1. Home
  2. Events and webinars
  3. Workplace Bullying and Harassment Conference 2023

Conference

Workplace Bullying and Harassment Conference 2023

The wellbeing of your employees matter

Sydney & Online

Register now

Bullying and Harassment including sexual despite laws against, remain rife in the Australian workplace and at a level over twice the global average with the highest rates of repeat experiences.

  • 2.5 million
    The scale of workplace bullying is massive with an estimated 2.5 million workers being bullied during their working life - Griffith University Dr Paul McCarthy
  • 1 in 3 workers
    Sexual harassment is extreme: 1 in 3 workers in the last 5 years mainly of women and mainly by men. Only 18% of incidents being reported and for 40% of these incidents, workers saw no change in their workplaces after formal complaints – Australian Human Rights Commission 2022 SR. About 4 Billon annual cost to the Australian Economy.
Register now
  1. About
  2. Agenda

The Federal Government’s Anti-Discrimination & Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022 is a game changer requiring a totally new approach by organisations. No longer is the focus on reacting to complaints, instead the onus has profoundly changed to requiring workplace to act proactively to create an environment in which sexual harassment and discrimination is not tolerated.

Business have been granted a 12-month grace period between assent and commencement to navigate through the mine fields of new obligations to develop new protocols and policies, and to implement staff training programs.

This Thomson Reuter special workshop has been designed to deep dive into the complexities of this new legislative change, looking at the ways employers can safeguard their employees, and themselves from unsafe practices and costly reparations.

Who should attend?

- HR Practitioners
- Lawyers
- Risk Managers
- B and C Level Stakeholders

For more information, please email us at eventsanz@thomsonreuters.com or call us +61 2 9171 9768.

Date & Location

Sydney / Livestream Online :
Wednesday, 9th August 2023

Time

Registration: 8.30am - 9.00am AEST
Conference: 9.00am - 4.00pm AEST

Cost

Face to face:
[ Early bird ] $675 + GST*
[ Full price ] $775 + GST

Online:
[ Early bird ] $535 + GST*
[ Full price ] $635 + GST

6 CPD points

Register now

* Save $100. Early bird closes 7th July 2023

Event agenda

9:00AM

Welcome Address by the Chair
The Honourable Pru Goward, AO
9:10AM

What are bullying and harassment behaviours

  • - How they differ
  • - Damages incurred
  • - How does the law identify them


Elizabeth Broderick
9:45AM

Analysis of Case Law and the Risks and Considerations they reveal

  •  

Herbert Smith Freehills
10:20AM

Preventing sexual harassment - adopting a safety oriented approach

  • In light of the new duty in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 to take “reasonable and proportionate” measures to prevent sexual harassment , the session explores key considerations, initiatives, and steps employers may take when looking to mitigate sexual harassment risks in the workplace.
  •  

Seyfarth
10:55AM

Morning tea
11:25AM

Panel Session
What would you do if?

 

Elizabeth Broderick, Herbert Smith Freehills, Seyfarth
12:15PM

Networking Lunch
1:15PM

Is bullying Kryptonite to psychological safety or is psychological safety Krypton to bullying?

How leaders creating psychological safety allows employees to speak up and prevent bullying

  •  

Working Well Together
1:50PM
  • - Fair Work Commission’s stop-bullying jurisdiction: law and practice
  • - How to respond when a worker makes a Stop Bullying Order application to the FWC
  • - Practical management of a SBO application, workers compensation claim, workplace investigations, and employment issues


Williamson Barwick

2:25PM

Beyond the Surface; a deep dive into investigating workplace bullying. 

- historical complexities of investigating workplace bullying

- trauma informed approach

- exclusion

- Gaslighting

- circumstances of bullying behind closed doors

 

What's next in the sphere?

- Positive duty to prevent...bullying 

-  Looking at Michelle Tucker's work (Uni SA) on  the types of workplaces that have increased incidence of environments 

- How do we articulate a complaint that is non-verbal or complaints where they centre around what HASN'T been done.

 

Worklogic
3:00PM

Hypothetical – Case Situation – working afternoon tea

Hypothetical Case Situation: Dismissal / After-hours conduct / Working from Home

 

Working Well Together, Worklogic
3:50PM

Close of Conference by Chair
The Honourable Pru Goward, AO