Online abuse in the workplace – worker information

If you or a colleague experience online abuse in your workplace, like bullying or harassment including sexual harassment, it’s not OK. You have the right to be safe at work.

Your employer is responsible for your health and safety at work. This also applies to protecting you from online abuse.

Online abuse uses digital platforms, services, technologies or devices to bully, harass, threaten, intimidate or humiliate someone. The behaviour is sometimes known as ‘technology-facilitated abuse’ or ‘tech-based abuse’.

Online abuse can come from anyone you’re connected with, including colleagues, managers, customers, clients or suppliers. It can happen onsite, while you’re working from home or from another remote location. It can also impact your life outside of work hours. 

Wherever and whenever online abuse happens, it’s never acceptable and should not be considered part of your job. 

On this page:

• How does online abuse happen at work?
• What to expect from your employer
• What if online abuse happens to me?
• How to report online harm
• How can I protect myself?
• What if I am accused of online abuse?
• Resources 

Online abuse can happen between staff while in the workplace or working from home or another remote location.

It can take place via:

• workplace technology and communication tools (for example, telephone calls, texts, emails, business social media, and collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Slack and WhatsApp)  
• personal devices and accounts (for example, social media, online chat and messaging services).

It can include bullying someone, so they feel harassed, threatened, intimidated, or humiliated. It can also include sexual harassment. 

Anyone can experience online abuse in the workplace, but some people are more likely to be affected including women, young people, workers with a disability, people in insecure working arrangements such as casuals, or those on temporary visas.

If you think about certain behaviours you’ve seen in the workplace – things like online teasing or name calling may seem minor, but they can escalate into serious harm if they continue or spread widely in the workplace. Other examples such as encouraging violence through online posts, cyberflashing and sharing intimate or sexual photos or videos without the consent of the person shown, are serious from the outset.

Online abuse can cause psychological and physical harm to the person targeted, interfere with their ability to get work done or even cause them to resign from their job. It can also cause harm to people who witness the abuse.

It’s why your employer should provide information and training about how to respond if you or a colleague are experiencing online abuse at work, and how to report it.

You can see more examples of the behaviours that are unsafe on our page about Workplace bullying and harassment.  

Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is any form of sexual conduct that is unwelcome (or becomes unwanted), offensive or threatening - whether it’s physical, verbal, written or implied. It can happen online and is sometimes called ‘technology-facilitated sexual harassment’ or ‘tech-based sexual harassment’. 

Sexual harassment is covered by WHS laws as it is a workplace hazard that can cause psychological and physical harm. (The Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act 1984 [SDA] also places a positive duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment in all its forms.)

Online sexual harassment includes creating an uncomfortable work environment.

Other examples include sharing sexually offensive images or jokes online, displaying pornography on a device or screen, and sending repeated messages asking someone to go on a date. This behaviour may still count as online sexual harassment even if it happens outside work hours but is connected to your job. Some actions may also be criminal and reportable to police, such as indecent exposure and obscene or threatening communications online.

Workplace sexual harassment is a form of gender-based violence and covers a range of behaviours that create a risk of harm through work.

For example, a person may be targeted with subtle hostile comments about their ability to do their job based on gender or looks or be harassed to go on dates or be sent unwanted texts and messages of a sexual nature.

Women are at particular risk of experiencing gender-based harassment both off and online. (See here for Who is at risk.)

'It is still sexual harassment. It’s just delivered through a different medium...

'It’s no less important, or the experience of it is no less meaningful or awful, simply because it happens through your phone or through Facebook from one of your colleagues.' – Australian National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS)

Employers should have policies and procedures for dealing with online abuse that are easy to find and follow. Your employer must also consult with you and your health and safety representatives (HSRs) about any health and safety matters affecting you. You should feel free to raise concerns, and your employer cannot discriminate against you for doing so.

Your employer should provide:

• a safe physical and online working environment
• clear workplace policies that outline acceptable behaviour for workers, clients, suppliers and customers
• systems and procedures to prevent and deal with online abuse
• information on what online abuse can look like, including bullying and sexual harassment
• information and training about what to do if online abuse happens, whether you’re the person targeted or a witness
• a user-friendly process to report online abuse, including formal, informal, confidential or anonymous options
• information about available support services following an incident. 

As a worker, you also have a duty to take reasonable care of your own health and safety. You don’t have to tolerate online abuse or sexual harassment. It’s important to talk to someone you trust and get support from if it happens to you, like a colleague, supervisor, HSR, or even a family member or friend.

Here are some key steps you can take to care for your health and safety and that of others.  

Speak up

• If it’s safe, tell the person to stop. Make it clear their behaviour is inappropriate, unwelcome and offensive. If you feel unsafe or uncomfortable talking to this person, bring someone else to the conversation. 
  If talking to the other person is not an option or doesn’t work, talk to your supervisor or manager about next steps. Reporting abusive behaviour early can stop it from escalating and improve your wellbeing.
• If your supervisor or manager is the person harassing you, take your concerns to someone more senior, an HSR or someone responsible for human resources.
• Check your organisation’s policy on workplace bullying and harassment to understand any specific processes you should follow.
• If you prefer to speak to someone outside your workplace, you can contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 for support.

Collect evidence

• Keep a record of the abuse. This could be useful evidence for reporting the issue to your employer, the platform used to abuse you, or to eSafety.  
• Gather digital evidence such as screenshots, voicemails and other records as proof of what’s happened – it’s important to do this before blocking the other person’s account so you don’t lose any evidence. But don’t save or share nudes or sexual images or videos of anyone under 18, or any other illegal or restricted content.
• Include information such as:
  • the web page address (URL), or the name of the social media platform, messaging service, website or other app
  • the other person’s user profile or account name
  • the date and the time any online abuse was sent, posted or shared
  • proof of any reports you’ve made about it to the online platform or service or to the police.
• It’s also useful to record details in a diary, such as what happened, when, who was involved, what was said, how it made you feel, and who witnessed it (a co-worker who witnessed the incident may be willing to back you up).
• For more information on how to collect evidence, including how to take screenshots, see how to collect evidence.  

Report to your employer

• If you decide to make a report, first check your workplace policies for reporting incidents. These should outline how your complaint about the abuse will be handled and what support services are available to you.
• Seek support from an HSR or get legal advice.
• Online abuse and harassment can be stressful and overwhelming. Ask your employer about available support and counselling services.
• In some situations, you have the right to stop or refuse work if you have a reasonable concern there would be a serious risk to your health or safety. Notify your employer as soon as possible. If work is stopped due to a workplace hazard or risk; you must be available for other suitable work. Usually, your HSR will need to consult with your employer before work is stopped.

Can another government agency help?

Depending on the situation, some government agencies might be able to help.

• Your WHS regulator can investigate if a business is not meeting its WHS obligations to provide a safe working environment.
• The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) or your state or territory anti-discrimination agency can help with cases of sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination.
• If you have been discriminated against for raising a health and safety issue, contact the WHS regulator or the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Details for these government agencies are provided in Resources.

Visit Safe Work Australia for more information about your rights at work.  

Report to the Police

If you are in Australia and in immediate danger or at risk of harm, call police on Triple Zero (000). Some forms of sexual harassment are crimes. If you feel unsafe, receive threats, or fear harm to yourself, friends or family members, you can contact the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 (Australia wide). 

If you or someone experiences serious online abuse, help is available.

In addition to referring to your workplace’s policies and procedures, you can take the following steps to report serious online abuse and have harmful content removed.

Download eSafety’s quick guides on adult cyber abuse, image-based abuse, and cyberbullying.

If you’re experiencing online abuse, here are steps you can take to protect yourself:

• Update your privacy and security settings across all your online accounts, ensuring strong passwords and two factor authentication is enabled. The eSafety Guide includes advice on how to update your privacy and security settings.
• If possible, take a break from the platform or service by logging out or temporarily deactivating your account.
• Limit direct messages to people you follow or trust.
• Adjust notification settings to reduce who can reach you directly.
• Use conversation controls in your account to manage who can reply to your posts, hide, ignore or mute abusive users, and block them after gathering evidence.
• Mute conversations containing certain words or phrases on platforms such as Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube. These and other apps allow you to do this (check The eSafety Guide for more advice on how to set this up).
• For image-based abuse cases, you can block your intimate image or video from being uploaded to some social media platforms by creating a digital ‘fingerprint’ (or ‘hash’) without sharing the actual image.
  • If you’re under 18, you can use takeitdown.ncmec.org – a free online tool that prevents your image or video being shared on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Yubo, OnlyFans and Pornhub.
  • If you’re 18 or older, you can use StopNCII.org – a free online tool that prevents your image or video being shared on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Bumble, OnlyFans and Reddit. 

What if I decide not to report?

There are many reasons someone might not want to report online abuse, such as:

• fear that things might get worse
• concerns that others will think they are overreacting
• worry about losing their job or being labelled a troublemaker
• belief that the abuse is part of the job or workplace culture
• concerns that their complaint will be ignored or not handled sensitively
• fear they will be blamed for the incident
• worry that the abuser has more power at work, especially if they are a supervisor or manager.

There is no right or wrong approach. Only you know what feels comfortable for you. Before making your decision, take time to review your workplace policies and talk to a trusted friend or counsellor. 

If you are accused of harmful behaviour:

• remain calm and listen carefully to the concerns
• co-operate with any requests to stop the behaviour
• do not intimidate or further abuse or harass the person who complained
• reflect on your behaviour, adjust what you are doing and be open to feedback
• follow any reasonable instruction given by your employer to comply with WHS policies.

Seek help from someone you trust and consider professional counselling to understand the issues, address the matter, and manage your responses. You might seek advice from an HSR, a workplace delegate or obtain your own legal advice. 

Workplace bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment, reporting, referral and support services. These organisations offer advice and support if you’re experiencing online abuse in the workplace. 

eSafety

In addition to referring to your workplace’s policies and procedures, you can report serious online abuse and have harmful content removed to eSafety. 

Report online harm

Note: Remember to obtain consent if you are taking any action on behalf of someone else who may be experiencing online abuse. 

WHS regulators

Your WHS regulator can help if you’d like to report a workplace incident, including online abuse, and provide advice on how WHS laws apply to you. The WHS regulator can investigate breaches of the WHS laws.

SafeWork NSW

WorkSafe Victoria

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland

SafeWork SA

WorkSafe WA

WorkSafe Tasmania

NT WorkSafe

WorkSafe ACT

Comcare

Fair Work Ombudsman

The Fair Work Ombudsman investigates cases where workers have been treated unfairly because they reported workplace abuse.

T: 13 13 94

Fair Work Commission 

The Fair Work Commission Provides information about workplace bullying and harassment.

T: 1300 799 675

Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Investigates discrimination and human rights complaints, including complaints of sexual harassment under the Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act 1984. Other options include a relevant state or territory anti-discrimination body. A solicitor advocate or union can also make a complaint to the AHRC on a worker’s behalf.

T: 1300 656 419

Email: infoservice@humanrights.gov.au

Police

Anyone in immediate danger or at risk of harm can seek help from emergency services, including the police. Reports can be made to the Police Assistance Line if there is no immediate danger present. 

T: Triple Zero (000)

T: 131 444

The information on this page was developed by Safe Work Australia and eSafety. 

_{Disclaimer: Please note, this is general information only and should not be regarded as legal advice that is tailored to your situation. You may wish to seek further advice on managing the risks of online abuse from the business or organisation that employs you, your industry peak body or union, or a lawyer who specialises in employee issues or work, health and safety (WHS) matters.}