Between April and June 2018, the Australian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) conducted a national survey to investigate the prevalence, nature and reporting of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces and the community more broadly. The Commission has conducted and reported on similar sexual harassment surveys in 2003, 2008 and 2012.

The 2018 National workplace sexual harassment survey (2018 National Survey) was designed to collect data about:

• the prevalence and nature of sexual harassment experienced by Australians aged 15 years and older across their lifetime (at any time or anywhere)
• the prevalence and nature of sexual harassment experienced by Australians aged 15 years and older in the workplace
• the perpetrators of workplace sexual harassment
• characteristics of workplaces where harassment occurs
• the industries where harassment occurs
• the reporting of workplace sexual harassment and the outcomes of complaints
• the impacts of workplace sexual harassment on those who experience it
• the responses of people who witnessed or heard about sexual harassment in their workplaces, and
• Australians’ levels of awareness of where they can access information about sexual harassment

The 2018 National Survey was conducted both online and by telephone with a sample of over 10,000 Australians. The survey measured people’s experiences of sexual harassment over the course of their lifetimes and within the last five years.