Prevent Workplace Harassment and Meet Positive Duty Obligations
Respect at work training helps Australian organisations build a respectful workplace by improving everyday behaviour, strengthening workplace culture, and supporting prevention of harassment, bullying, discrimination, and victimisation. This course is designed for employees, workers, managers, and employers who need a clear understanding of respectful conduct, responsibilities, and how to respond when issues arise.
This training is delivered as part of the broader Workplace Behaviours Training Australia, so teams can connect respect work expectations to workplace bullying, discrimination, sexual harassment, and inclusion learning.
For scalable training programs and enterprise rollout, this training can be deployed through Salt LMS with completion tracking and reporting. For enterprise pricing or tailoring to your company Contact us.
Respect at work training is workplace education that builds practical skills and knowledge so participants can identify and prevent inappropriate conduct, understand legal obligations, and support a respectful workplace culture. In Australia, it also involves inculcating an understanding of the Respect@Work reforms and the positive duty in the Sex Discrimination Act, which shifts expectations towards proactive prevention of unlawful behaviour, not only dealing with complaints.
This training helps organisations to:
This respect at work training focuses on respectful conduct, workplace behaviour standards, and prevention strategies that reduce harm and support compliance. It addresses the connection between respect, workplace culture, and the behaviours that create risk, including sexual harassment, sex discrimination, bullying and victimisation. It also supports inclusive workplaces by building awareness of unconscious bias and its impact on decision-making and team dynamics.
The course supports both employees and managers to:
For organisations that need enterprise-grade compliance outcomes, the course can be delivered and tracked through Salt LMS to support completion monitoring and reporting visibility. For tailoring to your internal policies and reporting frameworks, use Contact us.
Respect at work training supports proactive risk management. Training that builds awareness and practice can help organisations meet legal obligations by preventing issues before they escalate into formal complaints. This is especially important under Australian reforms that prioritise prevention and employer accountability.
Australian Respect@Work reforms increased the focus on preventing workplace sexual harassment and discrimination. The Fair Work Ombudsman explains that the Respect at Work Amendment Act took effect on 11 September 2021, updating the Fair Work Act 2009 and relating to protections and pathways around sexual harassment at work.
The Fair Work Ombudsman also states the Respect at Work Amendment Act clarifies that sexual harassment in connection with an employee’s employment can be a valid reason for dismissal.
Under the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022, the Australian Human Rights Commission explains a new positive duty was introduced into the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, requiring employers and PCBUs to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate relevant unlawful conduct as far as possible.
Authoritative links you can reference for legal clarity:
Respectful workplaces improve psychological safety by helping people feel valued, heard, and supported. Respect at work training promotes respectful communication, inclusive behaviour, and a reporting culture where employees and witnesses have confidence to raise concerns early.
A respectful workplace can reduce complaints and investigations, improve retention and engagement, and strengthen organisational culture. Respect at work training helps mitigate reputational risk and supports compliance outcomes by aligning behavioural expectations with workplace conduct standards.
This course covers the knowledge and skills needed to prevent harassment and strengthen respectful workplaces, including practical examples and guidance on what to do when issues occur.
Covers workplace sexual harassment, sexual harassment, sex discrimination, and what constitutes sexual harassment. The Fair Work Ombudsman explains sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advance or request for sexual favours, or other unwelcome conduct, where there is a reasonable possibility the person would be offended, humiliated or intimidated.
Covers bullying, victimisation, harassment, and inappropriate workplace conduct, including the impact on people, teams, and workplace culture.
Builds a clear understanding of positive duty obligations and employer responsibilities, including prevention approaches and measures described in AHRC guidance materials.
Bystander intervention strategies empower employees to safely recognise, disrupt, or escalate inappropriate behaviour when they witness harassment or discrimination. Many programs teach the “5 Ds” options: Direct, Distract, Delegate, Delay, Document, as described by Right To Be.
Supports inclusion education, the importance of valuing different perspectives, and unconscious bias awareness. Workplace Behaviours training includes unconscious bias, cultural competence, accessibility, and inclusion foundations.
Supports employees and managers to understand reporting pathways, how to respond to complaints, and how to support those affected. This includes dealing with incidents appropriately and supporting witnesses and impacted employees.
Covers leadership accountability, complaint handling, confidentiality, escalation pathways, and risk management. Managers are expected to act early, set standards, and respond appropriately when issues are present.
Practice activities for behavioural upskilling
Effective respect at work training programs often combine interactive activities, legal compliance, and behavioural upskilling. Many training approaches use scenario-based activities and role play to practise respectful boundaries and responses. Some active bystander training materials explicitly include role plays and microaggression recognition exercises as part of workplace scenario practice.
This training can be tailored to align with internal policies, reporting frameworks, and your organisation’s risk profile. Tailoring can also support multi-location enterprise rollout, completion tracking, and audit readiness through Salt LMS. For a tailored implementation plan, use Contact us.
Industry options include: financial services, government, healthcare, education, corporate workplaces.
This module aligns with the broader Workplace Behaviours suite and related workplace conduct training. Explore the full range at Workplace Behaviours Training Australia.
Contact us to build a safer, more compliant workplace with practical training designed for Australian organisations.
Workplace Behaviours Australia Course Outline
This training is suitable for all staff, as everyone plays a role in maintaining respectful workplace behaviours.
It is particularly relevant for:
By the end of the course, learners can expect:
Workplace bullying is repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or group of workers that creates a risk to health and safety. It does not include reasonable management action carried out in a lawful and reasonable way. The Australian Human Rights Commission provides further information on the distinction between bullying and legitimate management action.
Harassment includes unwelcome behaviour that offends, humiliates, or intimidates a person. Sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favours, or conduct of a sexual nature that causes offence or discomfort and is prohibited under Australian law. See our dedicated resource on why sexual harassment compliance training matters.
While training is not always explicitly mandated, employers have a legal duty under workplace and WHS laws to provide a safe working environment. Bullying and harassment training is a key control to help meet these obligations and reduce legal and organisational risk.
All employees should complete bullying and harassment training. Additional or tailored training is recommended for managers, supervisors, and leaders who have responsibilities for handling complaints, managing teams, and responding to incidents.
Effective training must include clear definitions of unacceptable behaviour, robust reporting procedures, and guidance for leadership. Courses on bullying and harassment typically cover the legal definitions of bullying and harassment, appropriate workplace behaviours, bystander intervention skills, and actions employees can take if they experience or witness such behaviours.
Most online bullying and harassment training courses take between two and three hours to complete. Facilitated workshops or leadership sessions may run for a half day depending on organisational needs.
Yes. Completion of bullying and harassment training includes a certificate of completion, which helps organisations demonstrate compliance and maintain audit records.
Yes. Online training is the most common and scalable option for organisations, allowing consistent delivery across teams, flexible completion, and centralised compliance reporting via platforms like Salt Compliance LMS.
Refresher training is recommended every one to two years, or sooner if there are changes to legislation, organisational policies, or following incidents or complaints.
This course is exclusively for organisational clients and is not available for individual purchase.
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