Respect at Work
Respect at Work and positive duty training.
Bystander action practised, assessed and reported against your prevention plan.
Wisdom Learning delivers Respect at Work and positive duty training with Build Like a Girl, for all staff, leaders and the people who receive reports, including site-based construction teams, linked to your prevention plan.
The positive duty.
Since 13 December 2022, the Sex Discrimination Act has required employers and persons conducting a business or undertaking to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate, as far as possible, sex discrimination, sexual harassment, sex-based harassment, hostile workplace environments and related victimisation.
Since 12 December 2023, the Australian Human Rights Commission has had powers to investigate and enforce compliance. Its guidelines make clear that policies and training alone are unlikely to be enough. Organisations are expected to take a range of measures and to monitor and review whether they are working.
How we help.
Programs that meet the positive duty by changing what people do, with bystander action practised and assessed, not just explained.
- Respect at Work training for all staff, built around real workplace situations
- Training for leaders and managers on preventing and responding to harm
- Training for people who receive and respond to reports
- Linking training to your prevention plan, policies and reporting processes
- Programs for construction, infrastructure and renewables workforces, including site-based teams
Why Wisdom Learning.
We build Respect at Work capability the same way we build all capability: around your workplace, your people and the situations they face, with practice that prepares them to act.
Programs on this page are tailored capability development. They are not nationally recognised training unless a qualification or unit code is shown. Nationally recognised training is delivered and assessed by Wisdom Learning Pty Ltd, RTO 88062.
In partnership
Respect at Work, with Build Like a Girl.
Wisdom Learning delivers Respect at Work in partnership with Build Like a Girl, the national women-in-trades movement founded by Jo Farrell, 2024 ACT Australian of the Year. Together we bring lived insight from construction, infrastructure and renewables, and specialist capability design, to one program.
Build Like a Girl
Construction, infrastructure and renewables insight, and women-in-trades expertise
- Deep understanding of construction, infrastructure and renewables sites and culture
- Respect at Work content designed for construction, infrastructure and renewables workplaces
- Experience supporting women to enter and thrive in trades
- A national women-in-trades network
Wisdom Learning
Capability design, assessment and evaluation
- Programs built around your prevention plan, policies and reporting processes
- Practice-based learning for all staff, leaders and people who receive reports
- Assessment and evaluation that show what has changed
- National delivery, face to face, virtual or blended
Respect on site, evidenced
Industry insight, capability design, evidence for the positive duty
Meeting your obligations.
The positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act requires reasonable and proportionate measures to prevent harassment. Training is one of them, and it must be evidenced.
- The positive dutyEmployers and persons conducting a business or undertaking must take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sexual harassment and related conduct, as far as possible.
- Work health and safetyWHS laws require persons conducting a business or undertaking to manage psychosocial hazards, including sexual and gender-based harassment.
- Construction culture expectationsGovernment clients and industry increasingly expect construction workers to recognise and prevent harassment.
Training alone does not meet these obligations, but it is an important part of how you meet and show them. We link every program to your prevention plan and give you the records and evaluation to evidence it.
A taste of how we work.
Every program uses realistic situations drawn from the work. Here is a short example of the kind of scenario participants practise.
Questions about Respect at Work training.
Short answers to the questions organisations ask us about this work. If yours is not here, ask us.
Is Respect at Work training mandatory?
The Sex Discrimination Act does not prescribe a specific course. The positive duty requires reasonable and proportionate measures, and the Australian Human Rights Commission’s guidelines treat education and training as one of them. Training alone is unlikely to be enough; organisations are expected to monitor and review whether their measures are working.
What records do we receive?
Attendance and completion records, assessment results where capability is assessed, and an evaluation report you can use with your executive, head contractor or government client.
Can you train site-based teams and subcontractors?
Yes. With Build Like a Girl, we tailor training to site-based teams, the leaders responsible for them and the people who receive reports. Tell us about your sites and workforce and we will recommend the format.
How do we engage Wisdom Learning?
Directly, or through government panels and arrangements. Our buying guide explains the right route for your procurement. We respond within one business day.
Related.
Pages buyers of this capability usually read next.
- Mandatory compliance trainingAnnual and refresher compliance training, built around your obligations.Explore
- Psychological safety and resilienceTeams that speak up, seek help and recover.Explore
- Leadership developmentLeaders who prevent harm and respond well to reports.Explore
- Responding to a workplace incident or reviewTreat the capability risk, with evidence of what changed.Explore
Plan Respect at Work training for your workforce.
Talk to us about Respect at Work capability for your workforce. We respond within one business day.