The Australian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) is Australia's national human rights institution, dedicated to fostering a society where human rights are upheld, protected, and celebrated. We envision an Australia where every individual is valued equally in dignity and rights. Our mission involves promoting and safeguarding the human rights of all Australians by: Advising all levels of government and various public and private organisations. Strengthening laws, policies, and practices while providing accessible investigation and conciliation services. Engaging inclusively with civil society, communities, and the private sector. Raising awareness about human rights and offering educational resources. Collaborating with partners to cultivate a culture of respect for human rights across the nation. The Positive Duty Team is a multidisciplinary team of 10 people that sits within the Commission's Legal Division and reports to the Commission's General Counsel. In December 2022, the positive duty in section 47C of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (positive duty) came into effect. This requires organisations to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate certain forms of unlawful conduct, such as sexual harassment and sexist conduct, from their workplaces, as far as possible. From 12 December 2023, the Commission's regulatory powers and functions relating to the positive duty commenced. The team is responsible for the implementation and operationalisation of the positive duty regulatory functions. We are looking for a dedicated Lead Officer to join our team and play a key role in promoting safer, more equitable workplaces across Australia. In this role, you will undertake a range of compliance and enforcement activities relating to the positive duty in the Sex Discrimination Act. This full-time / part time, non-ongoing position for an initial 12 months offers a competitive salary range of $99,734 - $111,701 per annum plus 15.4% superannuation. We offer flexible, hybrid and remote work options. The key duties of the position include What You'll Do: Manage a caseload of matters relating to compliance and enforcement of the positive duty in the Sex Discrimination Act, including intake, triage, assessment, monitoring and closure. Assist in assessing organisational compliance with the positive duty in the Sex Discrimination Act. Communicate professionally and appropriately with regulated entities, informants, workers and other stakeholders, often in complex or sensitive contexts. Support the conduct of regulatory activities, including information-gathering, preliminary inquiries, compliance assessments, consultation and follow-up action. Support constructive voluntary engagement with organisations to encourage compliance, improvement and preventative approaches. Contribute to the preparation of case files, briefs, recommendations, compliance notices and other correspondence that are accurate, timely and legally sound. Assist in identifying systemic issues, patterns of harm and emerging risks across regulated entities. Support the drafting of internal guidance, decision records and templates to ensure consistency and quality across the Positive Duty Team. Work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team (legal, policy, education) to drive integrated regulatory outcomes. Contribute to research, education and compliance activities/outputs of the team that are evidence-based and include both quantitative and qualitative research and data. Provide information to duty holders, community groups and other stakeholders as to the rights and obligations under the legislation administered by the Commission. Participate in a range of projects in relation to the compliance, research and educative functions of the Positive Duty Team.
