From 13 October 2025, more than 400,000 NSW Government and local government workers can seek orders from the NSW Industrial Relations Commission to stop workplace bullying and sexual harassment. The new jurisdiction, established under the Industrial Relations and Other Legislation Amendment (Workplace Protections) Act 2025, creates a single forum for managing these complaints from conciliation through to arbitration and final determination.

This is the first jurisdiction in Australia that allows damages to be awarded for workplace bullying orders.

What the IRC can now do

The Commission can receive applications from employees in the NSW public sector and local government who have been bullied or sexually harassed at work. It can also receive applications from industrial organisations acting on behalf of affected workers.

The IRC must first attempt to resolve the matter through conciliation. If conciliation does not resolve it, the Commission proceeds to arbitration and can issue any order it considers appropriate. The types of orders available include directing an individual or group to stop the bullying or harassment, ordering an employer to take specified actions to prevent the conduct from continuing, ordering a public apology to the affected worker, and awarding damages of up to $100,000.

Civil penalties apply if an order is contravened: up to $18,870 for an individual and $93,900 for an employer.

These provisions cover workers who are not national system employees under the Fair Work Act 2009 and therefore cannot access the Fair Work Commission's existing anti-bullying jurisdiction. Private sector workers in NSW continue to be covered by the federal framework.

How this complements the positive duty

The Respect at Work legislation, which commenced in December 2022, introduced a positive duty on employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sexual harassment, sex discrimination, and victimisation. The Australian Human Rights Commission gained enforcement powers for the positive duty from December 2023.

The NSW IRC jurisdiction complements this by providing a state-level enforcement mechanism for public sector workers. Where the positive duty is a proactive obligation, the IRC jurisdiction provides the reactive pathway: when prevention fails, there is now a dedicated forum with the power to stop the conduct, remedy the harm, and impose penalties for non-compliance with its orders.

The NSW Government has described the IRC as a "one-stop shop" for handling these complaints, replacing the need for workers to navigate multiple legal bodies.

The broader pattern

This is part of a wider trend. Governments are not just setting psychosocial compliance requirements. They are building the institutional infrastructure to enforce them. NSW has now established SafeWork NSW as a standalone regulator with a dedicated Commissioner, introduced six-monthly public reporting on psychosocial complaints and enforcement actions, and created a dedicated tribunal jurisdiction for bullying and sexual harassment.

The question for organisations is no longer whether these obligations exist. It is whether the systems they have in place can withstand the scrutiny of a regulator, a tribunal, and a public reporting regime that are all now operational.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information on psychosocial compliance in Australian workplaces. It does not constitute legal advice. Organisations should consult qualified professionals for advice specific to their circumstances. Information cited is sourced from the NSW Government, the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, and the Industrial Relations and Other Legislation Amendment (Workplace Protections) Act 2025 as of the date of publication.