Inquiry into the Disability Discrimination and Other Human Rights
Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Information about the Inquiry
On 4 December 2008 the Senate referred the
provisions of the Disability Discrimination and Other Human Rights
Legislation Amendment Bill 2008 to the Standing Committee on Legal and
Constitutional Affairs for inquiry and report.
This bill amends the Disability Discrimination Act
1992 (the Act) to implement recommendations made by the Productivity
Commission in its 2004 review of the Act. The bill also implements the House
of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs’
recommendation to remove the ‘dominant purpose’ test from the Age
Discrimination Act 2004 (Older People and the Law, 2007), and makes
various other amendments to the human rights legislation going to the
general operation of human rights law in Australia.
Key amendments to the Act include those that seek to:
- make explicit that refusal to make reasonable
adjustments for people with disability may also amount to discrimination;
- make the defence of unjustifiable hardship available
in relation to all unlawful discrimination on the ground of disability,
except harassment and victimization;
- clarify matters to be considered when determining
unjustifiable hardship;
- clarify that the onus of proving unjustifiable
hardship falls on the person claiming it;
- make clear that the definition of disability
includes genetic predisposition to a disability and behaviour that is a
symptom or manifestation of a disability;
- replace the ‘proportionality test’ in the definition
of indirect discrimination with the requirement to prove that the
condition or requirement imposed has the effect of disadvantaging people
with the disability of the aggrieved person;
- shift the onus of proving the reasonableness of a
requirement or condition in the context of indirect discrimination from
the person with disability to the respondent, and
- extend the power to make standards under the Act.
The bill also seeks to assist people with assistance
animals and service providers by recognising animals accredited either under
a State and Territory law or by a relevant organisation, and by clarifying
each party’s obligations. The bill also consolidates the provisions in the
Act relating to carers, assistants and aids, and addresses the issues raised
by the Full Federal Court in Forest [2008] by clarifying that
discrimination on the basis that a person possesses or is accompanied by a
carer, assistant or aid, is discrimination on the basis of disability.
The bill also includes proposed amendments to the
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986. This implements
the Government’s decision to change the name of the Human Rights and Equal
Opportunity Commission to the Australian Human Rights Commission. Other key
amendments to that Act include the extension of the period within which a
person can take a terminated complaint to the Federal or Federal Magistrates
Court from 28 days to 60 days, and a number of amendments to improve the
efficiency of the complaints handling process, such as allowing the
President of the Commission to finalise a complaint where the complainant
expresses no intention to pursue the matter.
The reporting date for the inquiry is 24 February 2009.
The Committee invites written submissions by Monday,
12 January 2009. Submissions should be sent to:
Committee
Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
Department of
the Senate
PO Box 6100
Parliament
House
Canberra ACT
2600
Australia
The committee
encourages the lodgement of submissions in electronic form. As the
secretariat is in the process of implementing a new system for lodging
submissions via the Parliament's website, you will find a link to submit
online in the box below. Alternatively, intending submitters requiring
further information could also contact the secretariat before lodging your
submission.
Notes to assist in preparing submissions are available
from the website
https://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/wit_sub/index.htm or telephone
the secretariat on 02 6277 3560, fax: 02 6277 5794, or e-mail at the above
address.
Once the committee accepts your submission, it becomes
a confidential committee document and is protected by Parliamentary
Privilege. You must not release your submission without the committee’s
permission. If you do, it is not protected by Parliamentary Privilege. At
some stage during the inquiry, the committee normally makes submissions
public. Please indicate if you want your submission to be kept confidential.
Inquiries from hearing and speech impaired people
should be directed to the Parliament House TTY number (02 6277 7799). Adobe
also provides tools for the blind and visually impaired to access PDF
documents. These tools are available at:
http://access.adobe.com. If you require any special arrangements in
order to enable you to participate in a committee inquiry, please contact
the committee secretary.
For further information, contact:
Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia
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