The head of Australia's Antarctica Division (AAD) has told parliament he did not have internal authority to make cultural change until a damning report revealed allegations of sexual harassment and unwelcome requests for sex.
The AAD is also yet to inquire whether its remote research stations may constitute hostile work environments, in accordance with long-flagged Respect at Work laws that passed federal parliament on Monday.
The release of a subsequent inquiry into the Antarctic program's culture has been delayed until next year, concerning some federal politicians.
"The department has taken some positive steps in response, but action is still too slow and won't be finalised until 2023," Greens senator Larissa Waters told the ABC.
"Antarctica is the ultimate 'fly in fly out' workplace and its remoteness has allowed an unacceptable culture to develop."
AAD director Kim Ellis said he commissioned Professor Meredith Nash to lead a cultural review because it was clear to him from 2019 that "entrenched cultural problems" existed, including "diversity, equity and gender balance".
Professor Nash's report revealed women experienced "a range of harassment including uninvited physical contact or gestures, unwelcome requests for sex, sexual comments, jokes or innuendo, intrusive questions, displays of offensive or pornographic material and sex-based insults or taunts and unwanted invitations".
When the report was released in September, Mr Ellis told the ABC that its findings caused "a level of embarrassment and discomfort" and that it gave the division "real authority to make change in the organisation".
Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson asked Mr Ellis why he didn't feel the division had real authority to make change, given he had already observed entrenched cultural problems from 2019.
"The culture was a self-reinforcing culture," Mr Ellis said.
"The authority I needed was not an external authority, it was an internal authority to actually start to make people talk about these issues."
Mr Ellis said he was "surprised at the scale" of serious allegations made in Professor Nash's report and that it became a discussion point within the division.
"We still have a long journey to go on," Mr Ellis said.
"We recruit 250 people every year into the program, so we are not just trying to change the culture in our organisation we are trying to change the culture of this broader program."
The AAD has agreed to implement all 42 recommendations from Professor Nash, with action taken on some before her report's release.
"We have developed a diversity, equity and inclusion plan that addressed every one of those recommendations and provides measurable outcomes," Mr Ellis said.
"Every one of those recommendations will be addressed and we will be able to report on those to the department, to the minister and the staff."
AAD yet to seek advice on Respect at Work compliance
Mr Ellis told estimates the AAD had not sought advice on whether Antarctic stations would be considered "hostile workplace environments" under new Respect at Work laws.
The legislation requires Australian employers to take proactive and reasonable measures to ensure that workplaces are free of sexual harassment, violence and discrimination.
"Can I make a humble suggestion that you might seek such advice?" Greens senator Larissa Waters asked Mr Ellis during the hearing.
Public servants then clarified the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water had asked for this issue to be considered in a review led by Leigh Russell, a former chief executive at Swimming Australia.
"We have asked Ms Russell to assess what we are currently doing against a range of pieces of best practice, including Respect at Work," deputy secretary Luise McCulloch said.
That report was due to be completed on December 12 but has been delayed due to its "scope and complexity".
Ms Russell is understood to have interviewed around 30 people and the new February 2023 deadline will allow for more consultation.
Senator Waters told the ABC she was alarmed the division hadn't already sought advice itself.
"The Respect at Work Bill is the centrepiece of the government's response to workplace harassment, so I was alarmed to hear that the department has not received any advice about how to comply with its positive duty or to ensure base stations are not hostile work environments under that Bill," Senator Waters told the ABC.
"The government must take immediate action to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone working on its base stations."
