Discrimination and harassment in hospitality: a shift in responsibility
Discrimination, harassment, and inappropriate workplace behaviour have long been risks in hospitality.
But recent legal reforms have changed how these risks must be managed.
Under Australia’s Respect@Work framework, compliance has shifted from reacting to complaints to a proactive duty to prevent them.
For hospitality businesses, this changes the role of training completely.
It’s no longer enough to raise awareness. Employers are now expected to actively identify risks, equip teams to respond early, and maintain a safe, respectful workplace every day.
Why the hospitality sector is under scrutiny
The Australian hospitality industry is a key focus area for regulators.
Recent high-profile cases and increased enforcement activity from bodies such as the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) have made it clear that failing to act has real consequences.
Hospitality environments often include:
- young and casual workforces
- late-night shifts and alcohol service
- power imbalances between roles
- high staff turnover
These factors increase exposure to harassment, discrimination, and unsafe workplace behaviour.
A reactive, policy-led approach is no longer defensible.
The shift to Positive Duty
The Respect@Work reforms introduced a fundamental change.
Employers now have a positive duty to take reasonable and proportionate steps to eliminate:
- Sexual harassment
- Sex-based harassment
- Hostile work environments
- Victimisation
This is a shift from:
responding to incidents
to:
actively preventing them
The AHRC now has the power to investigate and audit organisations—even without a complaint being made.
For hospitality businesses, this means compliance must be visible, structured, and ongoing.
What falls under discrimination and harassment risk
In hospitality environments, these risks are often interconnected.
They can include:
- Sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour
- Workplace bullying
- Discrimination based on gender, race, disability, or other protected attributes
- Hostile or unsafe workplace environments
- Retaliation or victimisation after reporting
Managing these risks requires more than policies. It requires consistent training, clear expectations, and confident leadership.
Related areas of workplace conduct training
To meet Respect@Work obligations in practice, training typically spans multiple areas:
Together, these form the foundation of effective workplace conduct training.
What this means in practice
For hospitality operators, this is not just a legal update—it’s an operational shift.
It means:
- Identifying risks before incidents occur
- Training staff to recognise and respond early
- Ensuring managers actively prevent issues, not just handle complaints
- Embedding expectations into everyday behaviour
This is where many businesses fall short.
Without structured training and clear processes, compliance becomes reactive, inconsistent, and difficult to prove.
The AHRC framework: what good looks like
The AHRC provides a set of guiding principles and standards to help organisations meet their obligations.
At a high level, these require businesses to:
- Demonstrate leadership accountability
- Build a respectful and inclusive culture
- Provide ongoing, high-quality training
- Identify and manage workplace risks
- Support employees who experience or witness misconduct
- Maintain clear reporting and response processes
- Monitor, evaluate, and improve over time
Together, these form an end-to-end approach to prevention—not just response.
Practical steps to meet your obligations
For hospitality businesses, compliance requires a structured and proactive approach.
Conduct a workplace risk assessment
Identify where issues are most likely to occur, including:
- late-night shifts
- isolated work
- power imbalances between roles
Review your current training
Is it:
- role-specific?
- practical and scenario-based?
- regularly updated?
Generic, one-off training is no longer sufficient.
Implement structured, scenario-based training
Training should reflect real hospitality situations, such as:
- dealing with inappropriate behaviour from customers
- reporting issues involving senior staff
- intervening as a bystander
Staff need to know what to do—not just what the rules are.
Strengthen leadership capability
Managers must be able to:
- model respectful behaviour
- lead difficult conversations
- respond consistently and appropriately
Leadership accountability is a core part of compliance.
Ensure reporting systems are clear and trusted
Staff must feel safe to raise concerns.
This means:
- clear reporting pathways
- consistent handling of issues
- protection from victimisation
Document and monitor everything
Compliance must be demonstrable.
This includes:
- training completion records
- risk assessments
- incident handling processes
- ongoing monitoring of workplace culture
From compliance to culture
While legislation drives change, the outcome goes beyond compliance.
A structured approach to discrimination and harassment training can lead to:
- Improved staff retention
- Stronger workplace culture
- Greater trust across teams
- Reduced legal and reputational risk
In a high-turnover industry like hospitality, this becomes a competitive advantage.
A structured approach to Respect@Work training
Meeting Positive Duty obligations requires more than individual courses.
It requires a structured approach that:
- covers all key risk areas
- aligns training to roles and responsibilities
- reinforces behaviour over time
- ensures consistency across the business
Allara Global’s Respect@Work training pathway is designed to support this—helping hospitality businesses move beyond policy into practical, role-based learning that aligns with current legal requirements.
Are you confident your approach meets Positive Duty requirements?
If not, it’s likely your current training approach needs to evolve.
From:
- reactive
- inconsistent
- difficult to track
To:
- structured
- role-based
- audit-ready
Explore the Respect@Work training pathway