Vitality Works Australia Pty Ltd v Yelda (No 2)

Vitality Works Australia Pty Ltd appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of the primary judge concerning allegations of sexual harassment. The dispute arose from Vitality Works' engagement of a contractor to design, publish, display, and distribute a poster featuring a captioned photograph of the respondent, Ms Yelda, at her workplace. Ms Yelda alleged this conduct constituted sexual harassment under the *Anti-Discrimination Act 1977* (NSW).

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the conduct complained of constituted "other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature" as defined by the Act, and whether the parties involved qualified as "workplace participants" for the purposes of the relevant provisions. The appeal also involved a question of law concerning the application of these provisions to the facts as found by the primary judge.

The Court granted leave to appeal on several grounds but ultimately dismissed the appeal. The reasoning focused on the interpretation of "other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature" and the definition of "workplace participants" within the *Anti-Discrimination Act 1977* (NSW). The Court found that the primary judge had correctly applied the law to the facts, and therefore, the appeal on the substantive grounds failed. Consequently, Vitality Works was ordered to pay Ms Yelda’s costs of the application for leave to appeal and the appeal itself.