Why HR can’t afford to blink amid Australia’s employment law shakeup
Australian HR leaders are facing a perfect storm of legal, cultural and economic change, with two leading employment lawyers warning that boards, regulators and employees are all turning up the heat at once.
Speaking to HRD, Herbert Smith Freehills partner Rachel Dawson and executive counsel Lucy Boyd said HR now sits at the centre of some of the most significant shifts in Australian employment law in decades – from positive duties on sexual harassment and psychosocial risk, to the AI‑driven explosion in claims, to restructuring pressures linked to global instability and rising fuel costs.
Boyd said one of the most striking changes in recent years is who is now instructing employment lawyers. Traditionally, clients were HR and industrial relations (IR) managers; now boards are more often directly involved, not only on executive dismissals but on culture reviews, investigations and compliance with new duties around sexual harassment and psychosocial hazards.
Much of this shift has been driven by the introduction of a positive duty to prevent sexual harassment, which squarely puts prevention – not just response – on the agenda for senior leadership. At the same time, a tightening focus on psychosocial hazards has elevated mental health risks and psychological safety to the same level as physical safety. A series of high‑profile...
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