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In October 2010, the Australian Human Rights Commission commenced a public consultation to canvas the experiences and views of people who may have been discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation or sex and/or gender identity. The task was a listening exercise, and a lot needed to be said.

The Australian Human Rights Commission conducted a consultation in 2010 to canvas the experiences and views of people who may have been discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation and sex and/or gender identity.

In October 2010, the Australian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) launched a consultation regarding the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people in Australia. This consultation process sought views from affected individuals and organisations about the steps that they felt would provide better human rights protection for LGBTI people in Australia.

During the consultation, the Commission received a number of comments regarding exemptions from potential federal protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and sex and/or gender identity. Many participants who supported new protections from discrimination argued that there should either be narrow or no exemptions at all. Some participants, particularly those affiliated with faith-based organisations, argued that there should be some exemptions in order to protect the human rights of freedom of religion and belief and freedom of expression.

The consultation invited comments on the potential benefit of federal laws protecting people from discrimination and harassment. Overwhelmingly, participants argued that introducing such protections would result in significant benefits for the Australian community as a whole. A small number of participants argued that there would be no benefit from these protections.

The Commission recognises that terminology can have a profound impact on a person’s identity, self-worth and inherent dignity. The use of inclusive and acceptable terminology empowers individuals and enables visibility of important issues.

There are no protections from vilification and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation or sex and/or gender identity in federal law. The potential benefits of such protections are described in Section 6 above. This part describes:

The consultation was directly concerned with how protection from discrimination on the basis of sex and/or gender identity might be included in federal law. Section 6 above outlines what the consultation heard about the benefits of such protections. This part outlines:

Experiences of discrimination differed greatly depending on whether the discrimination was based on a person’s sexual orientation or on a person’s sex and/or gender identity.

The Australian Human Rights Commission launched its consultation regarding protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, sex and/or gender identity on 1 October 2010.

‘A reference in this Part to a person being transgender or a transgender person is a reference to a person, whether or not the person is a recognised transgender person:

The Commission reserves the right to edit comments, where appropriate, in order to protect the identity of third parties, or where otherwise appropriate.

The consultation was directly concerned with how protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation might be included in federal law. Section 6 above outlines what the consultation heard about the benefits of these protections. This part outlines:

The consultation received a number of suggestions about other ways in which the Australian Government could protect the human rights of LGBTI people in Australia. Many participants argued that while anti-discrimination legislation is an important step towards equality, it is essential that it is accompanied by other actions. Suggestions were often informed by personal experiences of discrimination.