CASE STUDY TWO Complaint of sexual harassment in employment The complainant alleged that a manager sexually harassed her after a work Christmas party at his home when she was intoxicated and unconscious. The complainant was no longer employed with the company at the time the complaint was lodged. The company claimed it could not be held liable for any alleged sexual harassment. The company said it had communicated with staff concerning conduct expectations prior to the party, food had been served at the event and the alleged sexual harassment occurred after the party ended and at a different location. The complaint was resolved with an agreement that the company pay the complainant $55,000, review relevant policies and offer the complainant an opportunity to comment, commission appropriately qualified external trainers to deliver workplace behaviour training to managers, and commission trauma-informed training on sexual harassment for human resources staff. This is an important example of a conciliated outcome giving the complainant a voice in the development of relevant policies and focusing on trauma informed training for key internal stakeholders who can then disseminate their learning to the wider employee group. Positive Duty Regulatory Function From 12 December 2023, the Commission’s powers to inquire into and ensure compliance with the positive duty in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) enlivened as outlined in 4.1. In December 2023, the Commission published its Compliance and Enforcement Policy which outlines how the Commission will exercise its functions to ensure that duty holders receive the support, guidance and information necessary to comply with their obligations under the positive duty. During this reporting period the Commission has established a multi-disciplinary Positive Duty Team (PDT) and has implemented a Regulatory Operating Model which provides an end to end framework for regulation. To support these regulatory functions during this period the PDT has focused on work in stakeholder engagement, education and training. Forward planning on outcomes and indicators will be included in next year’s report aligned to our Corporate Plan and Portfolio Budget Statements. Annual Report 2023–2024 • 25