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The Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee is conducting
an inquiry into Victorian laws that discriminate or may lead to
discrimination against any person.. The focus of the inquiry is
Victorian Acts and Regulations.
In Victoria, the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 is the Act that prohibits
discrimination on the basis of various attributes or personal characteristics,
for example a person’s age, sex, race, impairment or religious
belief. These are only a few of the attributes.
In some circumstances discrimination is not unlawful. This is
where there is good reason for the discrimination. An example of
this is where the discrimination is designed to promote equal opportunity
for people with special needs, for women or people with impairment
or who are elderly.
Under the Equal Opportunity Act something will not be unlawful
discrimination if it is done to comply with another law. This is
the focus of the Committee’s Inquiry. The Committee has been
asked to consider the policy reasons for such laws and to make recommendations
for keeping the laws, changing them or repealing them.
The Discussion Paper explains discrimination law, the different
types of discrimination, that it can be direct and indirect, as
well as the attributes. Exemptions and exceptions are also explained.
Wherever possible this has been done by also giving case examples.
The Committee welcomes responses to the Discussion Paper and input
into the Inquiry.
Lily D’Ambriosio MP
Chairperson |