For employees
Sexual harassment claim: your options, the 24-month rule and whether you need a lawyer
Sexual harassment at work is unwelcome sexual behaviour that a reasonable person would expect to offend, humiliate or intimidate, and unlike bullying it can be a single incident. The Fair Work Commission can now deal with it directly, through two quite different applications. This page is for workers who want to know which application does what, the deadlines, what the process feels like, and when a lawyer is worth the money. It is general information, not legal advice.
Updated . General information, not legal advice.
Time limits that apply
| What | Limit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sexual harassment dispute application to the Commission | The Commission may dismiss an application made more than 24 months after the last alleged contravention | Fair Work Act s 527G |
| Stop sexual harassment order | No fixed deadline, but only available while there is a real, ongoing risk at work (in practice, while you are still employed there) | Fair Work Act s 527J |
| General protections application if you were dismissed for complaining | 21 days from the dismissal | Fair Work Act s 366 |
| Commission application fee | None listed for a sexual harassment dispute about conduct from 6 March 2023 onwards | fwc.gov.au/apply-or-lodge/fees-and-costs |
Do you need a lawyer for this?
Advice usually pays for itself when
- You want compensation, not just for it to stop. The dispute route can end in court, and the sums involved justify advice.
- You have left the job, or are about to, so a stop order is no longer available and the dispute route is the only Commission path.
- The harasser is senior, the employer has already closed ranks, or an internal investigation cleared them.
- You are near the 24-month mark from the last incident.
- You are weighing the Commission against the Australian Human Rights Commission or a state body. A lawyer can advise which forum suits your facts and what each can award.
- You have been offered a settlement with a confidentiality clause.
The free route is usually enough when
- You are still employed and what you want most is for the behaviour to stop. A stop sexual harassment order is designed for exactly that, and the Commission process is built for unrepresented people.
- The employer has a complaints process you have not used and you feel safe using it.
- You want to understand your options before deciding anything. The free tools and the Ombudsman cover that.
- You are in a union that handles harassment matters.
What are the two Commission applications?
The Fair Work Commission offers two doors and they lead to different rooms. The first is a stop sexual harassment order. The Commission looks at whether the harassment happened and whether there is a risk it will continue, and if so it can order the person or the employer to do or stop doing specific things. It does not award compensation, and it is only available while there is a real, ongoing risk at work, which in practice means while you are still employed there (Fair Work Act s 527J). The second is a sexual harassment dispute. This one is about remedy, including compensation, and it starts with conciliation at the Commission and can continue into court if it does not settle. Whether both are open to you depends on your circumstances, and that is a question worth asking before lodging anything.
What are the deadlines?
There is no fixed deadline for a stop order, but there is a practical one: the order only exists to remove an ongoing risk, so the moment you resign or are dismissed the Commission has nothing to stop. For the dispute route, the Commission may dismiss an application made more than 24 months after the last alleged contravention (Fair Work Act s 527G). Twenty-four months is generous compared with the 21-day windows elsewhere in the Act, but it counts from the last incident, and people who have been off work with stress can lose track of it. If you were dismissed for complaining, that is a separate general protections claim with its own 21-day deadline (s 366). The Australian Human Rights Commission and state bodies have their own timeframes, which are not stated here.
What does the process look like?
An application goes to the Commission. The Commission's fees page lists no application fee for a sexual harassment dispute about conduct from 6 March 2023 onwards; the fee it does list applies only to the older stop-order form for conduct before that date. For a stop order, the Commission usually lists a conference quickly, and a Commission member talks to both sides about what is happening and what would make it stop. For a dispute, the first step is conciliation, a private conference aimed at settlement, and most disputes that settle do so with a payment and often a confidentiality term. If conciliation fails, the Commission can issue a certificate and the next step is generally a court claim, which has its own further time limit, so the decision to continue cannot wait. The Commission's sexual harassment page linked below sets out each form and step.
Should I use the internal complaint process first?
Often, yes, but not always. An internal complaint in writing creates a record, triggers the employer's own duty to act, and is frequently where the behaviour actually stops. But the Commission does not insist on it as a first step, and there are situations where it is the wrong first move: where the harasser is the owner, where HR reports to the harasser, or where a previous complaint went nowhere. Whatever you do, keep a dated record on a personal device: what was said or done, when, where, and who saw it. Screenshots of messages matter. Medical notes matter, because the effect on your health is part of both the risk question and any compensation. And a complaint process can ask you to keep it confidential, but that does not remove your right to get advice.
When does paying a lawyer pay for itself?
Liquid Employment Lawyers is a paid legal service that FairWork Mate refers people to; it is not free government help. The honest answer is that a lawyer earns their fee in the dispute route, not usually in the stop order route. Stop order conferences are built for people representing themselves and the outcome is behavioural, not financial. A dispute is different. Compensation varies enormously with the facts, the harassment often overlaps with a general protections claim or a discrimination complaint, and the forum choice between the Commission, the Australian Human Rights Commission and a state body is a real decision with consequences. A lawyer also handles the settlement paperwork, where a badly drafted confidentiality clause can cost you more than it protects. The first conversation through FairWork Mate is free; the firm discusses scope and fees with you directly.
What is the free route?
The Fair Work Ombudsman is free on 13 13 94 and can explain both Commission applications, though it does not lodge them for you. FairWork Mate's tools are free: the harassment compensation tool describes in words how remedies are worked out, the which-claim triage tool sorts the stop order, dispute, general protections and discrimination options by your facts, and the psychosocial hazard checker helps you frame the risk to health and safety that the stop order turns on. A union member can usually get representation at no extra charge. The existing bullying guide lists free support and crisis services. None of these close the door on a lawyer later, but the 24-month clock and any 21-day general protections clock keep running while you decide.
Free FairWork Mate tools for this
Talk to Liquid Employment Lawyers about this
Share a few details and their team will be in touch to talk it through. No obligation, and you decide whether to go further after that first conversation.
Liquid Employment Lawyers is an Australian employment law firm and FairWork Mate's paid referral partner, not free Fair Work advice. They discuss scope and any fees with you directly. FairWork Mate is not affiliated with the Fair Work Commission or the Fair Work Ombudsman. For free general guidance, use the tools above or call the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.
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Common questions
Can I get compensation from a stop sexual harassment order?
No. A stop order is about removing an ongoing risk at work, and it does not award compensation (Fair Work Act s 527J). Money comes through the dispute route, a general protections claim, or a discrimination complaint in another forum. If compensation is what you need, that is the conversation to have with a lawyer.
I resigned because of the harassment. What can I still do?
A stop order is no longer available once there is no ongoing risk at your workplace. The dispute route is still open, subject to the 24-month point from the last incident. If the resignation was forced, a constructive dismissal or general protections claim may also fit, and the 21-day deadline for a dismissal-related general protections claim would apply.
Does it have to be repeated to count?
No. Sexual harassment can be a single incident. That is one of the ways it differs from workplace bullying, which requires repeated behaviour.
Is Liquid Employment Lawyers free?
No. It is an Australian employment law firm and a paid partner that FairWork Mate refers to. The first conversation arranged through FairWork Mate is free, after which scope and fees are agreed directly with the firm. The Fair Work Ombudsman is free on 13 13 94, and FairWork Mate's tools are free.
What if the harasser is a customer or client rather than a co-worker?
The Commission's sexual harassment jurisdiction is about harassment at work, not only by colleagues, and the employer's response once it knows is usually the point of interest. Report it in writing, keep the record, and get advice on which application fits.
Official sources
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