This table is current to 8 January 1993. Please note that exceptions to discriminatory conduct included in the various Acts have not been taken into account in the preparation of the Table.

Key to abbreviations of legislation used in Table

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UNLAWFUL ACTS/PROHIBITED CONDUCT AND GROUNDS OF DISCRIMINATION¹

AREAS OF OPERATION	Criminal Record (Irrelevant)10	Employer Association	Failure to accommodate special needs	Failure to notify of intention to discriminate11
General Prohibition3			NT TAS
Access to Premises	TAS
Access to Vehicles	TAS
Accommodation	NT TAS	NT
Administration of laws
Application forms
Clubs4	NT TAS	NT
Community service
Disposition of land	TAS
Education	NT TAS	NT
Facilities5	NT TAS	NT
Goods and Services5	NT TAS	NT
Insurance	NT TAS	NT		SA
Local Government	TAS
Municiple Councils	TAS
Request for information
Sport
Superannuation	NT TAS	NT		SA
Work6	NT TAS WA (sca)12	NT

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1. This table includes grounds of discrimination that are prohibited in specific areas of operation as well as unlawful acts that are generally prohibited in all areas of operation (see note 3). Some unlawful acts are expressly treated as criminal offfences in certain jurisdictions. The unlawful acts/offences included in the Table are those that relate specifically to discrimination. Unlawful acts in relation to the Act’s enforcement mechanisms and exceptions to the prohibited discriminatory conduct have not been included in the Table.

2. Although discrimination on the grounds of AIDS/HIV status is not specifically prohibited in any jurisdiction, the definition of disability/impairment in some jurisdictions is wide enough to include such discrimination. In the Cth (DDA) "disability" is defined to include "the presence in the body of organisms causing disease or illness". The "impairment" provisions in the ACT, VIC, QLD and NT Acts and the TAS Bill are substantially the same. In WA, complaints from persons who are HIV antibody positive can be made under the ground of impairment, as held in the case of Hoddy v Corrective Services (1992) EOC 92-397. In SA and NSW, although AIDS related complaints are accepted under the ground of impairment, the adequacy of the respective definitions to do so is in doubt, but has not been tested to date. See also note 17 below.

3. The prohibition operates generally in all areas and is not restricted to specific areas of operation only. However, some prohibitions operate generally as well as in specific areas.

4. Although most discrimination legislation contains provisions covering "clubs", the type of club covered (ie for instance, whether registered, sporting or social) varies ineach jurisdiction, based on the definition provided in the particular Act. For instance, only registered clubs are covered in NSW; in the ACT only clubs that hold a licence under the Liquor Act 1975 are covered.

5. The meaning of "goods and services" and "facilities" in most discrimination legislation is very broad. Most Acts define the scope of the terms in their interpretation section to include access to premises and vehicles, insurance, local government and municipal councils. See for instance, the definition of "services" in VIC and WA and in the TAS Bill. However, some jurisdictions deal with these areas independently of "goods and services".

6. In most jurisdictions "work" includes discrimination against applicants and employees, commission agents, contract workers, certain partnerships, employment agencies and trade unions.

7. Discrimination of the ground of association generally means association with a person who has one or more of the attributes for which discrimination is prohibited. However, in WA, discrimination on the basis of association is prohibited only in relation to the following grounds

- impairment - in all the areas nominated

- race in all areas except sport, and

- age only in the areas of access to places and vehicles, goods and services, facilities and accommodation.

9. In SA, QLD and WA similar provisions have been passed, but are not yet in operation. In SA, the provision will come into effect on 1 June 1993; in QLD, 30 June 1994; and in WA, 9 January 1995.

10. In the TAS Bill, the prohibition is against discrimination on the ground of "criminal record".

11. In SA a person who discriminates (legally) on the basis of actuarial or statistical data must notify the person who has been discriminated against of this fact.

12. In WA, discrimination on the ground of a spent conviction (that is, a criminal conviction which has been declared spent by a Supreme Court judge or Commissioner of Police after a certain period of time) is unlawful in the area of employment under the Spent Convictions Act 1988 (WA).

13. The ground of "family responsibilities" envisages a wider range of responisbilities, such as those associated with caring for aparent, than the ground of parental status which is limited to responsibilities arising out of parental status only. See also the ground of "Parent/Carer/being childless" in the Table.

14. Racial harassment was recently included in WA. See also note 29.

15. In VIC sexual harassment will amount to discrimination. In NT harassment will amount to discrimination for all prohibited grounds of discrimination. The NSW Act does not deal specifically with sexual harassment. However, in the case of O'Callaghan v Loder (1984) EOC 92-023, the Equal Oppportunity Tribunal held that sexual harassment amounts to unfavourable treatment within the meaning of the Act. That is, sexual harassment amounts to discrimination on the ground of sex which is prohibited under the Act. SA makes the failure to prevent sexual harassment an unlawful act in some circumstances.

16. In QLD, homosexuality is included within the ground of "lawful sexual activity". In the ACT, NT and SA it is included within the ground of "sexuality". In the TAS Bill it is included within the ground of "sexual orientation". See also note 25 below.

17. The definition and scope of impairment/disability varies from Act to Act. The Cth (DDA) defines "disability" to include physical and intellectual disability and mental illness. See also note 2 above. NSW and SA make provision for both physical and intellectual impairment, while the other jurisdictions have a general impairment provision. In the TAS Bill, discrimination on the ground of mental or phychiatric disability is specifically prohibited. See also note 19 and 24 below.

18. In the Cth (SDA), ACT, NT, QLD, NSW, SA and WA Acts and the TAS Bill, discrimination against de facto spouses is included within the ground of marital status. In VIC, marital status and the status of being a de facto spouse are include in the definition of "status".

19. Some Acts, such the Cth (DDA) and VIC include past and imputed disability/impairment within the definition of disability/impairment. In such jurisdictions, it may be argued that, although discrimination on the basis of medical record is not expressly prohibited, it is covered by the prohibition of past or imputed impairment/disability.

20. In the ACT, the status of "being childless" is not specifically included as a ground. See also note 13 above.

21. In NSW pregnancy is not a separate ground but is specifically included in the Act as a characteristic appertaining to discrimination on the ground of sex. In VIC it is not specifically included as a characteristic appertaining to sex in the Act; however, the Victorian Equal Opportunity Board has followed other jurisdictions in holding that pregnancy is a characteristic relating to the female sex: see Smith v Frankl (1991) EOC 92-362.

22. The term "race" is not comprehensively defined in any legislation. All the Acts define race to include colour, nationality and ethnic and national origin. QLD, the ACT and WA include descent, while QLD and the TAS Bill also include ancestry. The Cth (RDA) includes immigration in most cases.

23. The Cth (RDA) does not have a specific provision prohibiting discrimination in relation to administration of lawsm community service, education, local government, municple councils or sport. However, a general provision exists (s 9) which prohibits any act of racial discrimination "which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of any human rights and fundamental freedoms" referred to in Article 5 of the International Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. One of the relevant rights is the right to education and training. A board protection against racial discrimination is thereby provided in the area of education. The same applies to the other areas included on the basis of s 9.

24. Most Acts cover discrimination on the basis of being accompanied by a guide dog within the ground of disability/impairment discrimination, rather than as separate ground. In SA, separating a blind/deaf person from his/her guide dog is also a criminal offence.

25. Sexuality is worded differently in the various Acts. The ACT and NT refer to "sexuality" while the TAS Bill referred to "sexualorientation". QLD refers to "lawful sexual activity". The SA and NT Acts define "sexuality" (and in Tasmania, "sexual orientation") to mean heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality or transexuality. In the ACT, "sexuality" refers to heterosexuality, honosexuality and bisexuality. In NSW only discrimination on the ground of homosexuality is prohibited. See also note 16 above.

26. The prohibition of discrimination on the ground of sex in sport in the Cth (SDA) only applies to children under 12 years of age and in relation to referees and umpires. It applies to persons over 12 years of age only if "strength and stamina" are not relevant considerations in competitive sporting activities. Similar limitations exist in other jurisdictions are dealt with by way of exceptions.

27. "Social status" is defined in the TAS Bill to include "the class or level of society to which a person belongs and the person's occupation, source of income, level of education, social origin and residential locality".

28. Transsexuality is not a separate ground in NT, SA and the TAS Bill but is expressly included under sexuality.

29. In WA the offences relating to racist harassment and incitement to racial hatred are contained in the Western Australian Criminal Code. On 8 January 1993 the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA) was amended to prohibit racist harassment in certain areas of operation. See "Harassment - Racial" in the Table.