Bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment of any kind are inexcusable workplace behaviours that undermine the integrity of the profession, harm individuals and damage workplace culture. All legal practitioners, other employees of law practices and members of the community should be treated with respect, courtesy and fairness.
The Commissioner for Equal Opportunity's report to the Attorney-General on the 2024 Review of Harassment in the South Australian Legal Profession has been released and can be found here. Please see the Statement from Law Society President, Marissa Mackie, here and the Statement from the Heads of Jurisdiction here.
Our commitment
The Law Society is a WE'RE EQUAL employer committed to treating everyone equally, regardless of their age, ability, gender diversity, sexuality, relationship and reproductivity status, race, religion and culture.
The Law Society condemns and has no tolerance for bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment, and accepts its responsibility to lead the profession towards the elimination of these unethical behaviours. We are committed to:
- Promoting respect, fairness and equity in the profession.
- Supporting those who have experienced bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment
- Supporting workplaces in addressing these behaviours.
- Advocating for systemic change to eliminate these behaviours.
The Law Society encourages all legal practices to commit to WE'RE EQUAL.
Support for practitioners
Practitioners at all levels may experience or witness bullying, discrimination or sexual harassment.
If you require immediate assistance, we encourage you to contact one of the services listed here.
The Society operates the following non-immediate support services:
The following resources are also available:
1800RESPECT is the national domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, information and support service. It can be contacted on 1800 737 732 or via online chat.
Support for employers
Employers play a crucial role in creating safe and respectful workplaces. The below resources are designed to assist employers in addressing and preventing unacceptable conduct.
Positive duty
Under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth), organisations and businesses have a legal duty to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate workplace sex discrimination, sexual harassment and other unlawful behaviour as far as possible. Responding to individual complaints as they arise is no longer enough. The positive duty requires organisations and businesses, regardless of their size or resources, to take proactive (rather than reactive) action.
The Australian Human Rights Commission has published a series of practical guidance materials to help organisations and businesses to understand their responsibilities and the changes they may need to make to satisfy the positive duty. They include guidelines for complying with the positive duty, which outline steps businesses and small businesses can take.
Training
A series of free eLearning courses about the positive duty in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) have been developed by the Australian Human Rights Commission. These courses include:
The Australian Human Rights Commission also provices a free course on Building a culture of accessibility and inclusion.
Safework Australia has issued the following resources:
Policy templates
Employers should seek professional advice relevant to the individual circumstances of their legal practice before using these policy templates. The Law Society neither guarantees nor accepts any legal responsibility whatsoever arising from or connection to, the accuracy, reliability, currency, correctness or completeness of any material contained in these policies
Reporting and complaints
Complaints to the Legal Profession Conduct Commissioner
The Legal Profession Conduct Commissioner operates a process for the confidential (and anonymous if preferred) reporting of sexual harassment, discrimination and workplace bullying in the legal profession. There is also the option to speak confidentially, and anonymously if wished, about sexual harassment, discrimination and workplace bullying in the legal profession to an officer appointed by the Commissioner prior to, or instead of, making a formal complaint.
If you are considering making a complaint of inappropriate personal conduct, you can contact the LPCC officer directly for a confidential discussion about the conduct and advice about complaint procedures, alternative options and available resources by calling (08) 8456 8870 or by sending an email to bdh@lpcc.sa.gov.au.
Inappropriate conduct can also be reported to the LPCC via the Speak Safely online tool. For more information about the Speak Safely tool, please read the LPCC's article in the Bulletin.
Complaints about current or former judicial officers of South Australia
Anyone can make a complaint about the conduct of a current serving judicial officer to the Judicial Conduct Commissioner.
In response to the Report on the Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession, the Honourable Chief Justice Chris Kourakis established a dedicated email address (complaints@courts.sa.gov.au) to which complaints about the conduct of any serving or former judicial officer of this State can be sent. The complaint can be made anonymously, or the complainant can choose to identify themselves.
The Chief Justice has offered to meet with any complainant who would like to discuss their complaint with his Honour directly, and, if the complainant wishes, to do so away from the courts to ensure confidentiality. His Honour has indicated he would support complainants in referring matters to SA Police or the Judicial Conduct Commissioner should they wish to pursue complaints formally.
Complaints about barristers
The South Australian Bar Association's Procedure to deal with Grievances concerning Sexual Harassment, Workplace Bullying and Discrimination is available to assist any person who witnesses or experiences a barrister engaging in any such behaviour. It sets out ways of reporting that behaviour or making a complaint about that behaviour, with the purpose to assist with the resolution of any such grievance. More information is available on the SABA website.
Other reporting mechanisms
You may also: