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Equal Opportunity – Employees

Policy last updated

6 October 2026

Scope

  • Schools
  • School councils
  • All Department staff

On this page

Date:
18 Feb 2020

Policy

Policy

This policy outlines the department’s commitment to providing safe, respectful and inclusive workplaces that are free from discrimination, harassment and victimisation. It describes the rights and responsibilities of employees, principals and the department under anti-discrimination and equal opportunity law.

Summary

  • The department is an equal opportunity employer, committed to ensuring its workplaces including schools are free from discrimination, sexual harassment, victimisation and vilification.
  • Schools must take reasonable and proportionate steps to eliminate discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation as far as possible and to prevent unlawful behaviours.
  • Go to the Definitions section for definitions of terms used throughout this policy.

Details

This policy sets out expected behaviour of all employees. It outlines what they must do to:

  • promote equal opportunity
  • prevent unlawful conduct
  • respond to issues appropriately.

This policy applies to:

  • all school employees
  • principals
  • employees (full-time, part-time, ongoing, fixed term or casual)
  • volunteers
  • pre-service teachers on placement
  • school council members
  • contractors
  • all department employees in central and regional offices.

This policy applies to schools and all department workplaces. The workplace:

  • extends beyond the physical boundaries of the workplace, for example online platforms, work-related travel and accommodation
  • extends beyond usual work hours
  • includes interaction with other organisations and the public where an employee may be seen as representing the department, for example online social media platforms
  • includes interaction between employees in a social context – for example, Christmas parties, fundraisers and employee farewells. It may also include interactions outside of work – for example, a workmate’s barbeque, especially if it impacts on relationships and behaviours within the workplace.

The workplace can extend to any situation where there is interaction with people at work (especially when the interaction has a negative impact on relationships at work).

The Inclusive Workplaces policy should be read alongside this policy. It provides advice and resources for employees on:

  • fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace
  • leading and working in diverse teams.

The Department of Education (the department) is an ‘equal opportunity employer’. This means that the department is committed to ensuring that its workplaces are free from unlawful behaviours.

Unlawful behaviours are:

  • discrimination
  • sexual harassment
  • victimisation
  • vilification.

Equal opportunity employment at the department means:

  • diversity is valued
  • employees are free from unlawful treatment
  • recruitment is fair
  • recruitment is focused on essential job requirements
  • employees uphold the department values
  • employees report unlawful behaviour, when safe to do so.

This equal opportunity approach helps the department to:

  • recognise and value the diversity of the Victorian community
  • attract the best person for the job
  • provide a safe environment where employees can be themselves
  • meet its obligations under law.

The department requires school councils to apply the principles and processes set out in this policy.

Responsibilities of employees, principals, and the department

Responsibilities of department employees

Everyone who works for the department has responsibilities under Equal Opportunity law. Employees in schools and corporate settings are responsible for:

Responsibilities of principals and school leaders

Principals and school leaders are responsible for:

  • promoting and modelling behaviour consistent with the department’s values and the obligations of this policy
  • understanding what constitutes unlawful behaviour, and knowing how to prevent and respond to it
  • monitoring and maintaining acceptable standards of conduct in the workplace
  • creating a culture where unlawful behaviours are not tolerated
  • providing this policy to employees so that they know how to seek advice or make a complaint under this policy
  • treating unlawful behaviours seriously
  • taking complaints seriously and taking prompt action
  • managing complaints with appropriate confidentiality
  • taking action to prevent employees from being victimised for making or being involved in a complaint
  • provide information about the Employee Wellbeing Support Service to people making or responding to a complaint
  • completing the ‘Respectful and Inclusive Workplaces – all staff’ and ‘Respectful and Inclusive Workplaces – leaders and managers' eLearn modules (refer to the Resources tab for links to these eLearns).

Responsibilities of the department

The department must take reasonable and proactive measures to eliminate unlawful behaviours from its workplaces.

The department is responsible for the following.

Proactive measures
  • Using workforce data to understand drivers of unlawful behaviours
  • Addressing drivers of unlawful behaviours
  • Using targeted measures to address unlawful behaviours for cohorts at higher risk
  • Overseeing policies and programs for diverse cohorts
Workplace culture and prevention
  • Providing accessible information, resources, and training for all employees to support this policy
  • Developing and regularly updating policies and practices to promote inclusive workplaces and behaviour
  • Providing mandatory and voluntary training on respectful and inclusive behaviour
  • Managing organisational change inclusively, including consulting with affected employees as early as possible
  • Maintaining communication throughout organisational change
  • Promoting safe, respectful and inclusive working relationships across all department workplaces
Accountability, reporting and response
  • Having clear, accessible and confidential processes for reporting unlawful behaviours
  • Responding to unlawful behaviours, even if no formal complaint has been made
  • Regularly reporting to senior leadership and governance bodies on equal opportunity and related issues
  • Reviewing this policy every 3years or earlier as required
  • Communicating any policy changes to employees

Reporting and support

Managers and principals can contact the Conduct and Integrity Division (employee.conduct@education.vic.gov.au) for advice about responding to:

  • discrimination
  • sexual harassment
  • victimisation
  • vilification.

Any employee experiencing or witnessing these issues can seek support from:

  • their manager
  • their principal
  • their regional office
  • a Workplace Contact Officer (WCO)
  • the Employee Wellbeing Support Services
  • their union, if a union member.

Employee Wellbeing Support Services provides free and confidential wellbeing support and counselling services. For more information go to Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Management in Schools.

All department staff reporting incidents of racism and racial and religious vilification can also use the complaints processes in the Preventing and Addressing Racism in Schools policy.

Read the Sexual Harassment policy for more information about reporting and responding to sexual harassment.

Definitions

Important terms used in this policy are defined below. To support understanding, some key concepts are explained in the context of schools and the department.

Unlawful behaviours

Discrimination
When someone has been discriminated against, it means they have been treated badly or unfairly because of a personal characteristic that is protected by the law. Equal opportunity law refers to this as 'unfavourable treatment' or 'less favourable treatment'.

Discrimination can be against an individual or a group.

Discrimination is against the law in certain areas of public life, including employment.

Discrimination is linked to a personal characteristic, also known as a 'protected attribute'. This includes:

  • age
  • breastfeeding
  • disability
  • employment activity
  • expunged homosexual conviction
  • gender identity
  • industrial activity
  • intersex status
  • lawful sexual activity
  • marital status
  • parent and carer status
  • physical features
  • political belief or activity
  • pregnancy
  • profession, trade or occupation
  • race (including colour, descent, national or ethnic origin, or immigrant status)
  • religious belief or activity
  • sex
  • sex characteristics
  • sexual orientation
  • spent conviction
  • personal association with someone who has, or is assumed to have, one of these personal characteristics.

Discrimination can be direct or indirect.

Direct discrimination happens when a person treats, or proposes to treat, a person unfavourably because of a protected attribute.

For example, an applicant is not selected for an education support class role because the hiring manager/principal assumes that people from a particular age group may not adapt well to new technology, despite the applicant having the required skills and experience.

Indirect discrimination happens when an unreasonable rule, requirement or practice is applied, or is proposed to be applied, to everyone, but it has, or is likely to have, the effect of disadvantaging a person or group with a particular characteristic.

For example, a principal or manager requires all employees to attend weekly team meetings at 7:30 am. While the requirement applies to everyone, it may disadvantage employees with caring responsibilities. If this is not a reasonable requirement, it may be indirect discrimination.

Harassment
Harassment includes behaviour such as:

  • telling insulting jokes about racial groups
  • displaying racially offensive or pornographic posters or screen savers
  • making derogatory comments about someone’s race
  • making humiliating comments about a person’s disability
  • asking intrusive questions about someone’s personal life.

Harassment is unlawful and can be against the law when it is discriminatory (discrimination), when it includes conduct of a sexual nature (sexual harassment) and/or when it causes a risk to someone’s health or safety.

Intent
Unlawful behaviours can be intentional or unintentional. Policies or practices designed to treat everyone the same can result in indirect discrimination if they disadvantage a particular person or group, and if the policies and practices are not reasonable. Under equal opportunity law, it is the impact of the behaviour or action that matters, rather than the person's intention.

Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature towards another person which could reasonably be expected to make that other person feel offended, humiliated or intimidated. Sexual harassment can be physical, verbal, visual or written. A single incident is enough to be considered sexual harassment – it does not have to be repeated behaviour.

Refer to Sexual Harassment – Employees.

Unlawful behaviour
Unlawful behaviour under equal opportunity law includes discrimination, sexual harassment, victimisation and vilification.

Victimisation
Victimisation is treating or threatening to treat someone badly or unfairly because:

  • they have made a complaint about discrimination, sexual harassment or vilification
  • it is believed they intend to make a complaint
  • they have helped someone else to make a complaint
  • they have refused to do something that would be discrimination, sexual harassment, vilification or victimisation.

Vilification
In Victoria, the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 prohibits vilification, also known as 'hate speech' or 'hateful behaviour'. Under Victorian law, the following characteristics are protected from vilification:

  • disability
  • gender identity
  • race
  • religious belief or activity
  • sex
  • sex characteristics
  • sexual orientation
  • personal association with someone who has one of these protected characteristics.

Vilification may include:

  • encouraging hatred in others (known as ‘incitement’)
  • hate speech or hateful behaviour that a reasonable person from the target group is likely to consider to be hateful.

For either type of vilification, the behaviour must be public, including in schools and workplaces. This includes online, in person, verbal or written conduct as well as actions and gestures, clothes, signs, flags and emblems and insignia that are observable by the public. Whether behaviour is legally considered vilification will depend on the circumstances.

Positive duty and liability

Positive duty
All department workplaces must take reasonable and proportionate steps to eliminate discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation as far as possible and to prevent unlawful behaviours. This legal responsibility is called the ‘positive duty’.

It means that positive action must be taken to prevent these unlawful behaviours, regardless of whether someone has made a complaint. To meet the positive duty, schools are expected to put relevant department policies into practice to create safe, inclusive and respectful workplaces and respond effectively to instances of unlawful behaviour.

Vicarious liability
Employees who breach this policy may face employment or legal action. The department may also be held liable for unlawful conduct by its employees, contractors or other agents (known as ‘vicarious liability’).

School leaders, managers and executives must take reasonable and proportionate steps to meet the positive duty to prevent discrimination, sexual harassment, victimisation and vilification to reduce the risk of vicarious liability.

Workplace adjustments
Both state and national laws require employers to make workplace adjustments for employees with disability. Workplace adjustments are called ‘reasonable adjustments’ under law.

Go to Disability and Reasonable Adjustments – Staff for further information.

Note that disability health information is also protected under law, including by the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic). Read the Privacy policy(opens in a new window) for more information.

Relevant legislation

Contacts

To make a complaint or seek support, go to:

Principals and other school staff can contact People and Workplace Relations for support applying this policy: 1800 641 943 or via email: workplace.relations@education.vic.gov.au.

Guidance

Guidance

This guidance contains the following chapters:

  • Legal framework
  • Mandatory and recommended training
  • Reporting or making a complaint
  • Support and assistance

Legal framework

In Australia, discrimination, equal opportunity and human rights are covered by laws at both state and national levels. National law may also be called federal or commonwealth law.

In Victoria, anti-discrimination and equal opportunity protections are set out in the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic)(opens in a new window).

Human rights are also protected in Victoria by the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic)(opens in a new window). The Charter applies to government bodies and people delivering services on behalf of the government, including government schools. Read the department’s Human Rights Charter policy for more information on the Charter.

The Public Administration Act 2004 (Vic)(opens in a new window) outlines the values, employment principles and standards that apply to public officials and all public sector employers, including schools. The principle of equal employment opportunity is a binding standard. This means schools must uphold this standard. The principle should be read alongside equal employment opportunity guidelines issued by the Victorian Public Sector Commissioner(opens in a new window).

National laws also provide protection against discrimination and harassment. Go to Relevant legislation for a full list of relevant laws.

Both national and state laws apply to the department as an employer and to department employees.

Mandatory and recommended training

Mandatory training

All employees must learn about their rights and responsibilities under equal opportunity and anti-discrimination laws and the Human Rights Charter.

This creates safe, inclusive and respectful workplaces.

Mandatory training for executives, managers and principals

The 'Respectful and Inclusive Workplaces – leaders and managers' eLearn module aims to:

  • increase understanding of the commitments, obligations, policies, procedures, available resources and supports for creating a respectful, inclusive and safe workplace
  • help people to understand their obligations when performing a leader or manager role, including making decisions, promoting positive behaviours and addressing negative and inappropriate behaviours in the workplace.

Go to the Resources tab for a link to this eLearn.

Mandatory training for all employees

The 'Respectful and Inclusive Workplaces – all staff' eLearn module aims to:

  • support staff to understand their entitlements and obligations in areas such as human rights, equal opportunity, bullying and sexual harassment
  • help employees to contribute to creating a respectful, inclusive and safe workplace culture.

Principals must support staff to complete this training. Refer to the Resources tab for links to these eLearns.

In addition to mandatory training, the department offers learning opportunities to build awareness, inclusion and cultural capability. Go to the Inclusive Workplaces policy for more information.

Reporting or making a complaint

Reporting or making a complaint

Reporting or making a complaint

Employees are encouraged to report incidents of discrimination or harassment as soon as possible. This helps the department to:

  • address individual incidents
  • identify systemic issues
  • create safe, respectful and inclusive workplaces.

All employees can report unlawful behaviour in eduSafe Plus (staff login required)(opens in a new window). Employees can choose to make a report to their regional office if they prefer not to report to their principal.

eduSafe Plus reports to principals are visible to the principal and their relevant delegates. Employees can follow detailed guidance available in the eduSafe Plus knowledge bank to make a report to their regional office that is not visible to their principal.

At any time, employees may make a complaint to a relevant external organisation. For unlawful behaviours this may include:

Employees who believe they have been the victim of a criminal offence may choose to report the matter to Victoria Police and to advise their manager or principal.

Workplace Contact Officers can provide information and guidance about how to report.

Employees reporting unlawful behaviours may wish to access Employee Wellbeing Support Services. Go to Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Management in Schools for information about using these services.

If a complaint is substantiated

Where unlawful behaviour is found to have occurred, action will depend on the circumstances. Possible outcomes may include:

  • an apology
  • training or development activities
  • disciplinary action
  • termination of employment.

Managing complaints

Allegations of unlawful behaviours are managed in accordance with:

The department encourages resolving complaints through its internal complaints processes where appropriate.

Responsibilities of principals, managers and executives when responding to complaints

Principals, managers and executives must take immediate action when unlawful behaviour is reported, observed or brought to their attention.

They are responsible for:

  • responding promptly and appropriately
  • managing concerns sensitively and confidentially
  • supporting affected employees
  • following department policies and procedures
  • addressing behaviour that may breach this policy.

Principals and managers can seek advice from the Conduct and Integrity Division about responding to complaints. Conduct and Integrity can be contacted on 03 7034 6768 or at employee.conduct@education.vic.gov.au.

Support and assistance

Support and assistance

The department is committed to supporting the wellbeing of employees, principals and managers. Support is available regardless of whether a formal complaint has been made. It may continue after a matter has been resolved.

Employee Wellbeing Support Services provides free and confidential wellbeing support and counselling services. For more information go to Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Management in Schools.

Employees are encouraged to access counselling and wellbeing support if they experience:

  • stress
  • anxiety
  • distress
  • concerns about their psychological or physical safety at work.

Employees may also seek information, guidance and support from their manager or principal, or a Workplace Contact Officer.

Resources

Resources

Terms and conditions of employment

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