Page 1871 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 8 June 2016
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The bill makes refinements to the existing attributes that are recognised as grounds of discrimination. The bill renames these attributes “protected attributes”. A key refinement is to the definition of disability. The bill refines the definition of disability in section 5AA of the act in order to bring it in line with the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992, which also applies to ACT agencies providing education services, for example, through the commonwealth disability standards for education 2005. The key change is recognition that disability can include a disorder or malfunction—
Members interjecting—
MR CORBELL: Madam Speaker, could I ask—
MADAM SPEAKER: Could members be a little respectful and keep their conversations down or take them out of the chamber.
MR CORBELL: Thank you, Madam Speaker. The key change is recognition that disability can include a disorder or malfunction that results in a person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction. This change was recommended by LRAC in response to concerns that conditions such as dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may not have been covered by existing section 5AA(1)(g) which refers to “intellectual disability or developmental delay”.
The definition will also cover malfunctions of a part of the body and the presence in the body of organisms that cause illness. I appreciate that there may be some uncertainty about the scope of this definition, but this is consistent with the approach of Australian discrimination law generally, which defines attributes broadly and then narrows the application of those attributes through exceptions.
For example, there are exceptions in sections 48 and 49 allowing discrimination where there are genuine occupational requirements which cannot be overcome with adjustments without causing significant hardship, or under section 56 where it is reasonable and necessary to discriminate to protect public health or under section 30 where discrimination is required to comply with law.
The definition of disability will also extend to cover disability that a person may have in the future, based on an actual or presumed genetic predisposition to a disability.
Gaps in the law that allowed discrimination by employers and qualifying bodies on the basis of a disability that a person had in the past but no longer has have been closed.
The definition of disability will also incorporate and cover reliance on a support person, such as an interpreter, carer or assistant, who provides assistance to the person because of their disability, as well as reliance on an assistance animal or disability aid.
The bill establishes the Discrimination Regulation 2016, which will provide for the automatic recognition of assistance animals accredited under laws of a state or
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