| Age Discrimination Act 2004 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parliament of Australia | |
| |
| Citation | Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cth) |
| Enacted by | House of Representatives |
| Enacted by | Senate |
| Royal assent | 22 June 2004 |
| Commenced | 23 June 2004 |
| Legislative history | |
| Bill introduced in the House of Representatives | Age Discrimination Bill 2003 |
| Introduced by | Daryl Williams [1] |
| First reading | 26 June 2003 |
| Second reading | 26 November 2003 |
| Third reading | 26 November 2003 |
| Bill introduced in the Senate | Age Discrimination Bill 2003 |
| First reading | 1 December 2003 |
| Second reading | 3 December 2003 |
| Third reading | 29 March 2004 |
| Amended by | |
| Age Discrimination Amendment Act 2006 (Cth) | |
| Related legislation | |
| Age Discrimination (Consequential Provisions) Act 2004 (Cth) | |
| Status: In force | |
The Age Discrimination Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that prohibits age discrimination in many areas including employment, education, accommodation and the provision of goods and services. Persons of any age can be discriminated against within the meaning of the act. [2]
An act of parliament, also called primary legislation, are statutes passed by a parliament (legislature). Act of the Oireachtas is an equivalent term used in the Republic of Ireland where the legislature is commonly known by its Irish name, Oireachtas. The United States Act of Congress is based on it.
The Parliament of Australia is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Crown, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The combination of two elected chambers, in which the members of the Senate represent the states and territories while the members of the House represent electoral divisions according to population, is modelled on the United States Congress. Through both chambers, however, there is a fused executive, drawn from the Westminster system.
Employment is a relationship between two parties, usually based on a contract where work is paid for, where one party, which may be a corporation, for profit, not-for-profit organization, co-operative or other entity is the employer and the other is the employee. Employees work in return for payment, which may be in the form of an hourly wage, by piecework or an annual salary, depending on the type of work an employee does or which sector they are working in. Employees in some fields or sectors may receive gratuities, bonus payment or stock options. In some types of employment, employees may receive benefits in addition to payment. Benefits can include health insurance, housing, disability insurance or use of a gym. Employment is typically governed by employment laws, organisation or legal contracts.
Some exemptions are provided, including for religious organisations, charitable organisations and positive discrimination.
Complaints of discrimination must first be made to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), where a conciliation process can be initiated. Filing a complaint is free. [3] If the complaint is not resolved through the conciliation process, it can be taken to the Federal Court or the Federal Circuit Court.
The Australian Human Rights Commission is a national human rights institution, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body funded by, but operating independently of, the Australian Government. It is responsible for investigating alleged infringements of Australia's anti-discrimination legislation in relation to Commonwealth agencies. Matters that can be investigated by the Commission under the Australian Human Rights Commission Regulations 1989 include "discrimination on the grounds of race or nationality, colour or ethnic origin, racial vilification, age, sex or gender, sexual harassment, marital or relationship status, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, care status, actual or potential pregnancy, breastfeeding, trade union activity, criminal record, medical record, impairment or physical disability".
Conciliation is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process whereby the parties to a dispute use a conciliator, who meets with the parties both separately and together in an attempt to resolve their differences. They do this by lowering tensions, improving communications, interpreting issues, encouraging parties to explore potential solutions and assisting parties in finding a mutually acceptable outcome.
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law, along with some summary criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single Judges. The Court includes an appeal division referred to as the Full Court comprising three Judges, the only avenue of appeal from which lies to the High Court of Australia. In the Australian court hierarchy, the Federal Court occupies a position equivalent to the Supreme Courts of each of the states and territories. In relation to the other Courts in the federal stream, it is equal to the Family Court of Australia, and superior to the Federal Circuit Court. It was established in 1976 by the Federal Court of Australia Act.
In general, age discrimination is not a criminal offence. However, the Act creates criminal offences of discriminatory advertising, victimisation and failure to disclose statistical or actuarial data upon request by the President of the AHRC. [4]
