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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…

A guide for employers to support employees with vision impairments in the workplace.

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…

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…

Employers will sometimes set rules regarding the appearance of their employees in the workplace. However, it is important to ensure that any proposed rules that affect people with tattoos do not amount to discrimination. Discrimination is against the law when people are treated unfairly because of a personal attribute that is protected by law, including race, sex and gender identity

It can be discrimination when a person does not experience equal opportunity in employment because of his or her activity in a trade union. This includes being refused a job or dismissed from a job, being refused a promotion, transfer or other benefit associated with employment, given unfair terms or conditions of employment, being refused training opportunities, being refused flexible work …

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…

People who are transgender are protected from discrimination by law. The Sex Discrimination Act makes it unlawful to treat a person less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of the gender-related identity, appearance, mannerisms or other gender-related characteristics of the person. Example: A shop assistant refused to serve a person who identifies and presents as a…

People with disabilities can face significant barriers in many parts of their lives, including getting into and staying in the workforce and accessing public buildings and facilities. The Disability Discrimination Act makes it against the law to discriminate against people with disabilities in many areas of public life, including employment, using goods and services and accessing public…

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…

Discrimination in employment on the basis of religion occurs when someone does not experience equality of opportunity in employment because of their religion. This may include being refused a job, being dismissed from employment, being denied training opportunities or being harassed at work. Discrimination on the basis of religion alone is not unlawful under federal anti-discrimination law …

Sex discrimination explained: unequal treatment based on sex, legal protections, and employer obligations.

The Sex Discrimination Act makes it unlawful to discriminate against someone because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status. Sexual orientation discrimination happens when a person is treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation because he or she has a sexual orientation towards persons of the same sex; persons of a different sex; or persons of…

Sexual harassment is any unwanted or unwelcome sexual behaviour where a reasonable person would have anticipated the possibility that the person harassed would feel offended, humiliated or intimidated. It has nothing to do with mutual attraction or consensual behaviour. Examples of sexual harassment include: staring, leering or unwelcome touching suggestive comments or jokes unwanted…

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…

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…