The sexual harassment training lesson for employers in Loquias v Star
If you think having a policy and rolling out online training is enough to protect your business from harassment claims, this decision is your wake-up call.
In Loquias v The Star Entertainment Group & Anor [2026] QIRC 23, the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) reinforced a critical point for employers – sexual harassment prevention needs to be real, not just documented.
What happened (in plain English)
An employee was sexually harassed by a colleague, both at work and outside work hours.
The Commission has to consider two key questions:
- Was the employer liable for conduct at a social event?
- Had the employer taken reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace?
Here’s how it landed:
- The employer was not liable for the out of hours incident. This is because there wasn’t a strong enough connection to work.
- But the employer was liable for the workplace conduct. This is because their prevention measures were not effective enough.
The real takeaway: “Reasonable steps” is a high bar
Many employers rely on:
- Policies
- Online training modules
- Periodic compliance refreshers
But this case highlights that having systems isn’t the same as having effective systems.
The Commission found:
- Training content was technically “appropriate”
- But employees weren’t engaging with it meaningfully
- And critically – the employer failed to address a known high-risk individual with prior behaviour issues
Translation > If your controls don’t actually change behaviour, they won’t protect you.
Where employers often get this wrong
1. Treating training as a compliance exercise
If employees are clicking through modules while doing other work, it’s not training, it’s noise.
2. Applying a “one size fits all” approach
The Commission was clear – risk isn’t equal across your workforce.
Employees with prior conduct issues require targeted intervention, not just standard training.
3. Overlooking “known risks”
A previous warning should trigger:
- Increased monitoring
- Clear behavioural expectations
- Stronger consequences
Not a reset back to business as usual.
What about out of hours conduct?
This case gives some helpful clarity:
- Simply knowing each other through work isn’t enough
- There needs to be a real connection to employment for liability to attach
But here’s the nuance (and where the leaders needs to be careful):
- You may not be legally liable
- But you can still (and often should) take disciplinary action
The decision reinforces that managing behaviour and managing liability are two different things.
Practical steps to reduce your risk (and actually protect your people)
This is where we see high-performing businesses do things differently:
1. Make training meaningful
- Facilitate discussion, not just modules
- Use real scenarios relevant to your workplace
- Ensure employees have time and space to engage
2. Identify and manage higher-risk individuals
- Don’t treat prior incidents as “closed”
- Build tailored management plans
- Increase leader visibility
- Ensure your hazard register, risk assessment and prevention plans are updated
3. Move from policy to practice
Ask yourself:
- Do leaders know how to respond in the moment?
- Are behaviours being reinforced daily?
- would your culture stand up under scrutiny?
4. Don’t ignore grey areas
- Social events
- Client functions
- Team celebrations
Even where liability is uncertain, expectations should be crystal clear.
The commercial reality
Cases like this aren’t just legal risks. They are brand risks, culture risks, reputational and retention risks. And increasingly, they’re leadership capability risks.
Because at the centre of every one of these cases is the same question – did the business genuinely take this seriously?
If your current approach to sexual harassment prevention is:
- A policy in a folder
- A training module every two years
- A hope that “it won’t happen here”
….. it’s time to rethink that approach.
Because the bar isn’t whether you have done something, it’s whether you have done enough, in the right way, for your people.
Need a sense-check on your approach?
At UPP HR, we help businesses move beyond compliance and build practical, commercially sound people strategies.
If you would like a fresh set of eyes on your current approach, or want to strengthen your leaders’ capability in this space, we’d love to support you, reach out to us here.