Positive Duty – What it Means for Employers

Over the past few years, the expectations on employers to create safe and healthy workplaces has increased significantly. 

In Australia, employers are currently tasked with what is called a ‘positive duty’– meaning they are expected to take proactive steps to prevent two specific workplace issues – sexual harassment and psychosocial risks. 

What does ‘positive duty’ actually mean?

Put simply, positive duty means being proactive not reactive.

As an employer, you need to be consciously taking steps to prevent sexual harassment from occurring and doing what you reasonably can to reduce risk that could impact your employees’ psychological health.

It’s about taking action before something goes wrong, rather than after.

The legislation behind it

Sexual Harassment – In December 2022, changes to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) introduced a positive duty for employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. 

This shifted the approach from responding to complaints to actively putting measures in place to prevent issues from happening in the first place – through things like awareness, policies and training.

Psychosocial Hazards – On 1 December 2025, WorkSafe Victoria introduced new psychological health regulations placing a similar positive duty on employers.  

These require businesses to:

• consult with employees
• identify psychosocial hazards
• assess risks and
• take reasonably practicable steps to manage them. 

Interestingly, Victoria was the last State to introduce these laws.

What does this look like in practice?

Meeting your positive duty needs to be intentional.

Some practical examples include:

• Implementing up-to-date policies that comply with current legislation
• Building awareness and understanding across your team
• Regularly consulting with employees
• Addressing concerns early and
• Implementing change to reduce or eliminate risks where possible.

What if employers don’t meet their positive duty obligations?

There are real consequences if these duties aren’t met.

If sexual harassment occurs and the employer can’t demonstrate they took proactive steps to prevent it, they may be held vicariously liable.

Similarly, if WorkSafe Victoria conduct an audit of your workplace and there is no evidence of identifying and managing psychosocial risks, significant financial penalties can apply under the Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025.

Is your workplace compliant?

This space is still new for a lot of businesses – and it can feel a bit overwhelming to know where to start.

That’s where we come in.

At HR Sorted, we help you take practical, straightforward steps to meet your obligations – and more importantly, to create a workplace that’s safe, fair and genuinely supportive for your people.

Written by Rachel Fechner