By Travis Johnson
Screen Australia has tunveiled its final draft of the proposed Code of Conduct to Assist the Prevention of Sexual Harassment. Once further industry feedback is considered, the Code will go into effect from April 2, 2018, and all Screen Australia productions approved from that date will be required to adhere to it.
On a practical level, this means all production cast and crew members must be made aware of the Code and a trained staff member must be appointed Sexual Harassment Prevention Contact to address any complaints. Code Compliance Report must be submitted at the end of productionconfirming all Code obligations were met.
“The Sex Discrimination Act was enacted in 1984, but that has not stopped sexual harassment occurring in Australian workplaces, including in the screen industry,” said Screen Australia COO Fiona Cameron. “The proposed Code gives visibility to the standards and responsibilities that already exist, and makes it clear that on any Screen Australia production there is zero tolerance for harassment.
“Because the screen industry depends heavily on freelancers and contractors, the Code also gives producers a method of clearly setting an expectation that the workplace must be safe for all, regardless of how people come to work on a production or for how long. We look forward to receiving feedback on the final draft.”
The final draft can be read here.
