Page 1872 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 8 June 2016
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territory or otherwise trained to meet appropriate standards of hygiene and behaviour by a body recognised for that purpose. The bill maintains liability for damage caused by a person’s assistance animal or disability aid.
The recognition of reliance on assistance animals, disability aids or support people as a facet of disability moves the Discrimination Act towards a more social understanding of disability, where barriers to the accommodation of the needs a person has because of a disability can be as debilitating as the disability itself.
The definition of gender identity is updated consistent with the work done to implement LRAC’s Beyond the binary report. Religious conviction is separated from political conviction, making two distinct attributes. The definition of political conviction is broadened to include not having a political conviction, belief, opinion or affiliation, or not engaging in political activity. The definition of religious conviction is broadened to include not having a religious conviction, belief, opinion or affiliation or not engaging in religious activity. The definition also includes the cultural heritage and distinctive spiritual practices, observances, beliefs and teachings of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
In addition to the refinements, a number of new protected attributes are brought into the bill in an expanded section 7. The new attributes include accommodation status, employment status, genetic information, immigration status, intersex person status, irrelevant criminal record, physical features, record of sex being altered, and subjection to domestic and family violence. Each attribute covers characteristics that are associated with it or attributes that the person has had in the past or was presumed to have.
The bill makes it unlawful to generally discriminate on the grounds of a person’s accommodation status, recognising that people who are living in impermanent housing situations are vulnerable to being denied access to goods and services. For example, a health clinic might refuse to admit a patient if the person does not have a fixed home address. The bill includes an exception providing that it is not unlawful to discriminate on the basis of a person’s accommodation status in providing accommodation or access to goods or services if the discrimination is reasonable having regard to all relevant factors.
The bill also includes a new exception applying in the areas of accommodation, providing goods or services or making facilities available to provide that it is not discrimination only because a person charges for the accommodation, goods, services or facilities.
There is also an exception allowing consideration of a person’s employment status in arrangements for employment, as long as consideration of that status is reasonable, having regard to all relevant factors. The bill makes it unlawful to generally discriminate on the grounds of a person’s employment status. The bill defines employment status as being unemployed, on a pension or other social security benefit, receiving compensation or being employed on a part-time, casual, temporary, shift or contract basis.
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