Wednesday, 17 May 2023

 David LIMBRICK (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:38): (217) My adjournment matter today is for the attention of the Attorney-General and is related to transparency around exemptions granted under section 89 of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010. After attending the Let Women Speak rally a couple of months back, I have been paying more attention to the interaction of different laws and how they manage any conflicts between rights. The Equal Opportunity Act allows for a mechanism to apply for an exemption to parts of that act. In researching the nature of exemptions granted, it was notable that even though staff in my office were attempting to understand Victorian laws, they accidentally stumbled across a helpful list published on the New South Wales anti-discrimination website. The laws are quite similar, but in New South Wales they at least have some data transparency. There is a full list published there, and interested people can easily understand which organisations are exempt and why.

My office contacted the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission to ask if there was a similar list in Victoria but did not receive a reply. In Victoria there does not seem to be an easy list for people to view. You have to search through the Government Gazette and find each single application. It is interesting when you go through them. There are various applications for schools so they can remain gender balanced, whatever that means these days. There are exemptions for military contractors as they have requirements under laws in other jurisdictions related to national security matters. There are various laws for women’s organisations and a couple to allow for discrimination based on age. It is useful information, and it should be clearly published in a way that is easy to understand. My request for the Attorney-General is to work with the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission to ensure that a list of organisations that have been granted exemptions under the Equal Opportunity Act is published and publicly available.