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It is against the law to discriminate against a woman because she is pregnant or might become pregnant. Pregnancy discrimination happens when a woman is treated less favourably than another person because she is pregnant or because she may become pregnant. It is also discrimination when there is an unreasonable requirement or practice that is the same for everyone but has an unfair effect on…

In some circumstances, employers can require employees and potential employees to meet the physical requirements of a job. However, physical requirements can amount to unlawful discrimination in some circumstances. Discrimination could be against the law if it is linked to a protected attribute, such as a person’s race, age, sex or disability, and the requirement is not reasonable. Example:…

A guide for employers to understand the rights of employees with mental illness.

Guidelines for employers about parental leave.

Some organisations include a medical assessment as part of their recruitment process to gather additional information that will be used to select the successful candidate. However, it is important that employers do not discriminate against any candidate when using this information. It is against the law to refuse to employ a person based on information from a medical examination that…

Organisations often have rules regarding the appearance of their employees in the workplace. Employers should ensure that any proposed rules that allow or prohibit jewellery to be worn in the workplace do not amount to discrimination. Rules about wearing jewellery could amount to discrimination if they impose different requirements for different groups of people, such as men and women…

Identified positions are positions where an employer may identify that a position is to be filled only by a person with a particular attribute. This might mean an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander applicant, a person with a disability, a person of a particular sex or a person of a particular age. Identified positions help people who experience disadvantage to access equal opportunity in …

Hearing impairments can be covered by the Disability Discrimination Act. The Act makes it against the law to discriminate against a person because of disability. There are some limited exceptions and exemptions. It is not unlawful to discriminate against an employee on the basis of their disability if the person cannot perform the inherent requirements of a job after reasonable adjustments…

The Sex Discrimination Act makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person because of their gender identity. There are some limited exemptions. Gender identity discrimination happens when a person is treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of that person’s gender-related identity, appearance, mannerisms or other gender-related characteristics of the…

If a complaint of discrimination or harassment is made to the Australian Human Rights Commission, the complaint may be resolved through a process known as ‘conciliation’. Conciliation is an informal, flexible approach to resolving complaints. The Commission tries to help everyone involved in the complaint to understand the issues and find a solution that is acceptable to everyone. We do not…

Caring responsibilities can include caring for young children, for children or adults with disabilities, mental illness, chronic illness, or for older people. Many employees will have caring responsibilities at different times in their lives. Employers have an obligation to avoid discrimination against carers in some circumstances. Under the Sex Discrimination Act, it is against the law for …