Australia: Discrimination, Disability & Sexual Harassment

This article examines the rise of AI wearables—particularly AI-enabled smart glasses—in the workplace, covering both employer-driven use cases (such as logistics, healthcare, and remote operations) and employee-driven use (including accessibility, personal devices brought to work and covert recording).

Serious misconduct is often spoken about as though it were fixed and well understood. In practice, it is anything but static. While conduct such as theft, fraud and sexual harassment remain clear examples, case law shows an expanding and more nuanced approach to what may justify summary dismissal.

A Federal Circuit and Family Court decision has established that contractors and customers can be held liable for sexually harassing employees under the Fair Work Act's 2023 provisions. The case resulted in $103,000 in damages and demonstrates how workplace sexual harassment laws extend far beyond traditional employer-employee relationships to encompass all work-connected interactions.

Recent public debate following the Federal Court’s decision in Giggle v Tickle has prompted a private member’s bill introduced on 25 May 2026 by a National Party MP seeking to amend the Sex Discrimination Act 1984...

The New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) has awarded $55,000 in compensation to a worker who was discriminated against on the grounds of her disability.

Returning to work after parental leave is a significant transition and can raise complex legal and practical issues such as job security, flexibility, workplace rights, etc., for both employees and employers.

Victoria has called time on non-disclosure agreements regarding sexual harassment in the workplace.

Employers in the public and private sector should review their current use of NDAs.

The judgment confirms that bullying conduct must always be assessed against the common law and any applicable legislative and industrial instruments.