Caravan park director charged over alleged sexual harassment of worker

The operator and director of a Beechworth caravan park has been charged by WorkSafe Victoria over the alleged sexual harassment of a female worker.

Beechworth Holiday Park and its sole director have been charged by WorkSafe Victoria over allegations of sexual harassment towards a female worker, with the regulator claiming that the caravan park operator failed to maintain a safe workplace.

According to WorkSafe, the employer faces a single charge under the Occupational Health and Safety Act for “failing to provide and maintain a workplace that was safe and without risks to health”.

Allegedly, the company lacked the needed policies on both appropriate and inappropriate workplace behaviour and had yet to implement such a policy by training managers, supervisors, and employees, leading to an increased chance of psychological injury being sustained.

The company’s director is set to face one charge for failing to take reasonable care that the workplace he was in control of was both safe and without health risks.

WorkSafe went on to allege that the director was solely responsible for the Beechworth caravan park’s breach, as after allegedly exposing the female worker to health and safety risks between July 2022 and March 2024.

Speaking on workplace sexual harassment in the past, WorkSafe executive director of health and safety Sam Jenkin said the behaviour can cause both notable psychological and physical harm.

“Every worker has a right to feel safe and supported at work – including knowing there is a formal process in place for raising any concerns about their experiences in the workplace,” said Jenkin.

“It is simply not enough to rely on regular team meetings or informal catch-ups to address inappropriate behaviours, particularly when there are power imbalances that can make it difficult for workers to speak up.”

To prevent this behaviour from permeating the workplace, the regulator called on employers to:

• Set clear standards of which behaviours are allowed and which are not in your workplace through training and leaders role modelling desired behaviours.

• Have policies and procedures to guide a consistent approach to prevent, respond to, and report workplace bullying and harassment. Discuss and promote these in team meetings and health and safety committee meetings.

• Encourage reporting. It is important for those who experience or witness workplace bullying or harassment to know who they can talk to, that a report will be taken seriously and that confidentiality will be maintained.

• Ensure that information about workplace bullying and harassment, including relevant policies and procedures, is part of supervisor training and new employee inductions.

• All employers should carry out regular checks of the workplace in consultation with employees and health and safety representatives to identify hazards and risks, such as signs that bullying or harassment is happening or if there is an increased risk of it happening.

The matters pertaining to Beechworth Holiday Park and its director are listed for a mention at Wodonga Magistrates Court on 2 September.