Equal Opportunity Laws in Australia Help to Protect Employees from Discrimination and Harassment

1. Equal Opportunity Laws in Australia Help to Protect Employees from Discrimination and Harassment Over the past 30 years, the Commonwealth Government and the state and territory governments have introduced Equal Opportunity Law in Queensland to help protect employees from discrimination and harassment. Queensland is Australia’s third-most- populous state. Equal opportunity laws in Australia are covered under both federal and state legislation and are designed to promote diversity in the workplace. Employers are required to implement these laws to create a workplace free from unlawful discrimination and harassment. Employees of different age group, gender, ethnicity, physical ability, work experience, educational background, religious belief, sexual orientation, and much more are included under this law. It is important that employers should understand their rights and responsibilities under these laws. Implementation of these equal opportunity laws at workplaces within an organization is necessary to minimize the risk of these claims for an employer. Age Discrimination Act 2004 has statutory responsibilities under this law. This law is operating at a federal level and the Australian Human Rights Commission. What is Age Discrimination? Age discrimination occurs because of the age of a person who is treated less favorably than another person in the same capacity. For instance, an older applicant may not be considered for a job because of the presumption that s/he is not up to date with technology as compared to a younger applicant. This is a direct discrimination while

2. indirect discrimination happens when there is a policy for everyone but has an unfair effect on employees of a particular age. Under the Age Discrimination Act, all citizens – young or old have protection that the equal opportunity laws in Australia provide and are treated equally irrespective of their age. The act protects people against discrimination in many areas of public life, such as – Employment – Getting a job, terms and conditions of a job, training, promotion, dismissal Accommodation – Renting or buying a house Education – Study in a particular course at a private school, college or university Using Banking and insurance services, services provided by government departments, transport or telecommunication services, doctors, services provided by restaurants, shops or entertainment venues and much more.