Physical harassment in the workplace is one of those topics that people often know is wrong but struggle to clearly define. Where does a pat on the back cross a line? When does horseplay become assault? And what does Australian law say about it?
These are fair questions and important ones. Because if you cannot identify physical harassment when it happens, you cannot stop it.
This guide walks you through real examples, explains your rights under Australian law, and shows you what employers can do to build a genuinely safe workplace.
What Is Physical Harassment in the Workplace?
Physical harassment refers to any unwanted physical contact or conduct that creates a hostile, intimidating, or offensive work environment. It goes beyond verbal abuse or written threats; it involves the body.
Under Australian workplace law, physical harassment can fall under several legal categories, including workplace bullying, sexual harassment, and even assault under criminal law, depending on the severity.
The Fair Work Act 2009 defines workplace bullying as repeated unreasonable behaviour directed at a worker that creates a risk to health and safety. Physical acts can absolutely qualify.
The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 also covers physical conduct of a sexual nature, including unwanted touching.
And under Work Health and Safety (WHS) legislation across Australian states and territories, employers have a positive duty to eliminate or minimise risks to psychological and physical safety.
So yes, physical harassment is not just an HR problem. It is a legal one.
Why Physical Harassment Is Underreported in Australia
Before listing the examples, it is worth understanding why so many incidents go unreported.
Safe Work Australia data consistently shows that harassment and bullying are among the most common psychosocial hazards in Australian workplaces, yet workers hesitate to speak up. The reasons are familiar:
- Fear of not being believed
- Concern about losing their job
- Uncertainty about whether the behaviour “counts” as harassment
- Worry about damaging relationships at work
That last point is significant. Physical harassment often happens in workplaces where the culture normalises rough behaviour, such as construction sites, kitchens, mining camps, and hospitality venues. Workers may feel that reporting it makes them look weak or oversensitive.
This is where clear, documented workplace policies and training make a real difference.
Examples of Physical Harassment in the Workplace
Let’s get specific. These are recognised examples of physical harassment, not hypotheticals, but the kinds of incidents that appear in Fair Work Commission decisions, WorkSafe investigations, and court proceedings across Australia.
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Unwanted Touching
This is the most common category. It includes:
- Hugging or kissing a colleague without consent
- Patting someone on the back, shoulder, or head when they have not invited it
- Touching someone’s hair, face, or clothing without permission
- Grabbing or squeezing a person’s arm or shoulder
Even “friendly” or well-intentioned touching can constitute harassment if it is unwanted. The intention of the person doing the touching does not determine whether it is harassment; the impact on the recipient does.
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Blocking or Cornering Someone
Physically trapping a person in a room, corner, or confined space to intimidate or restrict their movement is a recognised form of physical harassment.
This might look like a manager blocking a doorway during a disciplinary discussion, or a co-worker positioning themselves to prevent a colleague from leaving a break room.
It does not need to involve physical contact. The act of using one’s body to control another person’s freedom of movement is enough.
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Deliberate Bumping or Shoving
Some harassers make physical contact look accidental, a “clumsy” elbow in the lunch queue, a shoulder bump in the hallway, or repeatedly standing too close.
When this happens consistently and targets a single person, it moves from clumsiness to deliberate conduct. Pattern matters. A Fair Work Commission decision from 2022 upheld a bullying claim where a supervisor repeatedly bumped into and made physical contact with a subordinate over several weeks.
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Throwing Objects
Throwing tools, food, files, keys, or any object toward or at a worker is physical harassment and, in many circumstances, it crosses into assault under Australian criminal law.
This behaviour occurs with notable frequency in high-pressure environments such as restaurant kitchens and manufacturing floors. It is sometimes dismissed as “just how things are here.” That excuse does not hold up legally, and it certainly does not hold up in a Fair Work Commission proceeding.
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Forceful Gestures or Aggressive Physical Posturing
Slamming a fist on a desk, getting in someone’s face, raising a hand as if to strike, these are all forms of physical intimidation and can constitute harassment even without contact.
The law recognises that a reasonable person can feel threatened and unsafe because of these behaviours, regardless of whether a punch was thrown.
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Sexual Physical Harassment
Physical harassment of a sexual nature includes:
- Groping or touching someone’s body in a sexual way without consent
- Brushing up against a person deliberately
- Unwanted sexual contact of any kind
- Simulated sexual acts directed at a colleague
Under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and state equivalents, this type of conduct is unlawful, and employers can be held vicariously liable if they knew (or should have known) about it and failed to act.
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Physically Intimidating Gestures Directed at Protected Characteristics
If physical harassment targets someone because of their race, gender, disability, religion, age, or sexual orientation, it can simultaneously breach anti-discrimination legislation.
This might include pushing or jostling someone while making racist comments or physically cornering a person and directing homophobic conduct at them.
In these cases, the employer can face claims under multiple pieces of legislation.
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Horseplay That Causes Harm
“We were just having a laugh” is one of the most heard phrases after a workplace injury caused by rough behaviour.
Horseplay wrestling, playfighting, rough pranks, and removing someone’s chair can cause genuine physical harm and expose both the individual and the employer to serious consequences. If one party finds the behaviour unwanted, distressing, or dangerous, it is no longer play.
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Restraining or Physically Controlling a Worker
This is at the more serious end of the spectrum and often leads to criminal charges in addition to civil claims.
Examples include physically restraining a worker from leaving a room, forcibly removing someone from their workstation, or grabbing a person and pushing them somewhere against their will.
What Australian Law Says
Australian workers are protected by a web of legislation. The key frameworks are:
- The Fair Work Act 2009 provides workers with the right to apply to the Fair Work Commission if they are bullied at work. Physical conduct that is repeated and unreasonable falls within the scope.
- Work Health and Safety Acts. Each state and territory has WHS legislation based on the model WHS Act. Employers must identify and manage psychosocial hazards, and physical harassment is explicitly recognised as one.
- The sex Discrimination Act 1984 prohibits sexual harassment in workplaces nationally. The Respect@Work Act (enacted in 2022) significantly strengthened these protections, introducing a positive duty on employers to take proactive steps to prevent sexual harassment.
- Anti-Discrimination Legislation: State and territory laws (for example, the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 in Victoria, the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 in Queensland) protect workers from harassment based on protected attributes.
- Criminal Law. In serious cases, physical harassment can constitute common assault, aggravated assault, or stalking under criminal law across all Australian jurisdictions.
The Role of Employers: What You Are Required to Do
Under Australian WHS law, employers do not just have the right to act; they have a legal obligation to act.
The Work Health and Safety Regulations require organisations to identify psychosocial hazards (including harassment and bullying), conduct risk assessments, implement control measures, and regularly review those measures.
This is not optional. It is not something to get to when there is time. Failure to act can result in significant financial penalties, reputational damage, and personal liability for directors and managers.
So, what does a proactive response look like?
- Establish a clear workplace harassment policy – written, accessible, and reviewed regularly
- Conduct mandatory training for all staff – not just managers
- Create safe and confidential reporting channels
- Respond promptly and thoroughly to all complaints
- Document everything
- Review your culture, not just your procedures
How Sentrient Helps Australian Organisations Manage Workplace Harassment
This is where Sentrient comes in, and it is genuinely worth knowing about if you are an HR professional, business owner, or compliance manager in Australia.
Sentrient is an Australian-built workplace compliance platform that helps organisations train, track, and manage their obligations around workplace behaviour, including harassment, bullying, discrimination, and WHS.
What Sentrient Offers
Sentrient provides Australia-specific eLearning modules on workplace harassment, bullying, discrimination, and WHS. These are not generic courses repackaged from overseas. They are built for Australian legislation and the Australian workplace context.
Courses cover topics like recognising physical and sexual harassment, understanding bystander responsibilities, and knowing how to report. Workers complete them in their own time, and managers can see who has done what.
Policy Management: Sentrient enables organisations to distribute their workplace policies digitally and capture employee acknowledgements. This creates an auditable record, critical if a complaint is ever made.
Incident Reporting and Case Management: Workers can report incidents through the platform, and HR managers can track, document, and manage cases systematically. This removes the reliance on paper trails and informal processes that often break down under pressure.
Compliance Monitoring: Briefly, HR teams can see training completion rates, outstanding acknowledgements, and any flagged incidents. This kind of visibility is exactly what regulators and courts look for when assessing whether an organisation has met its positive duty obligations.
Custom Content: Organisations can upload their own policies, induction materials, and procedures, all managed within one platform. This is particularly useful for larger businesses or those operating across multiple sites.
Why This Matters Under the Respect@Work Laws
Since the commencement of the positive duty provisions under the Sex Discrimination Act in 2023, employers can no longer take a reactive approach to sexual harassment. They must actively work to prevent it.
The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has published guidelines on this, and Sentrient’s tools are specifically designed to help organisations meet those requirements, with documented training, policy acknowledgements, and incident tracking all in one place.
For many Australian businesses, particularly mid-sized ones without dedicated compliance teams, Sentrient provides the infrastructure they would otherwise need to build from scratch.
What to Do If You Experience Physical Harassment at Work
If you are experiencing physical harassment in the workplace, here is a practical path forward:
Step 1: Write it down. Document every incident date, time, location, what happened, and who was present. Do this as soon as possible after each event.
Step 2: Check your workplace policy. Your employer should have a harassment or grievance policy. Read it. Understand the process for making a complaint.
Step 3: Report it internally. If you feel safe doing so, report the conduct to your manager, HR department, or whoever is designated under your workplace policy. If your manager is harassing you, report it to their superior or to HR directly.
Step 4: Contact a relevant authority. If internal reporting does not resolve the issue, or if you do not feel safe reporting internally, you can contact:
- The Fair Work Commission – for workplace bullying applications
- The Australian Human Rights Commission – for sexual harassment complaints
- Your state WorkSafe or SafeWork authority – for WHS-related hazards
- Your state anti-discrimination body – for discrimination-based harassment
- Police – if the conduct constitutes assault or criminal behaviour
Step 5: Seek support. Talk to someone you trust, or contact the trust or Assistance Program (EAP) if your employer offers one. You can also contact Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636) for support around workplace stress and mental health.
A Word on Bystanders
Physical harassment in the workplace is not just a problem for the person on the receiving end. It affects entire teams, diminishes morale, and creates a culture of fear.
If you witness physical harassment, you have a role to play. Australian workplaces are increasingly recognising the importance of bystander intervention, speaking up when you see something wrong, checking in on the person who was targeted, and reporting what you saw, even if the person involved has not.
Sentrient’s training modules specifically address bystander responsibilities, because changing workplace culture requires everyone to be part of the solution.
FAQs
What counts as physical harassment in the workplace?
Physical harassment is any unwanted physical conduct that makes a person feel intimidated, humiliated, or threatened at work. This includes unwanted touching, deliberate bumping, throwing objects, blocking someone’s movement, aggressive physical gestures, and any physical conduct of a sexual nature. The conduct need not cause physical injury to be considered harassment; the impact on a person’s dignity and sense of safety is what matters.
Is touching someone on the shoulder harassment?
It can be. If the touch is unwanted, repeated, or makes the person uncomfortable, it can constitute physical harassment even if it seems minor to the person doing it. Consent and context are everything. A single well-intentioned spat on the shoulder in isolation is different from a manager who repeatedly touches a subordinate’s shoulder after being told not to. When in doubt, keep your hands to yourself.
What is the difference between physical harassment and assault?
Physical harassment is a workplace law concept that can include repeated unwanted contact, intimidation, and physical conduct that creates a hostile environment. Assault is a criminal law concept that generally requires intentional conduct that causes another person to apprehend immediate physical harm, or actual physical contact without consent.
In practice, the same act, say, a co-worker forcefully grabbing and shoving another, could be physical harassment under the Fair Work Act, a WHS breach, and criminal assault simultaneously. These categories overlap.
What should I do if someone physically harasses me at work?
Document the incident in writing as soon as it happens. Report it through your workplace’s internal complaints process. If the internal process fails or you do not feel safe using it, contact the Fair Work Commission, the Australian Human Rights Commission, your state WorkSafe authority, or police (for criminal conduct). You should also seek personal support through your employer’s EAP or a mental health service.
Can an employer be held responsible for physical harassment by a co-worker?
Yes. Under Australian law, employers can be held vicariously liable for harassment committed by their employees if the employer knew or should have known about the conduct and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent or stop it. This is why having documented training, clear policies, and responsive complaint procedures is so important. It is not just good practice; it is your legal protection.
Is horseplay at work considered harassment?
Horseplay, rough physical play, pranks, and wrestling can be considered physical harassment if one party finds it unwanted, distressing, or dangerous. The fact that it was intended as fun does not mean it is legally harmless. If horseplay causes injury or if one worker regularly targets another with rough behaviour, it can constitute bullying, harassment, or both. Employers have a duty to address it.
What is the positive duty under Australian workplace law?
The positive duty, introduced by the Respect@Work Act (Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Act 2021), requires employers to take proactive and reasonable measures to prevent sexual harassment, discrimination, and conduct that creates a hostile work environment. It shifted the legal framework from a reactive one responding after a complaint to a preventive one. Employers must now demonstrate that they have actively worked to prevent harassment, not just responded to it when it occurred. The Australian Human Rights Commission has enforcement powers under this duty.
Does physical harassment have to be repeated to be unlawful?
Not necessarily. Under the Fair Work Act’s bullying definition, repeated behaviour is a requirement. But a single serious act like an assault, a groping incident, or throwing an object at someone can be unlawful under criminal law, WHS legislation, or anti-discrimination law without needing to be repeated. Severity matters, and a one-off serious incident should always be treated and reported as such.
What industries in Australia have the highest rates of physical harassment?
According to Safe Work Australia and the AHRC’s research, industries with higher reported rates of workplace violence and physical harassment include healthcare and social assistance, accommodation and food services, retail trade, agriculture, and construction. However, physical harassment can and does occur across all industries and all levels of seniority.
How can Sentrient help prevent physical harassment?
Sentrient provides Australian businesses with the tools to prevent physical harassment through mandatory eLearning (covering harassment, bullying, WHS, and bystander responsibilities), digital policy distribution and acknowledgement tracking, incident reporting systems, and compliance monitoring dashboards. This helps organisations meet their legal obligations under Australian WHS law and the Sex Discrimination Act’s positive duty requirements.
Final Thoughts
Physical harassment in the workplace is not a grey area, at least not once you know what to look for. The examples above are documented, legally recognised, and far more common than most workplaces like to admit.
For workers: you have rights. Know them. Use them.
For employers: you have obligations. They are not optional, and they have teeth. Ignorance is not a defence when it comes to WHS law or the positive duty.
The good news is that prevention is genuinely achievable with the right systems, training, and culture in place. Tools like Sentrient exist precisely to make that easier, especially for Australian organisations navigating the specific requirements of our legislation.
Building a safe workplace is not just about ticking boxes. It is about creating an environment where people can do their best work without fear. That is worth investing in.
