Positive duty self-audit

Rate your organisation against the seven standards the Australian Human Rights Commission uses for the positive duty to prevent workplace sexual harassment, and see your gaps ranked.

Figures checked 5 November 2026. Free to use, no sign-in.

Standard 1: Leadership

Our senior leaders know what the positive duty requires and treat prevention as their job, not only HR’s.
Leaders have set clear expectations and given prevention work the time, money and people it needs.
Leaders model respectful behaviour and are held to account for it themselves.

Standard 2: Culture

Day to day, our workplace is respectful and inclusive, not just in our policies.
We look for and deal with power imbalances and behaviours that make harassment more likely.
People can raise concerns or call out poor behaviour without fearing payback.

Standard 3: Knowledge

We have a clear policy on sexual harassment and sex discrimination, and staff know where it is and what it says.
Everyone, including managers and leaders, gets regular training suited to their role.

Standard 4: Risk management

We actively look for the risks of sexual harassment and sex discrimination in how our work is done.
We put controls in place to remove or reduce those risks before anything is reported.
We review the controls when work, roles or risks change.

Standard 5: Support

Support is available to anyone affected, whether or not they make a formal report.
That support is easy to find, confidential and suitable for our whole workforce.

Standard 6: Reporting and response

People have more than one accessible, trusted way to report, including an informal option.
We respond to reports promptly, consistently and fairly to everyone involved.
Reports are kept confidential and the person who reports is protected from victimisation.

Standard 7: Monitoring, evaluation and transparency

We collect and review data on the nature and extent of the problem (reports, surveys, exit interviews).
We use what we learn to improve our prevention and response measures.
We tell staff what we are doing and what we have found, while protecting confidentiality.

Positive duty readiness

Overall readiness

Not rated yet

Rate the statements on the left. Unsure answers don’t count against you.

The duty

Section 47C of the Sex Discrimination Act requires employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sexual harassment, sex discrimination and related conduct as far as possible. The Australian Human Rights Commission has been able to enforce it since 12 December 2023. Its guidance sets seven standards, applied with four principles: consultation, gender equality, intersectionality, person-centred and trauma-informed.

  • Rate how established each practice is: Not started, Developing, Established (in place) or Embedded (in place, used and reviewed). Unsure answers are left out of the score and listed to follow up.
  • Each standard scores the average of its questions; the overall score averages the standards you rated. This is a self-assessment aid, not a legal test or a finding of compliance.

General information, not legal advice.

How this works

Each standard has two or three statements to rate from Not started (1) to Embedded (4). A standard’s score is the average of its rated statements, and the overall score averages the rated standards. Bands: Not started (under 1.5), Developing (1.5 to 2.4), Maturing (2.5 to 3.4) and Embedded (3.5 and over).

Unsure answers are left out of the score and listed to follow up, so being unsure never lowers your result.

The standards are the Commission’s guidance on how to comply. The legal duty itself is in s 47C of the Sex Discrimination Act.

Legal basis

Checked against these sources on 5 November 2026. Spotted a figure that looks wrong? Tell us.

Questions

What is the positive duty?

Under s 47C of the Sex Discrimination Act, employers and persons conducting a business must take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate, as far as possible, sex discrimination, sexual harassment and related unlawful conduct connected with work. It is about preventing harm, not only responding to complaints.

Who enforces it?

The Australian Human Rights Commission. Since 12 December 2023 it can run inquiries where it suspects non-compliance, give compliance notices and apply to a federal court to enforce them.

What are the seven standards?

Leadership; culture; knowledge; risk management; support; reporting and response; and monitoring, evaluation and transparency. The Commission uses them to assess whether an organisation is meeting the duty, applied with four guiding principles: consultation, gender equality, intersectionality, and being person-centred and trauma-informed.

Does it apply to small businesses?

Yes. The duty applies whatever the size of the business, but what is reasonable and proportionate depends on the business’s size, resources and risks. The Commission has published a resource for small business.

How does this relate to WHS law?

Sexual harassment is also a work health and safety risk, so WHS duties to manage psychosocial risks apply as well. The positive duty adds to those obligations rather than replacing them.

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Questions the calculator can’t answer?

Workfloor answers pay, award, leave and termination questions for your team, with the Fair Work Act section or award clause behind each answer.

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