00:02At 19 Heather thought her dream career was off to the perfect start.
00:07In 2024 she got an electrical apprenticeship in regional New South Wales.
00:12It just gave me like stability and hope for the future.
00:17But that all changed when she says she was sexually harassed by her boss
00:21who she alleged made unwelcome advances while working away.
00:25I trusted this guy with my daughter.
00:27Like I did not think that this was going to happen.
00:30The teenager quit the apprenticeship and later filed a workplace complaint
00:33with the Australian Human Rights Commission.
00:36She has since found a new apprenticeship operating heavy machinery.
00:40It's been over a year since we lodged it
00:43and there hasn't been any traction since then.
00:48The Commission is yet to test Heather's claims
00:50which are contested by the business owner.
00:52New figures obtained by the ABC show the Human Rights Commission
00:56received a record 759 complaints under the Sex Discrimination Act last financial year.
01:02That's up 21% on the previous year and double the rate from five years ago.
01:08Complainants waited an average of seven months for their matters to be assigned to a case officer
01:12and 49% of workplace sexual harassment complaints took longer than a year to finalise.
01:18While some state-based anti-discrimination bodies report much shorter wait times,
01:23the Australian Human Rights Commission said complaints continue to outpace its capacity
01:28and that additional ongoing funding is required to reduce delays and improve access to justice.
01:35The federal government points to nearly $50 million in extra support since 2022 to help address backlogs.
01:43For them to make an official complaint about conduct in the workplace takes a lot of courage
01:47and then for them to have to wait 12, 18 months to actually have their case heard,
01:52it's just incredibly distressing for them.
01:54The issue is likely to face fresh scrutiny during the government's upcoming review of the respect at work reforms.
02:01there are a few few things when things are happening to the non-design party that actually happens.
02:02So for them to exceed 12, 18 months, these are the most important and many places where they move up,
02:02they'll speak to themselves that actually have an actual identity of a family member.
02:02They're also a fact that there is a huge issue called a national ability and educational approach
02:02that if they understand the objective of a family member.
02:02So for them to have several questions about starting the same,
02:03they're issues they can help and what to make sure the success of a family member's called family member.
02:03So for them to do the same area,
