StateĮach state and territory has its own legislation, though they broadly overlap in their application and language (this is due, in large part, to the standardising effect of the federal laws described above). One of the Act’s many consequences was the 1985 integration of the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service into the Royal Australian Navy. The legislation’s passage was spearheaded by the politician Susan Ryan, who introduced it in 1983, when she was one of only 19 women in federal parliament (which then had a total of 189 members).
Sexual harassment is also prohibited under this Act. The Sex Discrimination Act makes it unlawful to discriminate in employment on the basis of sex, marital or relationship status, pregnancy or potential pregnancy, breastfeeding, family responsibilities, sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status. Section 18C contains the controversial language that prohibits “racial hatred, defined as a public act/s likely to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate on the basis of race, is also prohibited under this Act unless an exemption applies.” Sex Discrimination Act 1984 This law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin and in some circumstances, immigrant status. The Disability Discrimination Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of physical, intellectual, psychiatric, sensory, neurological or learning disability, physical disfigurement, disorder, illness or disease that affects thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgement, or results in disturbed behaviour, and presence in body of organisms causing or capable of causing disease or illness (e.g. This 1992 Act followed the first of five key UN conferences during the 1990s and standardised the various laws created by Australia’s state legislatures, allowing it to become, in 2007 a principal signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability. The broadest of the federal laws, this Act gives the Australian Human Rights Commission the authority to investigate discrimination in employment or occupation as it relates to race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction, social origin, age, medical record, criminal record, marital or relationship status, impairment, mental, intellectual or psychiatric disability, physical disability, nationality, sexual orientation, and trade union activity. Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986
This Act ensures that nobody is treated less favourably on the basis of their age not only in the workplace, but also with regards to education, accommodation and the provision of goods and services. The Federal Government’s online guide for the business community () stipulates that it is unlawful for employees or jobseekers to be disadvantaged as a result of any of the following:Įqual opportunity employment legislation in Australia FederalĪt the national level, equal opportunity employment falls within the domain of the Australian Human Rights Commission, which investigates complaints related to the following acts of federal legislation: Age Discrimination Act 2004 Equal opportunity law aims to promote everyone's right to equal opportunities eliminate, as far as possible, discrimination and sexual harassment and provide redress for people whose rights have been breached. Discrimination is treating, or proposing to treat, someone unfavourably or bullying them because of a personal characteristic protected by law. However, the basic idea remains the same and is well-expressed in the following definition provided by the state government of Victoria:Įqual opportunity means that every person can participate freely and equally in areas of public life such as in the workplace, in education, or in accessing goods and services. What is equal opportunity?Īs we will see in the next section, the idea of equal opportunity is enshrined by different state and federal laws that vary slightly in their language. Broadly speaking, these laws are oriented around the concept of ‘equal opportunity’, which holds that employees and jobseekers are not to be penalised for any inappropriate reasons. As a graduate in Australia, there are various legal frameworks designed to ensure that you can pursue your career goals without being unfairly disadvantaged on account of traits such as your race and ethnicity, gender, religious affiliation, age, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or degree of able-bodiedness.