What is considered discrimination, bullying or harassment?

This page contains information about what is considered discrimination, bullying or harassment.

Discrimination 

This is when a person is treated less favourably based on protected attributes such as: 

• sex, gender or sexual orientation 
• pregnancy or marital status 
• race 
• religious belief or activity
• disability 
• age.  

The law has specific provisions relating to sexual harassment, racial hatred, and disability harassment.  

The Australian federal jurisdiction, the Australian State and Territory jurisdictions, and New Zealand all have broadly similar human rights and equal opportunity legislation which covers grounds of unlawful discrimination.  

Bullying 

Bullying is defined in Australian workplace law as ‘repeated unreasonable behaviour towards another person or group which creates a risk to health and safety.’  

Bullying behaviour can range from obvious verbal or physical assault to subtle psychological abuse. It can include: 

• physical or verbal abuse 
• yelling, screaming or offensive language 
• excluding or isolating employees 
• psychological harassment 
• intimidation 
• assigning meaningless tasks unrelated to the job 
• giving employees impossible jobs 
• deliberately changed work rosters to inconvenience particular employees 
• undermining work performance by deliberately withholding information vital for effective work performance. 

Reasonable management actions are usually not considered bullying, for example:

• setting realistic performance goals and standards 
• managing performance and progress in accordance with relevant policies and procedures 
• determining an applicant’s suitability to perform a particular job in the course of their training or employment 
• developing and implementing a supportive plan or a targeted learning plan to assist a trainee meet training requirements 
• giving warnings about or addressing inappropriate workplace behaviour. 

Harassment 

Harassment is any type of unwanted behaviour that offends, humiliates or intimidates a person.

Harassment can include behaviour such as: 

• telling insulting jokes about particular racial groups 
• sending explicit or sexually suggestive emails or text messages 
• displaying racially offensive or pornographic images
• making derogatory comments or taunts about a person’s disability, or  
• asking intrusive questions about someone’s personal life. 

The legal definitions in Australia and New Zealand are similar for harassment however they are regulated differently according to the law in each jurisdiction.

Further information and guidance on discrimination, bullying and harassment behaviour can be found at:

• In Australia, the Human Rights Commission, the Fair Work Commission, or the relevant WorkSafe body in your Australian state or territory
• In New Zealand, the Human Rights Commission, Employment New Zealand, or WorkSafe.