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Conference, Sydney & online | 25th March 2025
Workplace Bullying & Harassment Conference Legal obligations, positive duty and best practices
Employers have a legal duty to prevent and address bullying and harassment, ensuring a safe workplace. We are delighted to announce the Thomson Reuters Workplace Bullying & Harassment Conference taking place on 25 March 2025 in Sydney and online. At the conference you can learn about harassment and bullying risk, the impact of this occurring in your business, employee and employer responsibilities, and how you can prevent and respond to these complaints. The conference will explore and address the key issues in compliance with anti-bullying laws, WHS obligations, complaint handling, positive duty, workplace investigation, litigation and claims, and best practice in bullying and harassment prevention.
Proactive strategies to eliminate and prevent harassment, not just react when complaints arise.
Events highlights
What are the laws in relation to workplace bullying, harassment, and discrimination?
Chris McArdle, Principal Lawyer
McArdle Legal
WHS: Using the work health and safety approach to building a positive workplace, preventing bullying and harassment
Darren Gardner, Partner
Bartier Perry
Positive duty and workplace sexual harassment prevention
Kristen Lopes, Partner, Colin Biggers & Paisley
Complaint handling: What to do when you receive a complaint about bullying and harassment
James Mattson, Partner
Bartier Perry
How to conduct an effective misconduct-based workplace investigation when harassment and bullying is alleged
Talia Firth, Partner
Ashurst
Reasonable Management Action (RMA)
Seamus Burke, Partner Workplace
Sparke Helmore Lawyers
Management of bullying and harassment workers compensation claims
Graeme Tanner, Senior Associate
Herbert Smith Freehills
Bad behaviour and termination of employment
Michael Starkey, Senior Associate
Baker McKenzie
Sexual harassment litigation, penalties, and legal costs
Kiri Jervis, Partner
Hamilton Locke
Date & location
Tuesday, 25th March 2025
Sydney & Online
Time
9:00 AM - 4:40 PM AEST
Registration opens at 8:30 AM
Cost
Standard Pricing:
[ Early Bird* ] $975 excl. GST
[ Full price ] $1,050 excl. GST
*Early Bird ends 7th February 2025
Livestream:
[ Full price ] $899 excl. GST
CPD
6 CPD points
6 hours live and online
Attending as a group? Email us at eventsanz@thomsonreuters.com to enquire about group pricing.
Don't miss out - register today to guarantee your spot at this exciting event!
Why attend?
Benefits of attending
- Understand legal obligations on workplace bullying, harassment, and discrimination
- Promote a healthy work environment by understanding WHS obligations
- Prevent and manage workplace bullying and harassment
- Learn how to conduct fair and impartial workplace investigations when there is an allegation of bullying
- How to respond to a complaint of harassment and bullying
- Performance management and termination when bullying and harassment has taken place
- Avoiding adverse litigation outcomes
Who should attend?
- Human Resources Directors, Human Resource Manager and Advisor
- Employee Relations Managers, People & Culture Managers, HR Business Partners
- Employment Lawyers
- In-house Counsel
- Wellbeing Managers
- Health and Safety, WHS and OHS Managers
Speakers
Chris McArdle
Principal Lawyer
McArdle Legal
Darren Gardner
Partner
Bartier Perry
Graeme Tanner
Senior Associate
Herbert Smith Freehills
James Mattson
Partner
Bartier Perry
Kiri Jervis
Partner
Hamilton Locke
Kristen Lopes
Partner
Colin Biggers & Paisley
Michael Starkey
Senior Associate
Baker McKenzie
Seamus Burke
Partner Workplace
Sparke Helmore Lawyers
Talia Firth
Partner
Ashurst
Event agenda
08:30 |
Registration and arrival |
|
09:00 |
Welcome from Conference Chair |
|
09:05 |
What are the laws in relation to workplace bullying, harassment, and discrimination?
- The Federal Government’s Anti-Discrimination & Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022 - Why it is a game changer requiring a totally new approach by organisations - What is bullying, harassment and discrimination - Recent case law and case studies |
Chris McArdle Principal Lawyer McArdle Legal |
09:45 |
WHS: Using the work health and safety approach to building a positive workplace, preventing bullying and harassment
- Identifying psychosocial hazards and putting measures in place to mitigate them - WHS obligations and employer’s psychosocial risk management obligations - Hazard reduction of risk factors contributing to bullying and harassment - workload, job clarity and management style - Outcomes of recent cases, recent prosecutions under WHS laws |
Darren Gardner Partner Bartier Perry |
10:25 |
Networking and refreshment break |
|
10:50 |
Positive duty and workplace sexual harassment prevention
- Case examples of sexual harassment claims in the Fair Work Commission and review of recent claims in the courts - The Australian Human Rights Commission’s enforcement of the positive duty - Strategies for implementing a preventative approach in the workplace - Respect@Work report future recommendations |
Kristen Lopes Partner Colin Biggers & Paisley |
11:30 |
Complaint handling: What to do when you receive a complaint about bullying and harassment
- How to respond to a complaint of harassment, bullying or discrimination - Procedures to be followed when a complaint is made - How to act fairly to the alleged victim and alleged perpetrator - What preventative measures need to be introduced when there has been an incident - Advise on legal obligations and remedies - What to do when there is a false complaint |
James Mattson Partner Bartier Perry |
12:10 |
Lunch and networking break |
|
13:00 |
How to conduct an effective misconduct-based workplace investigation when harassment and bullying is alleged
- What might trigger an investigation - How to navigate misconduct-based workplace investigations - Overview of investigation process- when, where, how - Can you investigate without receiving a complaint? - What does a good investigation look like? - Managing difficult or reluctant witnesses - Preparing a report and making a final decision and outcome |
Talia Firth |
13:40 |
Reasonable Management Action (RMA)
- What is RMA? - What is not RMA? - The relevance of RMA outside of defending a bullying claim - Tips for ensuring management action is reasonable - Lessons from cases which consider RMA |
Seamus Burke |
14:20 |
Management of bullying and harassment workers compensation claims
- What is the workers compensation framework for bullying and harassment claims? - What is the standard of practice for claims for bullying and harassment? - Factors which make a claim succeed or fail - Understanding the different approaches for bullying and harassment claims compared to physical injury claims - Disputes and how the matters are commonly resolved - The latest trends and cases involving bullying and harassment matters before Workcover |
Graeme Tanner Senior Associate Herbert Smith Freehills |
| 15:00 | Networking and refreshment break |
|
| 15:20 | Bad behaviour and termination of employment
- Performance vs. conduct issues: what’s the difference? - What is considered serious misconduct - Following an appropriate disciplinary process - Mitigating the risk of termination-related claims |
Michael Starkey Senior Associate Baker McKenzie |
| 16:00 | Sexual harassment litigation, penalties, legal costs
- The Australian Human Rights Commission Amendment (Costs Protection) Bill what does mean for respondents/employers for costs orders in sexual harassment litigation - Due diligence on all aspects of a complainant’s allegations - Possible negative costs orders and whether they may be in a position to obtain costs |
Kiri Jervis Partner Hamilton Locke |
| 16:40 | Closing remarks from the chair and end of conference |
Contact information
If you have any questions about the event or your registration, please contact us at eventsanz@thomsonreuters.com