How we deal with sexual harassment cases

Most sexual harassment cases follow a similar process. The steps on this page set out the usual process we follow for this type of case. We look at the facts of each case, so sometimes the process changes.

On this page:

Our process
Before 6 March 2023

The law changed on 6 March 2023, so the process is different if the sexual harassment happened or started before then. See Before 6 March 2023 for more information.

We aim to discuss the case with everyone involved within 2 weeks of receiving the application.

We aim to resolve most cases within 16 weeks of receiving the application.

Before you apply, consider what you can do if you’ve been sexually harassed in connection with work.

Help with the process

We can give you information to help you know what usually happens at each step, and how long it might take. You can contact us if you have questions.

We can give you information about our processes, but we can't give you legal advice. You don’t need a lawyer to come to the Fair Work Commission, but you can think about getting legal help before you do.

Legal help may be available for employers and employees, including free legal advice for eligible people and small businesses. You can choose to ask a lawyer or agent for help, or you can represent yourself.

Learn about workplace sexual harassment through our Online Learning Portal.

1 Find out if you can apply

If you are a worker who has been sexually harassed in connection with work sometime in the last 2 years, you may be eligible to apply.

Find out more about:

how the law defines a worker (a worker can be someone who is running a business)
how the law defines sexual harassment in connection with work
Who can make a sexual harassment application

Note: The law is different if the sexual harassment started or happened before 6 March 2023.

2 Apply

If you're eligible, you can apply to us for:

an order to stop sexual harassment, or
help dealing with the dispute another way, or
both of the above.

You can apply jointly (together) with another person or other people. You can apply against one or more people or your employer or principal.

A union or employer association can also apply for you.

If you are eligible, you can Apply to resolve a sexual harassment dispute.

Note: If the sexual harassment started or happened before 6 March 2023, you can only apply for an order to stop sexual harassment.

In these cases, if you are eligible you can Apply for an order to stop sexual harassment that started before 6 March 2023 (Form F72A). You will be asked to pay an application fee. The fee for 2024-25 is $87.20. See Fees and costs for more information.

3 Next steps

Once we receive your application, we will contact you and explain the process and the next steps.

Find out What happens when you lodge an application (pdf).

We will send a copy of the application and any documents with it to the other people involved in the case.

This could include:

your employer or principal
the people you name in the form as having engaged in sexual harassment, and their employers or principals
any legal representatives or paid agents involved in the case.

NOTE: If you are worried about particular information being passed on, don’t include it yet. Lodge your completed form and then contact us to talk about whether you should provide the information.

4 Respond to an application

We will contact people who have been named in an application as alleged to have engaged in workplace sexual harassment, and their employer or principal. We will also contact the applicant's employer or principal. These people are called respondents.

If you are a respondent, we will ask you to respond to the application within 7 days. We will send a copy of your response to the other people in the case.

You must respond to the application if you are:

someone who has allegedly engaged in workplace sexual harassment, or
an employer or principal of someone who has allegedly engaged in workplace sexual harassment.

If you are an employer or principal of the applicant, you:

must respond if the application is for a stop sexual harassment order, and
can choose to respond if the application does not ask for a stop sexual harassment order.

Find out What happens when we ask you to respond to an application (pdf).

Find out how to Respond to an application about workplace sexual harassment.

Note: If the sexual harassment happened or started before 6 March 2023, any employers or principals named in the application must respond to the application within 7 days. If people named in the application as allegedly engaging in sexual harassment want to respond, they must do so within 7 days.

5 We assess and try to resolve the case

We will assess each application, as well as any responses or objections, and then decide on the next steps. A Commission Member will decide the best process for dealing with the case.

We may join other parties to the dispute. This could include other aggrieved persons, their unions or employer associations, and related employers or head contractors, if it is appropriate.

We will try to resolve the case in a way that is fair, just and quick.

How we deal with the case will depend on whether the applicant has applied for an order to stop sexual harassment or has asked us to deal with the dispute another way.

Not all cases follow the same process. However, in most cases, we will start to deal with a dispute by holding a Member conference to see if the matter can be resolved.

Learn about Member conferences.

If a Member conference does not resolve the case, the next steps will depend on the type of application.

6 We hold a determinative conference or hearing

When an application for orders to stop sexual harassment has been made, if a Member conference does not resolve the case, we may list the application for stop orders for a determinative conference or a hearing.

If the Commission Member finds that the person was sexually harassed and is at risk of continued sexual harassment by the person or persons, they may make a stop sexual harassment order.

7 If the dispute has still not been resolved

If the Commission Member believes that all reasonable attempts to resolve a dispute that is not about orders to stop sexual harassment have been, or are likely to be, unsuccessful, they must issue a certificate that says this.

They must also tell the parties if they think that any consent arbitration or sexual harassment court proceeding would not be likely to succeed (would have no reasonable prospect of success).

Once a certificate is issued, the aggrieved person can:

make a sexual harassment court application, or
if at least one applicant and respondent agree (consent), they can choose to have their dispute decided (arbitrated) by us.

In consent arbitration, we have broad powers, including to give an opinion and make orders:

for compensation
for lost pay (remuneration) or
for a person to take certain steps (such as change their behaviour, or attend or provide training).

Before 6 March 2023

The law changed on 6 March 2023. This means that the process is different if the sexual harassment happened or started before then.

In these cases, if you are eligible you can Apply for an order to stop sexual harassment that started before 6 March 2023 (Form F72A).

When we receive your application we will contact you and explain the process and the next steps.

For steps 1 to 4 you can follow the information provided above, and read the notes about what is different at each step. After that:

Some cases go to conciliation with a staff member
Some cases go straight to a Commission Member, or are sent to the Member if they are not resolved at conciliation. The Member will decide the best process for dealing with the case. This could include conciliation, a conference or a formal hearing. We will tell you which process we will follow in your case.

If the matter is not resolved by conciliation the next steps will usually be:

A conference or hearing will be held with a Commission Member. They will decide what to do with the case, including whether or not to make a stop sexual harassment order. You can prepare by reading all the documents in the case. Make sure you bring them with you to the conference or hearing. If you are going to a hearing, ask your witnesses to go to the hearing too.
The Commission Member may make a decision about the outcome and send it to you. This resolves the case.