Submission to NSW Law Reform Commission Review of Anti-Discrimination Act 1977: First Consultation Paper

The JEC submission in response to the NSW Law Reform Commission’s First Consultation Paper as part of its review of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 makes a number of calls to reform key aspects of this out-dated and fundamentally broken law.

This includes:

• updating the tests for direct and indirect discrimination, including allowing for complaints brought on the basis of multiple and/or overlapping attributes;
• updating several of the existing protected attributes, including replacing homosexuality with sexual orientation, replacing transgender with gender identity, and modernising the definition of disability;
• introducing a range of new protected attributes, including sex characteristics (to protect intersex people) and religious belief or activity;
• expanding the scope of public life covered by the Act;
• narrowing the scope of exceptions, including those applying to religious organisations as well as to private educational authorities;
• modernising the Act’s approach to sexual harassment, informed by the Respect@Work reforms federally, and;
• expanding vilification coverage, including greater harmonisation with other laws.