Industrial Relations Act 1996

An employer or industrial organisation must not victimise an employee or prospective employee because the person—

is or was a member or an official of an industrial organisation of employees or otherwise an elected representative of employees, or

does not belong to an industrial organisation of employees or holds a certificate of conscientious objection to becoming a member of an industrial organisation of employees, or

engages or proposes to engage in industrial organising activities, or

refuses to engage in industrial action or another industrial organising activity, or

participates or proposes to participate in proceedings relating to an industrial matter, or

exercises or proposes to exercise functions conferred under this Act, or

has a role or responsibility under industrial relations legislation or an industrial instrument, or

engages in or proposes to engage in a public or political activity, unless it interferes with the performance of the employee’s duties, or

is entitled to a benefit or claims a benefit to which the person is entitled under industrial relations legislation or an industrial instrument, or

is entitled to a benefit or claims a benefit—

under either or both of the following—

the Workers Compensation Act 1987,

the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998, or

in relation to other entitlements for a workplace injury, or

has a characteristic protected from discrimination under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977, or

makes a complaint or inquiry—

about the person’s employment, or

to a public authority about the person’s employer, including about matters other than about the person’s employment, or

makes a complaint about a workplace matter that the person considers is not safe or a risk to health or exercises functions under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, Part 5, or

informs a person of an alleged breach by an employer of industrial relations legislation or of an industrial instrument, or

informs a person of an alleged breach of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 by an employer, or

informs a person of or gives evidence in relation to a notifiable occurrence within the meaning of the Rail Safety National Law (NSW), or

informs a person of or gives evidence in relation to a breach or alleged breach of the Dangerous Goods (Road and Rail Transport) Act 2008 or the regulations under that Act, or a provision of a law of another State or Territory that corresponds to that Act or those regulations, or

reports a matter relating to the safety or reliability of railway, bus or ferry operations to the Chief Investigator, within the meaning of the Transport Administration Act 1988, or a person employed in the Transport Service, or

assists the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal or Scheme Administrator in the exercise of its functions under the Electricity Supply Act 1995.

The matters referred to in subsection (1)(m)–(s) do not limit the kind of complaint or inquiry referred to in subsection (1)(l).

Subsection (1)(j) does not apply to matters concerning the dismissal of an employee to which the Workers Compensation Act 1987, Part 8 applies.