The State Government is committed to creating safer, more inclusive workplaces as it continues to implement recommendations from the Respect@Work Report.
The Implementing Respect@Work 2023 Progress Report, developed by the Department of Communities, was released today and builds on the outcomes achieved in 2022. To date Western Australia has completed 14 out of 18 recommendations with the remaining four in progress.
The recommendations of the report were handed down by the Australian Human Rights Commission National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces in 2020.
It outlined 55 recommendations addressed to all levels of government, industry, business and the community to prevent and respond to sexual harassment in Australian workplaces. Of the 55 recommendations, 18 apply to State and Territory Governments.
The actions taken to complete the recommendations include:
- The National Plan to end Violence Against Women and Children-2022-2032 and $1.3 billion allocated through the Federal Budget 2022-23
- Mandating consent education in the WA school curriculum for pre-primary to year 10 students which will take effect from 2024
- The Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022 which came into effect in December 2022
- The development of WA’s first Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Strategy
- Implementation of key strategies including WA's Plan for Gender Equality and Path to Safety: Western Australia’s strategy to reduce family and domestic violence 2020-2030
Over 75 per cent of recommendations from the Respect@Work Report have now been implemented and work is well underway to complete the rest.
The work aligns with our Stronger Together: WA’s Plan for Gender Equality to ensure women and girls are safe from violence, discrimination and harassment.
