Complaints received and finalised under the Sex Discrimination Act

1.5 Workplaces are safe from all forms of gender-based violence and are actively preventing sexual harassment and discrimination

Increased confidence by people to report sexual harassment and discrimination including racism.

(a) The number of complaints received under the Sex Discrimination Act.

(b) The number of complaints finalised under the Sex Discrimination Act.

(a) An increase in the number of complaints received may indicate a greater confidence to report from victims but can also be due to legislative changes, which may increase coverage or expand definitions of existing categories of protected persons. An increase in the number of complaints received may not necessarily indicate a greater prevalence of a discrimination in the community. 
This measure should be considered alongside other data about the prevalence of discrimination or harassment where available.

(b) An increase in the number of complaints received and finalised may indicate a greater confidence to report from victims but can also be due to legislative changes, which may increase coverage or expand definitions of existing categories of protected persons. An increase in the number of complaints received may not necessarily indicate a greater prevalence of a discrimination in the community. 
This measure should be considered alongside data about the number of complaints received, and other data about the prevalence of discrimination or harassment where available. Data about the number of complaints successfully resolved should also be used for additional context. 

2022–23

(a) The number of complaints received under the Sex Discrimination Act in the last financial year.

(b) The number of complaints finalised under the Sex Discrimination Act.

(a) 

Data element: Complaints—received
Data source: AHRC Complaint statistics
Data source type: Administrative

(b) 

Data element: Complaints—finalised
Data source: AHRC Complaint statistics
Data source type: Administrative

NA

Data element: NA
Data source: NA
Data source type: NA

(a) This measure is expressed as a number of complaints received under the Sex Discrimination Act. 

(b) This measure is expressed as the number of complaints finalised under the Sex Discrimination Act in a financial year.

Numerator only.

For each financial year, nationally, by: 

• state and territory
• sex
• age 
• country of birth
• language spoken at home
• disability status
• Indigenous status.

The SDA gives effect to some of Australia’s obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and other relevant international instruments including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Australia, and further seeks to: 

• promote equality between men and women 
• eliminate discrimination on the ground of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, marital or relationship status, pregnancy (or potential pregnancy) and breastfeeding in work, education, and other areas of public life 
• eliminate discrimination on the ground of family responsibilities in work, and 
• eliminate sexual harassment in work, education, and other areas of public life.

The grounds for discrimination are: 

• sex discrimination 
• marital or relationship status 
• pregnancy 
• sexual harassment 
• sex based harassment
• hostile workplace on the basis of sex
• family responsibilities 
• breastfeeding
• gender identity
• intersex
• sexual orientation
• victimisation
• causes, instructs, induces, aids or permits an unlawful act 
• advertisements. 

One complaint may raise multiple grounds and may include claims of both direct and indirect discrimination. 

A finalised complaint can have the following outcomes: 

• terminated without inquiry under section 46pf*
• terminated after inquiry 
  • trivial, vexatious, frivolous, misconceived, lacking in substance 
  • no reasonable prospect of conciliation (nrpc)
  • inquiry not warranted
  • out of time
• discontinued
• withdrawn
• conciliated 
• administrative closure. 

Complaints received by conciliation can be successfully resolved, or unable to be resolved.

For the SDA, in September 2021 there were significant changes that have led to increased coverage to a wider category of worker, included new grounds of sex based harassment, removed the bar on the Commission inquiring into sex discrimination and sexual harassment against state government instrumentalities and increased the scope of the aiding and abetting provisions (105) to cover a wider range of conduct. In December 2022 there was a further expansion to include hostile workplace as a ground for discrimination. Any observations about increased numbers of complaints should take into consideration these changes. Further, public discourse about new legislation through media reporting about sexual harassment and community awareness campaigns used to implement legislation are accompanied by an increase in complaints. This should be taken into account when interpreting increases over time. 
More people may feel more comfortable speaking out as community expectations about what is unacceptable conduct in the workplace changes. 

To interpret these data most effectively, additional data about the prevalence of discrimination is required. Currently, there is no data source which collects self-reported data about discrimination. Further, due to the specific definition of discrimination under the Sex Discrimination Act, this comparative data may not be possible to obtain. 
Discrimination as a legal concept differs from what people may understand when they self-report that they have been discriminated against. It is common for people to characterise treatment they consider to be unfair as ‘discrimination’ or ‘victimisation’ without realising that those concepts have particular meanings within the Federal discrimination law context. 
Detailed demographic information about a complainant is only collected where it is relevant to the inquiry into, and conciliation, of complaints. Unless the additional attributes are relevant to a complaint, it is not information that is required by the Commission and is requested/provided on a voluntary basis. For this reason, a high proportion of data for demographic breakdowns is unknown and comparisons should not be made across population groups.