeping sit at the core. Run separately they leave gaps. Run as one set they produce an evidence trail.

That evidence trail decides real cases. Since 6 March 2023, Part 3-5A of the Fair Work Act has prohibited sexual harassment in connection with work, and section 527E makes an employer liable for what its employees and agents do unless it proves it took all reasonable steps to prevent the conduct. All reasonable steps is judged on what an organisation actually did. A dated completion record, a signed policy acknowledgement and a refresher cycle carry weight. An unread policy in a shared drive does not.

In practice the systems worth joining up are:

• policy acknowledgement, so you know who accepted which version of a policy and when
• sexual harassment prevention as the baseline every worker completes
• manager level training, because supervisors are the ones expected to act on a complaint
• respect at work, which sets the broader behavioural standard the other pieces rest on

The Fair Work Commission can deal with these disputes and make orders to stop sexual harassment, including orders that an employer provide information, support and further training to its workers. State and territory discrimination laws sit alongside the federal scheme and the detail differs between them, so check what applies where you operate. Treat this as general information rather than legal advice.

Posts tagged here look at how Australian organisations join these pieces together and where the gaps usually appear. To see them running on one platform, visit Sentrient’s workplace compliance system.