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Rights and Freedoms14 December 2012Project
Prisoners Rights
Prisoners, just like all other people, are entitled to enjoy their human rights. Prisoners can make complaints to the Commission about human rights breaches and discrimination that occurs in prison. -
Rights and Freedoms14 December 2012Project
The Human Rights of Rural Australians
Every person in Australia, regardless of who they are or where they live, is entitled to respect for and protection of their human rights. People living in remote, rural and regional Australia often find it harder to fully enjoy their human rights because of their location. -
Employers19 February 2015Quick Guide
Vicarious Liability
Employers can be held legally responsible for acts of discrimination or harassment that occur in the workplace or in connection with a person’s employment. This is known as ‘vicarious liability.’ For example, employers can be held vicariously liable for discrimination and harassment that occurs at: employer-sponsored events, such as seminars, conferences and training workshops work-related… -
Employers19 February 2015Quick Guide
Vision Impairment
A guide for employers to support employees with vision impairments in the workplace. -
Employers19 February 2015Quick Guide
Work-related events
An employer can be liable for acts of discrimination or harassment, including sexual harassment, that occur in the workplace or in connection with a person’s employment. This is called ‘vicarious liability’. It means that employers can be liable for acts by their employees that occur at work-related events, such as conferences, training workshops, business trips and work-related social… -
Employers19 February 2015Quick Guide
Working Hours
Offering employees flexible working hours, like other flexible work arrangements, is a way to create a productive workplace that is free of discrimination. In some circumstances, a rule that requires all employees to work certain hours can be indirect discrimination as it may have an unfair effect on some groups of people, such as people with disabilities, women who are pregnant or… -
Employers19 February 2015Quick Guide
Training
Training for both employers and employees is a key aspect of preventing discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Organisations and employers can undertake training to better understand how they can prevent discrimination and harassment in their workplace. They can also provide training for staff on their rights and responsibilities regarding discrimination and harassment in the… -
Employers19 February 2015Quick Guide
Social Media
Social media postings can be against the law if they discriminate against, harass, bully or racially vilify a person. Discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favourably than another person because of a particular attribute they have. Harassment or bullying can amount to discrimination in some circumstances. Inappropriate posts, comments or content shared on social media can… -
Employers19 February 2015Quick Guide
Special Measures
Special measures aim to foster greater equality by supporting groups of people who face, or have faced, entrenched discrimination so they can have similar access to opportunities as others in the community. Special measures are sometimes described as acts of ‘positive discrimination’ or ‘affirmative action’. They are allowed under federal anti-discrimination laws. The Sex Discrimination Act… -
Employers19 February 2015Quick Guide
Recruitment
Every organisation aims to recruit the best person for the job. That’s why it is important to be able to select from the widest possible range of applicants. Recruitment processes that are discriminatory reduce an employer’s opportunity to find the best person for the job. Employers who are recruiting staff should be aware of their responsibilities under federal anti-discrimination laws… -
Employers18 February 2015Quick Guide
Questions in Job Interviews
Asking applicants certain questions in a job interview may disadvantage some people and could amount to discrimination. Employers are required by law to avoid discrimination when recruiting staff. Employers should not seek unnecessary and potentially discriminatory information from applicants when they develop selection criteria or prepare interview questions. It could be discrimination if … -
Employers18 February 2015Quick Guide
Job Advertisements
How a position is advertised is crucial to attracting the right sort of people for the job. A good advertisement will focus exclusively on the essential skills and abilities needed to do the job. Only refer to personal characteristics, such as age, sex, marital status or race, if they are part of the genuine requirements of the job. A discriminatory advertisement can limit the range of… -
Employers18 February 2015Quick Guide
Gender Equality
Women experience inequality in many areas of their lives. At work, women face a gender ‘pay gap’ and barriers to leadership roles. Many encounter reduced employment opportunities because of the time they give to family and caring responsibilities. Sexual harassment and gender-based violence also threaten women’s basic right to feel safe and respected at work, in public, in places of study… -
Employers18 February 2015Quick Guide
Flexible Work Arrangements
A growing number of organisations recognise that flexible work arrangements are vital to the successful recruitment and retention of their employees. Flexible work arrangements can also help employers meet their obligation to avoid discrimination against employees with disabilities, older employees and employees with family responsibilities. Flexible work arrangements can include: changing… -
Employers18 February 2015Quick Guide
Dress Code
Employers often set rules regarding how their employees are expected to dress in the workplace. Employers should ensure that any dress code they propose does not amount to discrimination. Discrimination is against the law if a person is treated unfairly because of a protected characteristic, such as his or her race, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status… -
Employers18 February 2015Quick Guide
Direct Discrimination
Understanding Direct Discrimination. Learn about unlawful treatment based on protected characteristics. -
Employers13 February 2015Quick Guide
Criminal Record
Obtain information and practical guidance on how to prevent criminal record discrimination in the workplace. -
Employers13 February 2015Quick Guide
Complaints – Internal Complaints Processes
Establishing a process to resolve complaints of discrimination and harassment can improve staff satisfaction and help avoid complaints to external agencies or other legal action. Under federal anti-discrimination laws, if an organisation argues that the organisation should not be held liable for any discrimination or harassment by one of its employees, the organisation will need to… -
Race Discrimination30 March 2017Speech
Graduation speech: Moral courage
Speech given at University of South Australia Graduation Ceremony Check against delivery It is wonderful to be joining you this afternoon. To all those who will be graduating very shortly, my warmest congratulations to you. And my congratulations as well to the proud families of graduands. In America, they refer to graduation as a commencement ceremony. The idea being that the occasion wasn… -
Rights and Freedoms7 November 2014Opinion piece
The government should fix two free-speech obstacles together: 35P and 18C
The Abbott government should correct the festering sores of 35P of National Security Legislation and 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act together. Since the passage of Section 35P of the National Security Legislation Amendment Bill a number of journalists have decried the threat to free speech of jailing someone for revealing the details of an ASIO special intelligence operation. Their…