Building A Fair Code Of Conduct For Multicultural Film Sets

A film set brings together people with different languages, cultural norms, religious practices, professional traditions and ideas about authority. Those differences can strengthen a production, yet they can also create confusion about acceptable behaviour when deadlines are tight and decisions move quickly. A well-designed code of conduct gives everyone a shared standard for safety, respect and accountability.

For Australian productions, the document must work across feature films, television, animation, documentary and digital projects. It should reflect workplace law, union expectations, cultural safety and the practical realities of a crew moving between studios, public locations and remote regions. The strongest code is short enough to use during a production meeting, specific enough to guide behaviour, and supported by a reporting process people trust.

Define The Purpose And Scope

Begin by stating why the code exists. Its purpose should be to protect dignity, support safe collaboration, prevent harassment and discrimination, and establish professional expectations for everyone involved in the production. It should apply to cast, crew, producers, financiers, contractors, interns, visitors, agents, suppliers and post-production teams.

The code should cover behaviour on set and wherever work-related relationships continue. That includes rehearsals, travel, accommodation, production offices, green rooms, wrap parties, online meetings, group chats and social media connected with the project. A complaint about a threatening message in a production WhatsApp group should not fall outside the policy simply because it was sent after hours.

Make the scope clear for multicultural and international co-productions. A visiting department head, an Australian freelancer and a local community liaison may have different expectations about punctuality, hierarchy, eye contact or direct criticism. The code should establish common professional standards without suggesting that one cultural style is inherently correct.

Use plain English and provide translated or accessible versions where needed. A short verbal briefing, captioned video or illustrated summary can reach workers who are uncomfortable with lengthy legal language. A producer should also explain that respect does not require agreement, and that cultural difference cannot be used to excuse intimidation, exclusion or unsafe conduct.

Build The Standards With The Team

A code written solely by senior producers may sound polished while missing the pressures experienced by assistants, performers, drivers, location staff and junior crew. Consult representatives from key departments before final approval. Include people with varied cultural backgrounds, genders, ages, disability experiences, employment arrangements and levels of authority.

A practical workshop can identify situations that need clear guidance. Ask participants to consider jokes about accents, unwanted touching during blocking, religious dietary requirements, racist language disguised as banter, pressure to drink at a wrap event, and a supervisor contacting a junior worker late at night. The purpose is not to create an exhaustive list of offences; it is to make expectations recognisable in ordinary working conditions.

Australian productions should include local voices and local obligations. In Sydney or Melbourne, a large international crew may work alongside casual workers hired through several agencies. A production in Brisbane, Perth or regional New South Wales may depend on local suppliers and community contacts. On Country, consultation with Traditional Owners and observance of cultural protocols should be built into planning rather than treated as an optional courtesy.

For projects involving African, Pacific, Asian or other international partners, agree how cultural and religious observances will be handled. The code might address prayer times, fasting, modesty, food restrictions, language support and culturally appropriate forms of address. The principles should be consistent, while reasonable adjustments can reflect the people and place involved.

Set Clear Behavioural Boundaries

Effective wording describes conduct rather than relying on vague appeals to professionalism. State that bullying, sexual harassment, racial abuse, vilification, threats, stalking, discrimination, victimisation and deliberate exclusion are prohibited. Include misuse of power, such as offering work in exchange for sexual attention or threatening a person’s future employment after they raise a concern.

Explain that consent is required for physical contact, including demonstrations, photographs, costume fittings and intimacy work. Productions involving nudity or simulated sex should use an intimacy coordinator where appropriate, private changing arrangements, documented boundaries and a process for stopping a scene. A person’s silence, previous consent or participation in an earlier take is not automatic consent for a new action.

The policy should address language and humour without banning ordinary conversation. Teasing becomes unacceptable when it targets a protected attribute, reinforces a stereotype, humiliates someone or creates an intimidating environment. Workers should be expected to challenge harmful conduct safely, report it, or seek help rather than being required to confront a senior colleague directly.

Digital conduct needs its own paragraph. Sharing behind-the-scenes images, private information, scripts, costume photographs or recordings may breach confidentiality and personal privacy. A production can require permission before posting identifiable material, prohibit sexualised messages and make clear that abusive conduct in a group chat is a workplace issue.

Align The Code With Australian Duties

A code of conduct does not replace legal compliance. Producers should have the document reviewed against the Fair Work Act 2009, applicable awards and enterprise agreements, and the relevant work health and safety or occupational health and safety legislation. Australia’s safety framework is not identical in every jurisdiction: Victoria operates under its own Occupational Health and Safety Act, while other states and territories generally use versions of model WHS laws.

The code should connect respectful conduct with safety management. Psychological hazards can arise from bullying, sexual harassment, unreasonable workloads, discrimination, isolation and poor supervision. The person responsible for production safety should know how behavioural complaints interact with incident reporting, risk assessments, fatigue controls and emergency procedures.

Sexual harassment duties also require serious attention. The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 includes positive duties for organisations and businesses to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sex discrimination, sexual harassment and related conduct as far as possible. Producers should document prevention steps, train managers and avoid assuming that an informal apology resolves a serious matter.

Employment status should not determine access to protection. Casual workers, freelancers, unpaid interns, volunteers and contractors may be especially reluctant to report misconduct because they fear losing the next booking. The code should state that retaliation is prohibited and explain how concerns can be raised when the alleged offender is the producer, director, head of department or principal financier.

Industry bodies and unions can help test the policy against real working conditions. The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, state screen agencies and specialist advisers may provide useful guidance, while legal advice is important for complex complaints. A production working across several countries should also identify which law, contract terms and reporting route apply to each location.

Create A Trusted Reporting Process

People need to know what happens after they report a concern. Set out several reporting channels, such as a trained producer, designated welfare officer, HR contact, union representative or independent hotline. At least one option should sit outside the direct chain of command, particularly where the complaint involves a director or senior executive.

Describe the process in accessible stages. A trained contact should listen without promising a particular outcome, record the essential facts, assess immediate safety and explain available options. Serious allegations may require an independent investigation, legal advice, police involvement or referral to specialist support. The process must protect confidentiality as far as possible while making clear that absolute secrecy cannot always be guaranteed.

Language access matters. If a worker is more comfortable speaking another language, arrange an interpreter who is independent and bound by confidentiality. Do not use a friend, romantic partner or direct supervisor to translate a sensitive complaint. Some people may also need Auslan interpretation, captioning, a support person or a trauma-informed interview arrangement.

Set response times without guaranteeing a predetermined result. A person might receive acknowledgement within one business day, an initial safety assessment within a short defined period, and regular updates during a formal process. Keep secure records, limit access to those who need the information, and retain documents according to privacy, employment and legal requirements.

The reporting section should distinguish between low-level conflict and serious misconduct. A disagreement about a creative decision may be addressed through facilitated discussion. Threats, sexual harassment, violence, discrimination or retaliation require a more formal response. The code should never force mediation where it would create further risk or pressure the affected person to meet the alleged offender.

Make Accountability Visible

A code becomes credible when leaders demonstrate it in ordinary decisions. Producers and directors should arrive prepared, use respectful language, explain changes without humiliation and take breaks seriously. If a star performer, financier or department head breaches the standard, the response should be consistent with the response applied to a junior worker.

Include a range of consequences: a private correction, formal warning, removal from a set, changed reporting lines, suspension, termination of a contract or referral to authorities where appropriate. Avoid publishing private details as a warning to others. Accountability can be visible through the action taken and the consistent application of the rule, while personal information remains protected.

Training should happen before the first day of shooting and be refreshed when the crew changes. A short induction can cover the code, emergency contacts, cultural protocols, consent, reporting routes, fatigue and digital privacy. Department heads need extra guidance because they control access to work and can either prevent or intensify harmful behaviour.

For productions involving several organisations, assign responsibility in writing. Stakeholder management becomes especially important where producers, broadcasters, platforms, investors and public funders have different procedures. Guidance on managing production stakeholders can help co-production teams clarify authority, communication and escalation before a dispute affects the shoot.

Measure whether the system works. At wrap, gather anonymous feedback on psychological safety, inclusion, reporting confidence and the usefulness of the induction. Review complaints, near misses, turnover and repeated concerns by department without exposing personal details. Update the code after each production cycle rather than leaving it unchanged in a policy folder.

Turn The Document Into Set Practice

The final version should be short, prominent and easy to use. Put it in call sheets, crew portals, onboarding packs and production office displays. Include emergency contacts, welfare contacts and reporting routes in a format that can be read quickly on a phone. A signed acknowledgement can confirm that workers received the code, but a signature should never be treated as proof that training or understanding occurred.

A production can reinforce the standards through daily habits: a respectful morning briefing, clear meal and rest breaks, private spaces for sensitive conversations, accurate pronunciation of names and a safe method for raising concerns during a long night shoot. Small signals matter. A crew member who sees a producer stop a discriminatory joke or adjust a schedule for a genuine cultural need learns that the policy has practical force.

For Australian teams, the best approach combines national consistency with local awareness. A Sydney sound stage, a Melbourne studio, a remote Western Australian location and a community-based shoot in Queensland may require different logistics, yet the core expectations remain stable: dignity, safety, consent, fair treatment and accountability. Producers working across borders can also draw on professional networks such as Africa Film Producers to strengthen standards and exchange workable approaches.

Before pre-production begins, appoint one trained code-of-conduct lead, consult representatives from every major department, and circulate the final two-page policy with its reporting contacts to the entire crew.