Unlawful Discrimination Enquiries and Complaints Part1A and Part 2 (Grouped by Ground) 354 Disability Race related grounds consolidated* 338 Sex 177 Age 117 Racial harassment 80 Sexual harassment 78 Family status 77 Religious belief 49 Racial disharmony 35 Employment status 28 Sexual orientation 27 Ethical belief 15 Marital status 14 Victimisation 8 Political opinion 4 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 * Colour, race, national origin Of the 3341 complaints requesting the Commission’s help to resolve their human rights complaint, 1122 were complaints alleging unlawful discrimination under the Human Rights Act 1993. Issues of unlawful discrimination fall into two categories: the public sector (Part 1A of the Human Rights Act 1993), with 31 per cent of enquiries and complaints, and the private sector (Part 2 of the Human Rights Act 1993), with 69 per cent. Enquiries and complaints under Part 1A of the Human Rights Act 1993 (which deals with discrimination by government and bodies acting with legal authority) can be complex. This year 408 Part 1A enquiries and complaints were received, compared with 443 last year. Part 1A complaints of unlawful discrimination often address the test of section 5 – justifiable limitation, or section19(2) – special measures of the Bill of Rights Act 1990. In some cases, differential treatment may not be unlawful if it can be justified for the public good, or is needed to enable a particular group of people to achieve equality with others. The lawfulness of student loans being restricted by age (loans are not available to people over 55) and the provision of hospital funded transport assistance for certain Mäori, Pacific and Quintile 5 patients was queried this year. 14 Human Rights Commission