A number of federal MPs and senators are yet to complete sexual harassment trainin.

Several federal MPs and senators have failed to complete mandatory sexual harassment training that was implemented in 2021 following the Jenkins review response to claims made by former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who alleged that she was sexually assaulted while working at Parliament House. 

The Jenkins review found that a third of parliamentary staffers had experienced harassment at work, and recommended that staff and politicians receive training on respectful workplace behaviour. However, several politicians have either refused to complete the training or have yet to do so, more than a year after it was first introduced.

Senators Pauline Hanson, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, David Pocock, Gerard Rennick, and Tammy Tyrrell, as well as lower house MPs Sam Birrell, Colin Boyce, Ross Cadell, Zoe Daniel, Cassandra Fernando, Sam Lim, Zaneta Mascarenhas, Melissa McIntosh, Rebekha Sharkie, Marion Scrymgour, Bob Katter, and Andrew Willcox are all absent from the register of training attendees, according to reports. 

At least 10 training sessions have been held since the federal election, and the training has been mandatory for ministers and for members of the Labor party.

When contacted for comment, several of the absent MPs and senators stated that they intended to complete the training soon, but others did not respond. 

Senators Hanson and Rennick stated that they would not complete the training, with Hanson claiming that she was “too old to sexually harass” anyone and had no interest in “complying” with the training. 

LNP senator Gerard Rennick stated that he had completed an alternate training course with a lawyer who specialises in sexual discrimination, which he found to be more useful than parliament's “tick and flick exercise”. 

Senator Pocock's office stated that he was a “strong supporter of the Jenkins review” but had found it difficult to find time for the training due to staffing cuts to offices by the Albanese government.

The course requires politicians and their staff to complete an online training module, as well as separate 1-hour and 2-hour sessions conducted by trainers at PwC for parliamentarians and staff, respectively. 

The registers reportedly indicate that the training has been running since late 2021, and the course was established to address a lack of understanding among political staffers and parliamentarians about how to report or address incidents of bullying, sexual harassment, or assault.