Disability Discrimination law in
Employment and Education
Joanna Shulman
Principal Solicitor
NSW Disability Discrimination Legal Centre
Overview
1. Disability Discrimination Law Generally
2. Employment Complaints
3. Education Complaints
Commonwealth Law:
Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA)
NSW Law:
Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (ADA)
Initial Complaint
Anti
Discrimination
Board
(NSW )
Administrative
Decisions
Tribunal
(NSW )
Human Rights
and
Equal Opportunity
Commission (Cth)
Federal
Court
(Cth)
Federal
Magistrates
Court
(Cth)
General statement of the law
It is unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of one of the
specified grounds in one of the specified areas of activity unless you
can satisfy one of the defences
Types of Discrimination
1. Direct Discrimination
Occurs where you treat somebody less favourably because of their
disability.
The test:
How would you treat a person in the same or similar circumstances
who does not have the complainant’s disability?
2. Indirect Discrimination
Occurs where you impose a rule on everyone which has a harsher
effect on people with a disability.
The test:
Is it harder for a greater proportion of individuals with a particular
disability to comply with the rule?
Is the rule reasonable in the circumstances?
3. Victimisation
• The law prohibits treating a person in a detrimental manner because
they have asserted their rights under discrimination law
• Also applies to witnesses
• Victimisation is an offence (6 months’ imprisonment)
4. Harassment in the workplace, education and in the provision of
goods and services
• Disability - unlawful to harass another employee, commission worker,
contractor worker or a job applicant on basis of disability
What does “Disability” include?
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Physical - loss of mobility or part of the body
Neurological - including loss of or limited control of body actions
Sensory - Deafness, loss of speech, hearing or eyesight
Psychological disabilities
Anything that makes it difficult to remember, learn or understand
Disease, illness or infections - even if you’re not sick now
Scarring and deformity
Areas of activity
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Employment (including union membership, contractors etc)
Education
Goods, services and facilities (Federal) / Goods and services
(State)
Access to premises
Accommodation
Buying land (Federal)
Sports
Requests for information
Registered clubs
Commonwealth laws and programs (Federal only)
When is discrimination lawful?
Generally
• When it is too hard to avoid discriminating - ‘unjustifiable hardship’
• When an exemption or exception exists in the law
What is meant by unjustifiable hardship
Section 11 of the DDA says that you take into account “all relevant circumstances of
the particular case” including:
the nature of the benefit or detriment to accrue or be suffered by persons
involved, and
the effect of the disability of the person concerned, and
the financial circumstances and estimated amount of expenditure to be made
by person claiming unjustifiable hardship, and
(in the case of provision of services/facilities) an action plan given to HREOC
Areas of Activity – Employment
Points to Consider before lodging a complaint
1.
Is it unlawful discrimination- Employee, job applicant or contractor
2.
DDA or ADA: Less than five employees?
3.
Other employment law rights- unlawful termination, unfair/constructive
dismissal, workers compensation, common law employment rights
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4.
Would Unlawful termination, Unfair Dismissal Constructive Dismissal get them a
better outcome?
Victimisation
Areas of Activity - Employment
Applicants for Employment
Unlawful to discriminate in the arrangements made for the purpose of
determining who should be offered employment:

Vickers v The Ambulance Service of NSW [2006] FMCA 1232
There cannot be a blanket policy of not employing persons with a particular
impairment in particular positions – must allow disability to be assessed.
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Also applies to all administrative and related steps up to the interview process
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Wording of advertisements, interviewing processes, selection process etc.
Areas of Activity - Employment
Applicants for Employment- its unlawful to discriminate
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In determining who should be offered employment;
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In the terms or conditions on which employment is offered.
Against Employees
Unlawful to discriminate on the basis of disability:
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in the terms or conditions of employment that the employer affords
the employee; or
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by denying the employee access, or limiting the employee's access,
to opportunities for promotion, transfer or training, or to any
other benefits associated with employment; or
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by dismissing the employee- or
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by subjecting the employee to any other detriment.
‘Defences’ in Employment Discrimination
1. When a person can’t actually do a job - ‘inherent requirements’
AND
Necessary accommodations would cause unjustifiable hardship
(Only applies at point of hiring and firing)
 Onus on respondent
 Inherent Requirement = ‘Whether the position would be essentially the same if
that requirement was dispensed with”: Qantas Airways v Christie (1998) 193
CLR 280
 Inherent requirements do not need to be particularised at time of employment:
Vickers v The Ambulance Service of NSW [2006] FMCA 1232
 No requirement to modify type of employment to meet needs of disabled
employee: Cosma v Qantas Airways [2002] FCA 640
‘Defences’ in Employment Discrimination
2. Detrimental treatment not because of disability: performance issues,
redundancies
3. Comparator is someone who exhibits same manifestations of disability
Purvis:
• Forbes v Australian Federal Police (Commonwealth of Australia)
[2004] FCAC 95, the comparator was ‘a non-disabled employee who
had been absent from work for a long period and whose relationship
with the AFP had irretrievably broken down’, despite the fact that the
applicant’s absence from work was a manifestation of her depressive
illness.
Areas of Activity – Education
1.
Student (not parent)
2.
DDA or ADA? :- Private educational authority/ Education Stds
3.
Other Avenues to resolve dispute – Breach of privacy, common law, internal
reviews etc
Areas of Activity – Education
Unlawful to discriminate against a student on the basis of disability, or on basis of disability
of an associate in:
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accepting the student for admission to a school or on terms of condition of
admission;
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by denying the student access, or limiting the student’s access, to any benefit
provided by the educational authority; or
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by expelling the student; or
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by subjecting the student to any other detriment, or
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by developing curricula or training courses having a content that will either exclude
the person from participation, or subject the person to any other detriment; or
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by accrediting curricula or training courses having such a content.
Unjustifiable Hardship Defence Applies
Disability Standards for Education 2005
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Compliance with education standard is compliance with DDA*
Non-compliance is a breach of DDA*
Expressly requires reasonable adjustments, obligation to consult and not to
harass or victimise.
Covers broad range of education providers – public, private, secondary,
tertiary, community colleges
* Standard will not necessarily provide a complete code that displaces all
application of the DDA. Will depend on terms of the particular standard, the
particular circumstances of the case and judicial interpretation of “in
accordance with”.
Main changes heralded by the Education Standard
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Applies to all education providers
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Applies to all aspects of education
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(Potentially) a clearer outline of duties and rights for education providers and
students
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Encourages a transparent, balanced and consultative approach to making
adjustments between the education provider and the student
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Requires pro-active measures, especially to prevent harassment and
victimisation
‘Grey’ areas
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Public health exception – very broad – danger of being applied too hastily
and inhumanely (solitary confinement!)
In terms of an adjustment, what is reasonable?
How broad is the requirement to consider “others affected by the
adjustment”?
What is meant by “reasonable timeliness” in providing the adjustment?
What will consulting the student require?
Are university clubs, eating facilities (uni owned and branded), off-site
curriculum/assessment tasks, uni sporting teams covered?
What about overseas students? What about overseas campuses?
What to Do About Purvis?
Purvis v DET (2003) 202 ALR 133:
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While the definition of disability includes behavioural manifestations, when
considering whether direct discrimination occurred it is necessary to compare
the treatment of the student with the disability with a student who exhibited
the violent behaviour but did not have the disability.
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Makes direct discrimination cases where student has behavioural disabilities
hard to run.
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What to Do About Purvis?
Still have indirect discrimination cases:
 Ferguson v Department of Education [2005] FMCA: ‘TAFE required
Mr Fergurson (who was profoundly deaf) to comply with a requirement
that he undertake his learning and complete his course within a
reasonable time without the benefit of a needs assessment.’
 Hurst and Devlin v Education Qld[2005] FCA 405 ‘The respondents
imposed a requirement that the applicants receive their education in
English without the assistance of an Auslan teacher or interpreter.
 ‘Hinchliffe v University of Sydney’ [2004] FMCA 85 ‘ The Applicant
undertake her university studies without all of her course materials
being provided in an alternative format, either at all or at the same time
as other students received their course materials.’
Conciliating Education Cases
 Keep Expectations reasonable- schools are constrained by budgets and
resources
 Early conciliations are better
 Be creative in suggestions for resolution: check HREOC Conciliated
outcomes page
 Focus on the Future- Education plans, Alternative disciplinary
procedures, behaviour management plans, timetable for consultation
with parents.
 Compensation is rare
 Be extra- careful with broad confidentiality clauses which cannot be
complied with because of need to seek medical treatment etc.
QUESTIONS ????
Contact details
• Telephone: (02) 9310 7722
Toll free: 1800 800 708 (outside Sydney)
• TTY (02) 9310 4320
Toll free TTY 1800 644 419 (outside Sydney)
• Email info@ddlcnsw.org.au
• www.ddlcnsw.org.au