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Back to index Table of Contents Foreword Chapter 1 - Introduction 1.1. Nature and Scope of this Publication 1.2 'HREOC' and the 'Australian Human Rights Commission' 1.3 What is 'Unlawful Discrimination'? 1.3.1 ‘Unlawful discrimination’ defined 1.3.2 Distinguishing ‘unlawful discrimination’ from ‘ILO 111 discrimination’ and ‘human rights’ under the HREOC Act (a) ‘ILO 111 discrimination’ (b) …

Federal Discrimination Law is produced by the Commission's Legal Section and examines the significant issues that have arisen in federal unlawful discrimination cases. It provides a comprehensive coverage of decisions in the jurisdiction as well as highlighting a range of relevant issues of practice and procedure.

It also considers the provisions of the Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cth) (‘ADA’, see Chapter 2) in relation to which, at the date of publication, there have only been a limited number of cases.

The ADA commenced operation on 23 June 2004. At the date of publication there have been a limited number of cases in which the ADA has been considered[1] and there has not yet been a successful claim of unlawful age discrimination. This chapter therefore focuses on the background to the legislation and its significant features as well as highlighting some similarities and differences with other…

The RDA was the first Commonwealth unlawful discrimination statute to be enacted and is different in a number of ways from the SDA, DDA and ADA. This is because it is based to a large extent on, and takes important parts of its statutory language from, the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.

The definitions of discrimination include both direct and indirect discrimination, with the exception of the definition of discrimination on the ground of family responsibilities, which is limited to direct discrimination.

The DDA covers discrimination on the ground of disability, including discrimination because of the use of a therapeutic device or aid, accompaniment by a carer or assistant or accompaniment by an assistance animal.

The procedure for making complaints of federal unlawful discrimination is set out in Part IIB of the HREOC Act.[1] That procedure can be summarised as follows.

(4) If the court concerned is satisfied that there has been unlawful discrimination by any respondent, the court may make such orders (including a declaration of right) as it thinks fit, including any of the following orders or any order to a similar effect:

There are no specific provisions relating to costs in unlawful discrimination proceedings before the Federal Magistrates Court (‘FMC’) and Federal Court. The courts have a general discretion to order costs under the provisions of the Federal Court Act 1976 (Cth) (‘the Federal Court Act’) and the Federal Magistrates Act 1999 (Cth) (‘the Federal Magistrates Act’)…

Archive Back to index Federal Discrimination Law 2005 Federal Discrimination Law 2004

Launch Speeches President John von Doussa QC speech - audio download [8MB MP3] Hon Justice Susan Crennan speech [13MB MP3] Photos John von Doussa QC and Hon Justice Susan Crennan browsing Federal Discrimination Law Hon Justice Susan Crennan speaking at the launch Audience at the launch of Federal Discrimination Law

Federal Discrimination Law 2005 provides an overview of significant issues in federal unlawful discrimination law. It examines the jurisprudence that has been developed in relation to:

The ADA commenced operation on 22 June 2004. At the date of publication there has been no decided case of unlawful age discrimination under the ADA. This chapter sets out the background to the legislation and its significant features as well as highlighting some similarities and differences with other federal unlawful discrimination laws that may be relevant to its interpretation and application.1

The RDA was the first Commonwealth unlawful discrimination statute to be enacted and is different in a number of ways from the subsequent SDA, DDA and ADA. This is because it is based to a large extent on, and takes important parts of its statutory language from, the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination ('ICERD').1

The definitions of discrimination include both 'direct' and 'indirect' discrimination, with the exception of the definition of discrimination on the ground of family responsibilities, which is limited to direct discrimination.

The DDA covers discrimination on the ground of disability, including discrimination because of the use of a therapeutic device or aid;1 accompaniment by a carer or assistant;2 or accompaniment by an assistance animal.3

Part IIB of the HREOC Act sets out the provisions governing the procedure for federal unlawful discrimination matters.1 That procedure can be summarised as follows:

If the court concerned is satisfied that there has been unlawful discrimination by any respondent, the court may make such orders (including a declaration of right) as it thinks fit, including any of the following orders or any order to a similar effect:

There are no specific provisions relating to costs in unlawful discrimination proceedings before the FMC and Federal Court. The courts have a general discretion to order costs under the provisions of the Federal Court Act 1976 (Cth) and the Federal Magistrates Act 1999 (Cth).1