What is Discrimination (Part 2)?

An Overview

In NSW, unlawful discrimination (being discrimination against a person ‘on the ground of disability’) occurs when one person (‘the perpetrator’) behaves in a certain way towards another person (‘the aggrieved person’) in certain circumstances which the Act regards as being unlawful.

---

There are two important parts to understanding what is meant by ‘discrimination’:

1. the behaviours, and

2. the circumstances in which those behaviours take place.

---

This article will focus on the circumstances.

When it comes to discrimination based on a disability, different rules apply to different circumstances.

Only some of those circumstances involve the workplace.

We will explain the most common circumstances that apply to the workplace.

How we will describe the circumstances

We have grouped the circumstances by category (characterised by the role of the perpetrator) and then have split those categories further into scenarios (characterised by the role of the aggrieved person and the perpetrator’s behaviour towards the aggrieved person).

They are:

• An employer - towards:

  • a job applicant, or

  • an existing employee.

• A principal (of a contract) – and:

  • someone wanting to be their commission agent,

  • someone who already is their commission agent, and

  • a contract worker.

• Employment agents.

• A provider of goods & services.

---

How the Act applies

The way the Act applies is that:

• for each set of circumstances:

  • there are rules that makes the behaviour unlawful, and

  • exceptions may apply to a particular rule, and

• for all circumstances relevant to a particular category, general exceptions may also apply.