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Do I have to admit to my potential employer that I have a disability or impairment?

I have a prosthetic lower leg but no-one ever realises unless I tell them or they see me without my trousers on. That is not going to happen if I am working in an office. Can I keep my secret or do I have to tell them the truth?
Asked in Newcastle - Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, NSW, 24-11-2015
1 Lawyer Answered
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  1. Anti-Discrimination
Lawyer Answers (1): Answers from lawyers are general preliminary responses. They are not formal legal advice and cannot taken account of all your circumstances. They do not create a lawyer–client relationship.

Answer by Kate Dodgson of [author’s firm]:

  • In some circumstances you may be legally obliged to disclose your disability or impairment to your employer.

  • It could also be more embarrassing for you to have to admit it at a later date or it could put you in danger. For example they might not know that you are unable to use a certain type of fire stair safely.

  • Under the various anti-discrimination acts they are prohibited (forbidden) from using that information in any way that discriminates against you.
  • They cannot make the assumption that because of your disability you cannot perform the job.

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