Advice & Strategy · Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth)
Independent advisory for boards and executives on meeting the positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act — readiness assessments, prevention systems and evidence the AHRC expects.
Scope a readiness assessmentCulture Plus method
Prevention-led. Evidence-based. Built for AHRC scrutiny.
Proactive prevention
Introduced through the Respect@Work reforms to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth), the positive duty has required Australian employers since 12 December 2022 to take proactive and meaningful action to eliminate workplace sexual harassment, sex-based harassment, sex discrimination, hostile work environments and victimisation — through coordinated measures across governance, culture, systems and leadership.
From 12 December 2023, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) gained formal powers to conduct inquiries without an organisation's permission, require documents and evidence, issue enforceable compliance notices, accept enforceable undertakings and apply to the Federal Court for orders directing compliance. Organisations can be held vicariously liable for employees' conduct where they cannot demonstrate adequate prevention measures — materially raising reputational, legal and financial exposure for non-compliance. Boards, executives and risk committees are expected to demonstrate prevention systems are actively operating, monitored and continuously improved — not merely documented.
"The question is no longer whether to act — but whether existing measures meet the positive duty standard and are genuinely sufficient."
Reform-grade Respect at Work, delivered at the heart of government.
NSW Parliament
Culture Plus Consulting was engaged by NSW Parliament to design and deliver Respect at Work and Trauma Informed Response training across its workforce — a flagship reform initiative responding to the Broderick Review of bullying, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct in NSW parliamentary workplaces. This engagement represents a proud achievement in delivering reform-grade Respect at Work training in high-scrutiny environments.
NSW Premier's Department
In an ongoing engagement, Culture Plus Consulting delivers Respect at Work training to the Premier, Ministers and Ministerial staff — a key recommendation of the Goward Review aimed at building respectful, safe and accountable workplaces at the heart of government.
What the positive duty covers
The duty extends beyond employees to reasonably foreseeable risks arising from work-related interactions with third parties — clients, contractors, patients, students and members of the public.
Treating employees less favourably because of their sex.
Unwelcome sexual conduct likely to cause offence, humiliation or intimidation.
Offensive conduct based on a person's sex that creates a hostile work environment.
Systemic patterns of behaviour that collectively demean or threaten on the basis of sex.
Adverse treatment for making, or intending to make, a complaint about any of the above.
Where organisations fall short
Most organisations have policies in place. Fewer have the integrated systems, leadership visibility, and evidence base the AHRC expects.
Harassment risks aren't formally treated as psychosocial hazards inside WHS risk registers, assessments, or controls.
Boards and executives lack line-of-sight to culture risks, incident trends, and the leading indicators that signal escalating harm.
Channels exist on paper but workers don't trust them, can't access them easily, or fear retaliation for using them.
Prevention leans on codes and training while the drivers — power imbalances, gendered norms, role design — go unaddressed.
Insufficient data collection and monitoring to demonstrate that prevention measures are working and being refined over time.
Frontline leaders lack the capability to respond to disclosures in a trauma-informed, procedurally fair way.
What regulators look for
The AHRC weighs these factors when assessing whether your prevention measures meet the positive duty.
Larger or more complex organisations — multi-site, multi-jurisdiction, or with elevated risk profiles — are expected to deploy more sophisticated systems than small, single-site employers.
Industry, workforce composition, power imbalances, isolation, client-facing exposure, and gendered work design all shift what reasonable prevention looks like in your context.
Financial, human and technical resources are taken into account — but resource limits do not excuse inaction on foundational measures like leadership, reporting pathways, and risk assessment.
Documented strategy, governance, action plans, training records, and scheduled reviews that show prevention is operating as a system — not a one-off project.
Visible board and executive ownership, KPIs tied to culture and safety outcomes, and consequences when standards are not met across all levels of the organisation.
Data collection, monitoring of leading and lagging indicators, evaluation of initiatives, and demonstrable refinement of controls over time.
The Seven Standards
The Australian Human Rights Commission has defined seven standards that organisations must meet to satisfy their positive duty. Our advisory services are designed to help you align with each of these standards.
Four guiding principles
Alongside the seven standards, the AHRC sets four guiding principles that shape how prevention measures should be designed, delivered and reviewed.
01
Workers at all levels are actively consulted to identify risks and co-design prevention initiatives.
02
Recognising that harassment affects workers differently based on gender, race, disability, and seniority.
03
Addressing structural drivers such as power imbalances and cultures that normalise disrespect.
04
Systems that prioritise safety, confidentiality and the dignity of those who come forward.
Our methodology
A five-step approach that turns the positive duty into operational practice — mapping risk, building governance and capability, wiring controls into WHS and reporting, transferring ownership to your leaders, and testing that measures are reasonable, proportionate and improving over time. Hover any step for detail:
Advisory Services
Structured, evidence-based reviews of policies, governance, prevention initiatives, reporting systems and culture practices against the AHRC's seven standards — with a tailored remediation roadmap proportionate to organisation size and risk.
Selected work
Trusted partners
I thank Felicity Menzies for the initial training sessions and commend her on the job that she has done.
Who we support
Oversight of workplace culture risk and compliance with the positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act.
Building organisational capability and accountability for prevention across the enterprise.
Assessing regulatory exposure and strengthening prevention systems against AHRC standards.
Designing prevention frameworks, reporting systems and culture change initiatives.
Integrating sexual harassment and sex-based harassment into psychosocial risk management frameworks.
Reviewing complaint handling and response so concerns are addressed consistently, fairly and in a trauma-informed way.
Your consultant
CEO, Author and Principal Consultant
Every Culture Plus engagement is delivered with behavioural rigour and practical relevance by Felicity Menzies — organisational psychologist, author, and specialist consultant.
Endorsed capability partner
Culture Plus Consulting is proud to design and deliver flagship DEI programmes for the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) — Australia's peak HR professional body — supporting HR leaders and practitioners to build capability for inclusive leadership and organisational change.
Connect with us to explore how evidence-based DEI training can help your organisation build capability, strengthen culture, and deliver meaningful, measurable change.
Key questions for leaders
Have you formally assessed sexual harassment risks, including risks involving third parties?
Are those risks integrated into your WHS psychosocial risk management framework?
Are you addressing structural drivers — power imbalances, gendered work design, norms that normalise disrespect — not just policy and training?
Can workers access confidential, trauma-informed support whether or not they make a formal complaint?
Have you actively consulted workers — including those most at risk — in identifying hazards and co-designing prevention?
Have you assessed how risks fall differently on workers by gender, race, disability, sexuality, seniority and employment type?
Do all workers, including leaders, understand their rights, obligations and the standards of behaviour expected of them?
Do employees know how to report concerns, and do they trust that reports will be taken seriously?
Do your managers and leaders have the capability to respond appropriately and in a trauma-informed, person-centred way?
Are response processes procedurally fair, trauma-informed, and do they hold perpetrators consistently accountable?
Does your leadership team receive regular, meaningful reporting on workplace culture risks and incidents?
Can you demonstrate to the AHRC that prevention initiatives are monitored, regularly reviewed, and continuously improved?
Has your board or governing body formally considered its oversight obligations under the positive duty?
From the book
“Culture is the sum of behaviours leaders permit, model, and reward.”
Frequently asked questions
For HR leaders, executives, and boards, understanding the nuances of the positive duty is critical for compliance and culture. If you have a specific question, please reach out.
Regulators consider your organisation's size, nature, complexity, and available resources. They look for evidence that prevention measures have been planned, implemented, monitored, and regularly reviewed — with strong leadership engagement and accountability.
While you're here
Equip leaders to manage psychosocial hazards under WHS Regulations, ISO 45003 and Positive Duty.
Psychosocial Hazards & Safety Training for Leaders →Identify, assess and control psychosocial hazards at work — aligned with WHS regulator expectations.
Psychosocial Hazards Consulting & Risk Assessment →Build speak-up culture, constructive challenge and high-performing teams — based on Amy Edmondson's research.
Psychological Safety Training for Teams →Further reading
Strengthen compliance — build respectful workplaces
We help organisations build legally robust and genuinely effective prevention systems — workplaces where every person is treated with dignity and respect, and compliance with the positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act is demonstrable.
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