Senate passes Costs Protection Bill

The Australian Senate has passed a new bill that restricts courts from ordering victim-survivors of workplace sexual harassment to pay the respondents' costs, except in limited cases.

The Costs Protection Bill introduces a new "equal access" costs model, applied to all Commonwealth sexual harassment and anti-discrimination laws, that will remove the risk for victims of being burdened with the other side's legal costs.

Michele O'Neil, president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, said the passing marks a "significant strengthening of rights for people who have been harassed and discriminated against at work."

"Victim-survivors of workplace sexual harassment now have a fair chance to seek justice without the fear of financial ruin holding them back," the ACTU president said in a statement.

In Australia, only one in 230,000 victims of workplace sexual harassment take their cases to court. This is despite nearly one in five workers experiencing sexual harassment at work annually, according to ACTU data.

"This Bill sends a clear message: workplace harassment is unacceptable in our workplaces. This is a massive step forward in holding perpetrators accountable and making workplaces safer for everyone," O'Neil said.

Power to Prevent coalition advocate for harassment survivors

ACTU is a member of the Power to Prevent coalition, which has over 85 member-organisations, that advocated for the passing of the Costs Protection Bill.

Other members of the coalition also hailed the passing of the bill in the Senate.

"Today's change removes a significant barrier and addresses the power imbalance between victim-survivors and their employers – who often have legal teams and large budgets to defend claims," said Melanie Schleiger, Victoria Legal Aid Special Advisor, in a statement.

Emma Golledge, Kingsford Legal Centre Director, added that they are hopeful that the bill's passing will also contribute to the prevention of sexual harassment and creation of safer [workplaces].

"Enforcing your rights shouldn't bankrupt you, and people who experience sexual harassment shouldn't be forced to end their claims because of this fear," Golledge said.

"Community Legal Centres have long campaigned for this reform, and we hope this not only increases justice for people who are affected by sexual harassment but contributes to the prevention of it and creates safer workplaces for all."

The newly passed bill satisfies one of the recommendations from the Respect@Work Report, which highlighted that the risk of a costs order acts as a "disincentive to pursuing sexual harassment matters in the federal jurisdiction."