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Is discrimination because of my carers’ responsibilities against the law?
Which of the people I care for or support are included in this law?
What are my rights in relation to getting work?
What are my rights during employment?
What are my rights in relation to dismissal or threatened dismissal?
What are my rights in relation to harassment?
Victimisation
What can I do if I’m treated unfairly or harassed because of my carers’ responsibilities?
Making a complaint
Is there is a time limit on complaints?
Investigating complaints
Examples of carers’ responsibilities discrimination complaints we have handled

Is discrimination because of my carers’ responsibilities against the law?
In general, yes — but:

• only in relation to employment, and
• only in relation to your responsibility to care for or support particular children and adults (as listed below), not everyone.

• someone thinks that you have a responsibility to care for or support any of the people listed below; or
• you had a responsibility to care for or support any of the people listed below in the past, or someone thinks you did; or
• you will or someone thinks you will have a responsibility to care for or support any of the people listed below in the future.

• Your child — child includes your own child, your stepchild, your adopted child, your foster child and any child you have a legal responsibility for (for example, you are their legal guardian or authorised carer).
• The child of your current or ex (former) husband, wife, de facto opposite sex partner or de facto same sex partner — including their own child, their stepchild, their adopted child, their foster child and any child they have a legal responsibility for (for example, they are their legal guardian or authorised carer).
• Any adult of whom you are the legal guardian.
• Any ‘immediate family member’. This means any of the following:
  • your husband, wife, de facto opposite sex partner or de facto same sex partne;
  • your ex (former) husband, wife, de facto opposite sex partner or de facto same sex partner;
  • your grandchild — including your own grandchild, your stepgrandchild and your grandchild through adoption, fostering or any other legal arrangement;
  • the grandchild of your current or ex (former) husband, wife, de facto opposite sex partner or de facto same sex partner— including your partner’s grandchild, their stepgrandchild and their grandchild through adoption, fostering or any other legal arrangement;
  • your parent — including your own parent, your stepparent and your parent through adoption, fostering or any other legal arrangement;
  • the parent of your current or ex (former) husband, wife, de facto opposite sex partner or de facto same sex partner — including your partner’s parent, their stepparent, and their parent through adoption, fostering or any other legal arrangement;
  • your grandparent — including your own grandparent, your stepgrandparent, and your grandparent through adoption, fostering or any other legal arrangement;
  • the grandparent of your current or ex (former) husband, wife, de facto opposite sex partner or de facto same sex partner — including your partner’s grandparent, their stepgrandparent, and their grandparent through adoption, fostering or any other legal arrangement;
  • your brother— including your own brother, your half-brother, your stepbrother and your brother through adoption, fostering or any other legal arrangement;
  • the brother of your current or ex (former) husband, wife, de facto opposite sex partner or de facto same sex partner — including your partner’s brother, their half-brother, their stepbrother and their brother through adoption, fostering or any other legal arrangement;
  • your sister — — including your own sister, your half-sister, your stepsister and your sister through adoption, fostering or any other legal arrangement;
  • the sister of your current or ex (former) husband, wife, de facto opposite sex partner or de facto same sex partner — including your partner’s sister, their half-sister, their stepsister and their sister through adoption, fostering or any other legal arrangement.

In other words, if you are the best person for the job and you can do all the essential things that the job requires, then you should get the job. Your starting pay and conditions must not be any worse just because you have a carer’s

responsibility, or because you had a carer’s responsibility in the past, or because you may have, or someone thinks you may have, a carer’s responsibility in the future.

In addition, all employers must provide any special arrangements you need to do all the essential things the job requires at the same time as managing your carers’ responsibilities — unless it would cause them ‘unjustifiable hardship’ to do this.

For example, depending on the job, the employer may be able to make any of the following sorts of arrangements without it causing them unjustifiable hardship:

• allow you to work from home some or all days — this may mean that they also need to pay for and provide you with the equipment and facilities to do this (for example, a computer and modem, payment for work phone calls);
• change your start or finish times, roster arrangements, or break times;
• allowing you to work your hours over fewer days;
• allowing you to work part-time instead of full-time, or to job-share with someone else; or
• being flexible with the amount of unpaid or paid leave you can take and when you can take it.

Obviously, there will be times when an employer will be able to say that it would cause them unjustifiable hardship to provide you with what you need. For example, it might be impossible for them to do what you need without seriously harming the business. Or it might cost them more than they can afford.

However, before an employer decides that any particular arrangement would cause them unjustifiable hardship, they must first take into account all the circumstances, including:

• the benefit that you and the workplace generally (including other workers and clients/customers) will get from the special arrangement if they provide it;
• how it will affect you, the person you need to care for or support, and other workers, clients and customers if they don’t provide the arrangement;
• the effect of your responsibilities as a carer; and
• the financial circumstances of the employer and the cost of accommodating your carers’s responsibilities.

In addition, the rules and requirements that you have to follow to do your work must be reasonable. They must not unreasonably disadvantage people with a carer’s responsibility more than people without a carer’s responsibility.

Your employer may also need to provide any special arrangements you need to do the job at the same time as managing your carers’ responsibilities. In general, they can only refuse to do this if it is not reasonable in all the circumstances for them to provide the special arrangements. Examples of the sorts of arrangements that might be possible are listed above in the section called What are my rights in relation to getting work?

• your carers’ responsibilities stop you doing the essential parts of your job properly, and
• it would cause them unjustifiable hardship to make special arrangements for you that would mean that you could do the essential parts of your job.

• when you apply for a job;
• at any time during your employment; or
• when you are leaving a job.

• you have complained to your employer or another person about carers’ repsonsibilities discrimination;
• you have complained to the Anti-Discrimination Board; or
• you have supported someone with a carers’ repsonsibilities discrimination complaint, or acted as a witness in a carers’ repsonsibilities discrimination case.

If what’s happened seems to be against the law, you can try talking to the person or organisation that you think is discriminating against you or harassing you. The organisation may have a policy on these issues and/or a process in place to deal with grievances, and you may be able to address your problem through these channels. You can also get help from other sources such as trade unions.

If talking to the person or organisation involved doesn’t work, or isn’t appropriate, you may decide to make a complaint to the Anti-Discrimination Board. It won’t cost you any money for the Board’s staff to help you, and you don’t need a lawyer.

You can write to us in any language or in braille. If you need assistance to make a written complaint, phone the Board and we can help you or refer you to an organisation that can help you.

We also accept complaints on your behalf from your lawyer, or organisations such as unions and other representative bodies. However the complaint must make it clear that you agree with the complaint being made and you must be named in the complaint. In some circumstances you may also be required to show you consent to the complaint being made on your behalf. If you want to make a complaint on behalf of a child or a person with a disability, contact the Board for more information.

• Complaint form

We treat all complaints confidentially and our services are free. We will need to inform the organisation or person you are complaining about of the complaint. We will not release information about your complaint to anyone else except with your permission or if we are required to by law. It is against the law for anyone to hassle or victimise you because you’ve complained to us.
Most complaints are conciliated. If yours isn’t, you may go to the Equal Opportunity Division of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal which is like a court. It provides a legal judgment that must be followed. However, very few cases need to go to the Tribunal and in some circumstance it’s possible to ask the Tribunal to keep your details confidential.