If you have experienced bullying, discrimination or harassment in the workplace, and you haven’t been able to resolve the issue at work, there are places you can go to get help. This page has information about what options may be available for you.  

If you need help responding to bullying, discrimination or harassment in the workplace, there are organisations that offer help and advice. Find out where to get support. We also have information on what to do at the workplace level if you are responsible for responding. 

There are different options available 

There is probably more than one option for getting help to try and resolve it.  

It will be up to you to decide what course of action is the best one for you. What you choose to do will depend on where you are and what type of behaviour you’ve experienced. It will also depend on what kind of outcome you want.  

• Human rights and equal opportunity commissions — These are independent organisations which investigates complaints about discrimination and human rights breaches. 
  
• Industrial relations commissions and employment tribunals — These are a bit like going to court, but they are less complex and less expensive.  When you apply to them for help, you are starting legal process, but you don’t need to have a lawyer. The Fair Work Commission help workers who are covered by national laws (which is most people).  

• Fair Work Ombudsman— If the Fair Work Commission makes an order to stop sexual harassment or bullying, the Fair Work Ombudsman can help. They can also help with pay if you have been dismissed. 

• Work Health and Safety (WHS) regulators — Their role is to make sure that workplaces are complying with their legal obligation to manage safety risks, which includes discrimination, bullying and harassment. Regulators can inspect workplaces for systemic issues (that is, issues impacting the whole workplace). They can also help workplaces be better at preventing and dealing with unacceptable behaviours. They don’t investigate individual cases. 

• Workers’ compensation —Workers’ compensation is a type of insurance that provides financial and medical support to employees who are injured or become ill because of their work. Bullying, discrimination and harassment are workplace hazards that can result in illness or injury. Learn more about psychosocial hazards.   
  
• The eSafety Commissioner — They can help with cyber abuse, whether it’s at work or not. They can help if you want abusive online material removed from a platform or cyberbullying behaviours to stop. 
  
• The police — Some things can be reported to the police, such as sexual assault and racial vilification. The police have the power to investigate and prosecute crimes. If you are in immediate danger, call 000. 

You may only be able to choose one  

You can contact different agencies to ask for their advice.  

When it comes to choosing where to make a complaint or claim, you may only be able to choose one.  

Some agencies can’t accept complaints or claims if another claim or complaint about the same issue has already been made with another agency. For example, if you make a complaint about workplace discrimination to the Australian Human Rights Commission, you won’t be able to also apply to the Fair Work Commission for help with the same issue.  

It will be up to you to decide what course of action is the best one for you. When deciding, it can be helpful to think about what you want the outcome to be. 

If you’re not sure which action to take, there are organisations that can help. Find out where to get legal help and information.  

Think about the outcome you want 

When deciding where to go for help, it is important to think about what kind of outcome you want by making a complaint or report?  

If you want to: 

• Talk about the issues and try to agree on how resolve them — This can be important if you want to keep working somewhere and maintain positive relationships. Any option involving mediation or conciliation could be a good choice. Conciliation and mediation are also less formal. You will get to talk about the issues without needing formal evidence or proof.  
  
• To stop it from continuing — If there is a risk of the behaviour continuing, you might look for an option that order someone to stop their behaviour or actions. For example, the Fair Work Commission can issue orders for bullying and sexual harassment to stop, and the eSafety Commissioner can help with online bullying and harassment.  

• Bring change to a whole organisation – This may be important if you think you are not the only person in your workplace experiencing inappropriate behaviours, or if you have had negative experiences with organisation-wide processes or policies. Work Health and Safety regulators deal with these kinds of systemic issues. Outcomes can include things like an organisation agreeing educate workers about inappropriate behaviours.  
  
• Financial compensation – You may be able to agree to a financial settlement in a conciliation, so you could look for an option that offers that as part of the process. Some processes can eventually give you the option to go to court, where a Judge might award financial compensation or a financial penalty if they agree with your evidence.  

• Keep it private — If a court or tribunal makes a decision about your case, they will generally publish their decision on their website. That means some of the details of what happened, as well as your names, and what the court or tribunal decided about your case, will be available to the public. Court hearings are also often open to the public.   

• Deal with it sooner rather than later — Some agencies take longer than others to deal with a complaint or claim. If time is a concern, it can be good to ask each agency how long their process might take 

If you are not sure which action to take, there are organisations that can help you decide. Find out where to find support for legal and other advice.