Will my sexual harassment case be made public?

Many people worry that making a complaint about sexual harassment means their name, their employer’s name, or what happened to them will be shared publicly.

Most sexual harassment complaints never reach a courtroom. Most are dealt with privately, and many are resolved by agreement.

This page explains what stays private, what can become public, and what you can ask for to protect your privacy.

Talk to us before you file anything. Some privacy protections are easier to get at the start of a case than later.

Private processes

These processes are not open to the public. Nothing is published, and there is no public hearing. Private processes include:

Complaining to your employer. This is an internal process.
Conciliation at the Australian Human Rights Commission. This is a confidential process where you and your employer try to reach an agreement with the Commission’s help.
Conciliation at Anti-Discrimination NSW. This is a confidential process under NSW law, similar to the Australian Human Rights Commission.
A conference at the Fair Work Commission. Conferences are generally held privately and are confidential.

Most cases end at one of these stages. Many people never go near a courtroom.

The Industrial Relations Commission

Some workers can take a sexual harassment claim to the Industrial Relations Commission of NSW. This includes people who work in the NSW public sector or for NSW local government.

The Commission starts with a conciliation, which is private. If the conciliation does not resolve things, the Commission can hold a hearing and make a decision. Decisions are usually published.

The Commission has powers to protect your privacy. It can decide to hold things in private or online, keep the parties apart, and leave your case off the public list. You can ask for this, and the Commission can also do it on its own.

If your case does go to court

Australian courts are generally open. This is called open justice – the idea that the public should be able to see how courts make decisions.

That means if your case goes to a hearing, some information can become public. But it does not mean everything you file is published, and it does not mean you have no say.

What can become public

In cases with high public interest, some court documents can be looked at by the public. Media organisations can apply to access documents once they have been filed with the court, but the court decides whether access will be granted. The court can also make orders to restrict access to protect the people involved.

These are mainly the formal documents that set out the case – the application itself, the defence, court orders, and the judge’s decision and reasons.

What is usually protected

Other documents are not available to the public unless the court specifically allows it. This includes:

your affidavit – usually the document with the most personal detail in it
written statements of evidence
written submissions, and
documents produced under subpoena.

You can ask the court to protect your privacy

You can ask the court to make orders that limit what can be published or seen. Depending on your case, that might include:

an order that your name not be published, including in daily court lists
an order that certain information or documents not be published, or
in some cases, permission to use a false name (called a pseudonym) instead of your own.

The court may make these orders automatically, although usually someone must ask. The court will then weigh your privacy against the principle of open justice.

The court does not always agree to these orders. It is still worth asking.

Some protections are much easier to obtain at the beginning of a case than after documents are already on the court file.

If someone asks to see your documents

Sometimes a journalist or a member of the public asks the court for permission to see documents in a case. If that happens in your case:

You will be told. The court contacts the people involved in the case.
You can object, and you can ask for a suppression or non-publication order.
The court makes a decision. The court can say yes, say no, or say yes to only part of it.

You do not have to handle this on your own. Contact us if this happens.

What to remember

A few things worth knowing:

You usually cannot go straight to court. Where you complain first depends on who you work for, and the rules about using more than one place are strict. Starting in the wrong place can close off another option.
Time limits apply at every stage and depend on where your claim is started. See our information page What to do after being sexually harassed.
Court is not the only path, and it is not the most common one.
Get advice about privacy before you start any legal process, not after.

A note on settlements

If your case settles, the agreement may include a confidentiality clause. These can restrict what you are allowed to say afterwards, sometimes permanently.

Get legal advice before you sign anything.

Where to find more information

Related information pages:

Support

If you need an interpreter, call the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450 and ask them to call us.

If you are d/Deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech impairment, contact us through TTY on 133 677, Speak and Listen on 1300 555 727, or Internet Relay via the National Relay Service website.

Need support, not legal advice? Call Full Stop Australia on 1800 385 578, or 13YARN at 13 92 76 if you are First Nations.