Submitting an application
How do I submit an application?
- To start an application and/or referral, you must fill in a Form 22 - Application for a Stop Sexual Harassment Order and/or a Sexual Harassment Referral, which may be lodged in the Registry of the Commission using the online lodgment system, by email, in person or by post.
- There is no time limit to make an application and/or referral, however the Commission may dismiss the application and/or referral if it has been more than 24 months since the last alleged instance of workplace sexual harassment.
- When lodging the application and/or referral, you are required to pay a filing fee. To check the fees payable, see Fees and charges. If payment of the fee will cause you significant financial hardship, you may apply to have the fee waived by contacting the Commission’s Registry.
- You are not required to have a representative and can represent yourself in your application and/or referral. For information on representation and representing yourself, please click here.
Who is my employer?
Your employer is not necessarily the director, owner or manager of the business. To identify your employer, one or more of the following may be helpful:
- group certificate;
- pay slip;
- letter of appointment;
- job advertisement;
- written employment contract or agreement; and
- performing a company or business name search.
You could also try to obtain company information from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) or the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.
What happens next?
After you have submitted your Form 22, the Commission’s Registry will:
- check the form to make sure that it is complete and contains all the required information;
- if the form is complete, send a copy of it to you for your records; and
- serve a copy of it on the respondent(s).
We will provide a copy of this form and any attachments to your employer/principal and the other respondent/s named in this application and/or referral. We may also provide this to an individual respondent’s employer/principal and any representative/s.
If you do not want certain information to be provided to the other parties to this application and/or referral, do not include the information yet. You can contact the Commission’s Registry on 9420 4444 to discuss this or if you have safety concerns about your contact details being shared.
The Commission’s Registry may call or email you after you submit your application and/or referral to give you further information on the process, and to confirm you wish to go ahead with it.
If the Form 22 is incomplete, it may cause delays.
The respondents have 7 days after receiving your application and/or referral to file a written response to it. The Commission will provide you with a copy of any response that is filed.
After the time for filing a response has passed, the application and/or referral will be allocated to a Commissioner and listed for a conciliation conference.