A NEW anti-discrimination Bill has been introduced in the Legislative Assembly aimed at preventing systematic discrimination.
The Discrimination Amendment Bill 2022 requires organisations to take reasonable and proportionate steps to end discrimination, sexual harassment and unlawful vilification before it happens, shifting the responsibility away from individual complainants.
Human Rights Minister Tara Cheyne said this change was about prevention.
“It’s about creating an environment where discriminatory treatment and problem behaviour is unlikely to happen in the first place,” said Cheyne.
She said the proposed reforms included expanding the Discrimination Act 1991 to more areas of life where discrimination was unlawful – covering sporting activities, competitions and the administration of ACT government policies – refining exceptions to unlawful discrimination relating to employment, workers in private homes, insurance and superannuation providers and religious bodies, and introducing a positive duty to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate a person’s protected attribute.
News all day, every day at CityNews.com.au.
Who can be trusted?
In a world of spin and confusion, there’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in Canberra.
If you trust our work online and want to enforce the power of independent voices, I invite you to make a small contribution.
Every dollar of support is invested back into our journalism to help keep citynews.com.au strong and free.
Thank you,
Ian Meikle, editor
Leave a Reply