Disability Discrimination Act 1992
The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) provides legal protection for everyone in Australia against discrimination based on disability. The community as a whole is encouraged to be involved in the implementation of the DDA, and to share in the overall benefits to society and the economy that is generated by the equitable inclusion of the widest range of people.
Disability discrimination happens when people with disability are treated less favourably than people without disability. Disability discrimination also occurs when people are treated less fairly because they are relatives, friends, carers, co-workers or associates of a person with disability. Disability discrimination can be direct or indirect.
Under the DDA, the definition of the term “disability” is very broad. This means that people you might not regard as having a disability, and people who may not even think of themselves as having a disability, are included.
In relation to the DDA, the term “disability” refers to:
- Physical disability
- Intellectual disability
- Psychiatric disability
- Sensory disability
- Neurological disability
- Learning disability
- Physical disfigurement
- The presence in the body of disease-causing organisms.
The purpose of this broad definition is to ensure that the law applies to every person with disability.
While some people are born with disability, many people acquire a disability throughout their lives. Some people have disabilities that are obvious, yet many people have disabilities that are not visible.
The DDA protects against discrimination on the basis of a disability which people:
- Have now
- Have had in the past (for example: a past episode of mental illness)
- May have in the future (e.g.: a family history of a disability which a person may also develop)
- Are believed to have.
The DDA also protects people who may be discriminated against because they:
- Are accompanied by an assistant, interpreter or reader
- Are accompanied by a trained assistance animal, such as a guide or hearing dog or
- Use equipment or an aid, such as a wheelchair or a hearing aid.
The DDA makes it unlawful to discriminate against someone with disability in the following areas:
- Employment
- Education
- Access to premises used by the public
- Provision of goods, services and facilities
- Accommodation
- Buying land
- Activities of clubs and associations
- Sport
- Administration of Commonwealth Government laws and programs.
With regard to employment, the DDA prohibits discrimination against people with disability throughout all stages of the employment process, including:
- Recruitment processes such as advertising, interviewing, and other selection processes
- Decisions on who will get the job
- Terms and conditions of employment such as pay rates, work hours, job design and leave entitlements
- Promotion, transfer, training or other benefits associated with employment or
- Termination of employment, demotion or retrenchment.
The DDA is administered by the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Individuals can lodge complaints of discrimination or harassment under the DDA with the The Commission in writing, by phone or online.
Visit www.humanrights.gov.au/disability_rights/index.html for more information.