Sexual Harassment and Workplace Culture Workshops
Listed are some commonly asked questions about the above workshop.
1. When will the 2023-2024 CPD year workshops be held?
In this CPD year, a number of workshops will be scheduled for new practising certificate holders and those who have not yet attended. These PC holders will be individually notified by email by the Society.
2. If I have already attended why is the condition on my PC again this year?
The requirement to attend this SHWC workshop as a mandatory condition on practising certificates for the 2023-2024 CPD year is included for those who have not previously attended in the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 CPD years. The condition states ‘Unless the holder of this certificate has completed the Law Society of Tasmania Sexual Harassment, Changing Workplace Culture workshop, the holder is to complete the workshop by 30 April 2024.’
3. I didn’t comply with this mandatory PC condition by 30 April 2023 – what should I do?
The Society recommends that you get in touch at your earliest at cpd@lst.org.au. The Society has very much encouraged you to attend your scheduled workshop. You are now obliged to declare non-compliance (by ticking the ‘failed to comply’ box) in the CPD question on your 2023-2024 PC renewal application. Non-compliance declarations in PC renewal applications are generally submitted to the Council of the Law Society for consideration.
4. Can I list CPD points for attending this workshop?
Yes. The CPD guide for this 1.5-hour workshop is: Equality and Wellbeing (EW); Ethics (E).
5. Can I attend another sexual harassment training course instead of this Society’s workshop?
The Council of the Law Society of Tasmania has stated that practitioners with a PC issued by this Society are to attend this particular workshop, which was developed by the Queensland Law Society and licensed to this Society, because it is specifically focusses on the legal profession and thus offers 1.5 hours of focused materials that tends to resonate with this profession. A practitioner can, of course attend any professional development they are interested in, however, for the purposes of compliance with the said condition on their Tasmanian practising certificate it is this Society run workshop that is required to be completed.
6. Who presents these workshops?
The presenter of these workshops is Catherine Scott. Catherine is currently a member of the Wellbeing Committee of the Law Society of Tasmania and is committed to promoting and achieving a healthy and positive work culture in the Tasmanian legal profession. Catherine has undertaken specialised training for this Sexual Harassment and Workplace Culture Training Workshop. Catherine Scott has worked as a lawyer in Tasmania for almost 20 years in both private practice, including as a principal at Page Seager Lawyers and now as Head of Legal at ConMoto Group, and in the public sector as a Federal Court and Administrative Appeals Tribunal Registrar. Catherine specialises in dispute resolution and administrative law, and regularly acts for clients in discrimination and sexual harassment matters. During her time at the Federal Court and Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Catherine mediated many discrimination and sexual harassment matters. Catherine also developed and facilitated the Federal Court’s professional development program and mediation accreditation program.
If you have any queries about this information, please get in touch at cpd@lst.org.au.