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The DDA covers discrimination on the ground of disability, including discrimination because of the use of a therapeutic device or aid, accompaniment by a carer or assistant or accompaniment by an assistance animal.

The Australian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) welcomes the opportunity to make this submission to the National Human Rights Consultation (the Consultation).

The Australian Human Rights Commission (the Commission)[1] welcomes the opportunity to make this Submission to the Australian Government Review of the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 (Cth) (the EOWW Act) and the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (the EOWA).

The RDA was the first Commonwealth unlawful discrimination statute to be enacted and is different in a number of ways from the SDA, DDA and ADA. This is because it is based to a large extent on, and takes important parts of its statutory language from, the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.

I refer to the Questions on Notice taken by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission ("HREOC") during its evidence before the Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee's Reference on the Australian Human Rights Commission Legislation Bill 2003 ("AHRC Bill") on 29 April 2003 and provide the responses below.

The DDA covers discrimination on the ground of disability, including discrimination because of the use of a therapeutic device or aid;1 accompaniment by a carer or assistant;2 or accompaniment by an assistance animal.3

The procedure for making complaints of federal unlawful discrimination is set out in Part IIB of the HREOC Act.[1] That procedure can be summarised as follows.

As indicated by the Attorney General and the Minister for Finance and Deregulation in announcing this process, the review of Commonwealth discrimination law offers important opportunities to ensure that discrimination law contributes as effectively as possible, as well as efficiently, to the objectives of the achievement of equality in Australian society and the removal of discriminatory barriers…

Part IIB of the HREOC Act sets out the provisions governing the procedure for federal unlawful discrimination matters.1 That procedure can be summarised as follows:

(1) Support a two-stage inquiry process for the SDA, with some amendments made now to the existing law (Recommendations), and the rest completed within three (3) years (Options for Reform)