Anti-discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity Law

Abstract

The importance of Equal Employment Opportunity and Anti- Discrimination Legislation [19.10] Anti- discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) legislation are primarily underpinned by Australia’s international conventions to which it has become a signatory, such as the International Bill of Human Rights. Australia was one of 51 nation States that founded the United Nations and one of only eight countries to have been involved in the drafting of the Universal Declara-tion of Human Rights which was adopted by the United Nations in 1948. Since that time, the United Nations has had a mixed history in terms of influence on world events, however, instruments such as its International Bill of Human Rights have influenced political systems and rights on all continents, including Australia; reflected in legislation enacted across State, Territory and federal jurisdictions. The EEO and anti- discrimination legislation attempt to provide a baseline of acceptable behav-iour in the workplace for both employers and employees. EEO legislation focuses on trying to pro-vide equality of treatment in employment, most pertinently, requiring large employers to report on EEO targets as outlined below. Anti- discrimination legislation focuses on ensuring formal equality (equality of outcome), providing rights and remedies not recognised by the common law alone. Therefore, with anti- discrimination being the major focus of this chapter, it is important to note at this early stage, that for discrimination to be recognised as being unlawful by the various bodies (Commission, Tribunals and Courts), it must be based on an attribute (AKA “ground”) covered by the State, Territory or federal legislation; if the treatment (AKA “conduct”) is not based on an attribute (“ground”), no claim of unlawful discrimination can exist.