Search results

3.1 Introduction 3.2 Australia's human rights obligations for workers with family and carer responsibilities 3.3 Limitations of federal discrimination law 3.4 The need for law reform 3.5 Conclusion

It is simple to remove discrimination against same-sex couples in laws conferring financial and work-related benefits: amend the definitions describing a couple to include same-sex and opposite-sex couples alike.

From the outset of this Inquiry, it was apparent that there was a need for clearer information on the services offered by the Commonwealth regarding employment of people with disabilities.

This appendix summarises the main findings from research and consultations conducted by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission between 2001 and 2006 that relate to family violence and abuse in Indigenous communities. The summary has also been published in a more detailed research paper prepared by the Social Justice Commissioner in 2006 entitled Ending family violence and abuse in Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander communities: Key issues.[1]

In a modern workforce where men and women work side by side it is important that employers protect their employees from unwanted behaviour that is not only harmful to the employee involved but also unprofessional and unproductive for the workplace. Sexual harassment is one form of unwanted behaviour that attempts to exclude individuals from the workplace by focusing on the sex of the person involved. Sexual harassment can happen in many different situations but overwhelmingly the complaints we receive involve the workplace.

4.1 Introduction 4.2 The key issues 4.3 Workplace relations framework 4.4 Recognising the relationship between paid work and caring work 4.5 Certainty and flexibility in the workplace 4.6 Structural change to support gender and carer equality 4.7 The need for expanded legal rights 4.8 Workplace culture and use of family-friendly policies 4.9 A life cycle approach to work and a universal approach to family-friendly flexibility 4.10 Community concern about WorkChoices and its impact on paid work and family/carer responsibilities 4.11 Conclusion

a) Ngaanyatjarra Regional Partnership Agreement. b) Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly c) Post-ATSIC regional representation for Torres Strait Islanders on the mainland

Every employer has the right to employ someone of their own choosing, based on a person’s suitability for a job. Employers best understand the main requirements of that job and what qualities are needed in an employee to meet those requirements. Yet it is also in employers’ interests to treat job applicants and employees fairly and in accordance with legal obligations, including anti-discrimination laws.

This is my third Social Justice Report as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and covers the period 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006.