Update to the National Model Framework Addressing Sexual Harassment for the Australian Legal Profession
30 May 2025
On 15 May 2025, the Law Council released an update to the National Model Framework Addressing Sexual Harassment for the Australian Legal Profession.
Pursuant to the Law Council’s National Action Plan to Reduce Sexual Harassment in the Australian Legal Profession, the Model Framework was first developed in 2021 as a piece of guidance material to assist the legal profession to proactively prevent and respond to sexual harassment.
The updated Model Framework responds to recent significant changes in the law and best practice following the release of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Respect@Work Report. In particular, the update considers: the introduction of a positive duty under section 47C of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) requiring employers, partnerships and individuals to take reasonable and proportionate measures to ‘eliminate, as far as possible,’ specific discriminatory conduct including sexual harassment from occurring in their workplaces; and new pathways for seeking redress for workplace sexual harassment, including under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).
Last Updated on 27/05/2025