Australians have been given more time to contribute to a national inquiry into sexual harassment in workplaces, after some companies agreed to partly waive confidentiality agreements.
The Commonwealth Bank, Medibank and Rio Tinto are among 13 organisations that have agreed to limited waivers of non-disclosure agreements that emerged from sexual harassment settlements.
The waivers will allow people to make confidential submissions to the inquiry, being led by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins.
Ms Jenkins called for organisations to commit to such waivers last month, in an effort to get a greater insight into sexual harassment at workplaces, and those who heeded her call are now listed online.
The NSW and Queensland public service are part of the group, along with VicHealth, Telstra, the grain growers corporation CBH Group and law firm Clayton Utz.
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"We know non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) can be beneficial, enabling all parties to put the unpleasantness of a dispute behind them," Ms Jenkins said on Tuesday.
"But we can't fully understand the experience of the full complaint process, including negotiating resolutions that include NDAs, without access to the experience of people - complainants and respondents - who are subject to them."
The deadline for submissions to the inquiry has been extended by a month to the end of February.
The sex discrimination commissioner said it's not too late for other organisations still considering limited waivers to commit to them.
"We encourage any employers interested in taking part to contact the national inquiry team as soon as possible," she said.
The national inquiry was launched in June, as the #MeToo movement continued to reverberate throughout the world.
It's intended to be a step towards reducing sexual harassment in Australian workplaces, while ensuring it is dealt with appropriately when it does occur.
One-in-three Australians were sexually harassed at work in the past five years, according to Australian Human Rights Commission's fourth survey into the issue, published in September.
The inquiry will consider what drives workplace harassment, the use of technology including social media and existing practices to deal with he problem.
It will also draw on economic modelling to establish what sexual harassment is costing individuals and businesses.
