Equal Opportunity
3. Unlawful Discrimination
Authors: Staff Legal Eagle
Firm / Chambers:
Last updated: 22 Jul 2015
- For workplace discrimination to be unlawful it must:
- be in relation to one of the protected characteristics (sex, race, disability or age);
- harm someone or treat them less favourably than people without the protected characteristic through direct or indirect discrimination; and
- not fall within an exemption, exception or special measure.
- The law makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person based on a ‘protected characteristic.’ The following characteristics are protected:
- sex;
- sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status;
- marital status;
- pregnancy or potential pregnancy;
- family responsibility;
- race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin;
- national extraction;
- social origin;
- disability;
- the possession of palliative, therapeutic or auxiliary aids and devices due to a disability;
- accompaniment by an interpreter, reader, assistant, guide dog, assistance animal or carer due to a disability;
- age;
- political opinion;
- medical record;
- criminal record; and
- trade union activity.
- Additional protected characteristics may apply in your state or territory. Please see the following link for a summary of protected characteristics in each state and territory: https://www.humanrights.gov.au/guide-australias-anti-discrimination-laws.
- If you have been discriminated against but not on the basis of one of the protected characteristics then federal equal opportunity law may not provide you with any assistance.
- For example if your employer requires you to work until 6pm each day but you want to leave at 5pm due to a gym class commitment this is not unlawful discrimination. Your gym class attendance is unlikely to relate to a protected characteristic.
- However if you are a breastfeeding mother and your workplace requires you to express milk in the toilets and only during your lunch break this is likely to be unlawful discrimination.
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