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Where am I now? Lawlink > Law Reform Commission > Publications > Appendix A: Draft Anti-Discrimination Bill 1999 - Chapter 3
Report 92 (1999) - Review of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW)
Appendix A: Draft Anti-Discrimination Bill 1999 - Chapter 3
16 Irrelevant characteristics
(1) For the purposes of this Act, the irrelevant characteristics of a person are any of the following, namely, his or her:
(a) race,
(b) sex,
(c) domestic status,
(d) disability,
(e) sexuality,
(f) transgender status,
(g) political opinion,
(h) religion,
(i) age,
(j) carer responsibilities, including family responsibilities.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, the irrelevant characteristics of a woman, in addition to those specified in subsection (1), are any of the following, namely, her:
(a) pregnancy,
(b) ability to become pregnant,
(c) involvement in breastfeeding.
(3) For the purposes of this Act, an irrelevant characteristic of a person includes:
(a) an inherent attribute that commonly appertains to persons having a particular irrelevant characteristic specified in subsection (1) or (2), although it may not be unique to those persons, and
(b) an attribute that is commonly imputed to persons having a particular irrelevant characteristic specified in subsection (1) or (2).
Examples.
(1) An inherent attribute that appertains generally to women is the capacity to breast-feed children, although not all women of all ages have it.
(2) An inherent attribute that appertains generally to a race is sickle cell anaemia because, though not unique to one racial group, it is relatively common among African Americans and very rare among other peoples.
(3) Lack of formal education, though it may be more common among some groups than others, is not an "inherent attribute." However, it may be an attribute that is commonly imputed to a particular group.
(4) For the purposes of this Act, an irrelevant characteristic of a person (the second person) includes a characteristic specified in subsection (1), (2) or (3) that another person (the first person) believes the second person has, had, may have or may have in the future.
17 Special characteristics
(1) For the purposes of this Act, the special characteristics of a person are either or both of the following, namely, his or her:
(a) disability,
(b) carer responsibilities, including family responsibilities.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, the special characteristics of a woman, in addition to those specified in subsection (1), are any of the following, namely, her:
(a) pregnancy,
(b) potential pregnancy,
(c) involvement in breastfeeding.
18 Definitions of irrelevant characteristics
(1) In this Act:
carer responsibilities means the responsibilities of a person on whom another person is substantially dependent for ongoing care, attention and support (including financial, physical or emotional support) as a result of a significant personal relationship.
disability means:
(a) total or partial loss of a person's bodily or mental functions or of a part of a person's body, or
(b) the presence in a person's body of organisms causing or capable of causing disease or illness, or
(c) the malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of a person's body, or
(d) a disorder or malfunction that results in a person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction, or
(e) a disorder, illness or disease that affects a person's thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment or that results in disturbed behaviour.
domestic status means a person's status of being:
(a) single, or
(b) married (including in accordance with traditional laws and customs of indigenous Australians), or
(c) married but living separately and apart from one's spouse, or
(d) divorced, or
(e) widowed, or
(f) in cohabitation with another person in a domestic relationship other than marriage.
family responsibilities means the responsibilities of a person on whom a relative of the person is substantially dependent for ongoing care, attention and support (including financial, physical or emotional support).
political opinion means a belief or opinion concerning:
(a) the nature and purpose of the state, or
(b) the distribution and use of state power, or
(c) interactions between the state and individuals, bodies or groups in the community.
race includes colour, nationality, descent and ethnic or national origin.
recognised transgender person means a person the record of whose sex is altered under Part 5A of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 or under the corresponding provision of a law of another Australian jurisdiction.
relative of a person (the first person) means:
(a) another person who is related to the first person by blood, affinity, adoption or fostering, and
(b) a spouse of the first person or another person with whom the first person is cohabiting in a domestic relationship, and
(c) a person related by blood, affinity, adoption or fostering to the spouse or other person referred to in paragraph (b).
religion includes:
(a) holding particular religious beliefs, including traditional spiritual beliefs of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders, or
(b) engaging in particular religious practices, including traditional spiritual practices of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders.
religious practice means a ritual, custom or observance (that does not contravene the criminal law) related to the holding of a religious belief, including communal activities engaged in through membership of or in association with a particular religious institution or church.
sexuality means:
(a) heterosexuality, and
(b) homosexuality and lesbianism, and
(c) bisexuality.
transgender status means being:
(a) a recognised transgender person, or
(b) a person who:
(i) identifies as a member of the opposite sex by living or seeking to live as a member of the opposite sex, or
(ii) has identified as a member of the opposite sex by living as a member of the opposite sex, or
(iii) being of indeterminate sex, identifies as a member of a particular sex by living as a member of that sex.
(2) A reference to a doctrine, tenet or belief of a religion includes any doctrine, tenet or belief accepted by a substantial body of adherents of that religion.
19 Carer and family responsibilities
The operation of this Act in relation to carer responsibilities, including family responsibilities, is limited to the area of work.
20 Sex of recognised transgender persons
For the purposes of this Act, the sex of a recognised transgender person is the sex of the person as altered and not the person’s former sex.
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