3. What the law says 3.1 Overview of antidiscrimination laws • Indirect discrimination occurs where an unreasonable condition or requirement is imposed on a person Anti-discrimination laws in all Australian who, because of their protected federal, state and territory jurisdictions attribute, cannot comply with the prohibit discrimination on the basis of condition or requirement, which has the disability across many areas of public life, effect of disadvantaging that person. For including employment. With respect to the example, imposing a requirement that all federal Disability Discrimination Act, for employees attend a work conference at a example, the prohibition on unlawful building which is only accessible by stairs discrimination in the area of employment may indirectly discriminate against an extends to recruitment processes, the terms employee who uses a wheelchair, if that and conditions on which employment is requirement is unreasonable in the offered or provided, access to promotion, circumstances. transfer, training or other benefits associated with employment, dismissal, or subjecting an employee to any other detriment. 13 In addition, under the Disability Discrimination Act a failure to provide ‘reasonable adjustments’ to a person with a disability may amount to direct or indirect The Disability Discrimination Act covers people who have temporary and permanent disabilities; physical, intellectual, sensory, neurological, learning and psychosocial disabilities, diseases or illnesses, physical disfigurement, medical conditions, and work-related injuries.14 It extends to disabilities that people have had in the past and potential future disabilities, as well as disability discrimination. Victorian antidiscrimination law contains a positive duty to make reasonable adjustments for people with disability, and the concept of needing to make adjustments is also recognised across other jurisdictions.15 For example, it may be a reasonable adjustment to provide an employee who has low vision with a larger computer monitor. Employers that disabilities that people are assumed to have. fail to make reasonable adjustments to Generally, discrimination falls into two may have discriminated against them. categories: • Direct discrimination occurs where a person is treated less favourably because of their protected attribute – for example, refusing to employ a person because of their disability. facilitate the employee performing their role However, employers are not required to make adjustments where this would amount to an ‘unjustifiable hardship’ for the employer (for example, because making the adjustment would be too expensive, difficult, time-consuming or would cause some other hardship).16 Guidelines for the targeted recruitment of people with disability | 21