Sexual Harassment Lawyers in Melbourne

The law changed. Most workplaces have not caught up.

Sexual harassment in connection with work is now expressly prohibited by the Fair Work Act. Your employer is on the hook for harassment by managers and colleagues unless it took all reasonable steps to prevent it, and every employer now carries a positive duty to stamp out sexual harassment before it happens rather than simply reacting once it has.

What that means for you is leverage. If someone at work has crossed a line, you are not asking HR for a favour. You hold uncapped legal claims against the individual and, almost always, against the employer whose systems let it happen.

You do not have to decide anything today except to get advice. Call 1800 130 120 and you will get a free, completely confidential conversation with an actual lawyer rather than a call centre.

Three routes, and which one fits

The same conduct can go to the Fair Work Commission as a sexual harassment dispute, to the Australian Human Rights Commission under federal sex discrimination law, or through the Victorian equal opportunity system. All three start with confidential conciliation, and all three can end in uncapped compensation if the employer will not resolve it properly. If the harassment is ongoing and you want it stopped without leaving your job, the Commission can also make a stop sexual harassment order against the individual and the employer.

Which route we choose depends on what you actually want out of it: a quiet, fast settlement, a formal finding, protection while you stay in the role, or an exit on your own terms. That decision shapes everything else, so it is the first thing we work through with you.

What your claim is actually worth

Sexual harassment compensation has no statutory cap. It covers lost income, medical and psychological treatment, and general damages for the distress and harm the conduct caused. Where harassment pushed you out of the job, the claim includes that lost career, and you want employment lawyers putting a number on the dismissal too, not just on the conduct that caused it. Employers are well aware that Australian awards have risen sharply, and that awareness is why a properly prepared claim tends to settle quietly at a serious figure during conciliation.

Before you talk to HR, talk to us

An internal complaint is often the right move, but how and when it is made matters. HR works for the employer. Statements you make internally will be tested against anything you say later, and a badly handled internal process can burn evidence and goodwill. We help you decide whether to complain internally, go straight to a commission, or negotiate an outcome directly, and if the employer retaliates against you for speaking up, that is unlawful victimisation and a claim in its own right.

If the conduct sits closer to persistent hostility than sexual behaviour, begin with workplace bullying; if you were dismissed after complaining, the 21-day rules explained under unfair dismissal apply to you as well. Call 1800 130 120 or use the form on this page. It is free and confidential, and it moves at whatever pace you are comfortable with.