A reform agenda for federal discrimination laws December 2021 2.3 What principles should guide reform? In the Free and Equal Discussion Paper on federal discrimination law reform, the Commission set out principles to guide any reform to federal discrimination laws. These were broadly endorsed in consultations, with some refinement as included below. The Commission is of the view that discrimination laws, as a major component of human rights protection in Australia, should positively contribute to a reduction of discrimination in society and the greater realisation of equality on a continual basis. They should be capable of making this contribution by containing the tools to support effective regulation. In order to achieve this, federal discrimination law should be: • Clear: any legislation must be readily understandable by the community, and avoid unnecessary complexity. • Consistent: key definitions should be consistent across different grounds of discrimination, unless there is a distinct or unique aspect to one ground that must be accounted for. • Comprehensive: our discrimination laws should be comprehensive in their coverage by protecting all individuals and communities. • Intersectional: protections for different attributes must be able to work together easily – having different tests for different attributes (such that a person has different elements of proof) and having to litigate discrimination in relation to each attribute separately is burdensome and less effective. • Remedial: where someone has experienced unlawful discrimination, there should be effective remedies for breaches of their rights. • Accessible: discrimination laws provide remedial support to people in vulnerable situations – the operation of these laws should aid access to justice rather than creating barriers to such access. • Preventative: while discrimination law is currently largely remedial in focus, requiring a dispute before coming into operation, greater consideration should be given to mechanisms that require law and policy makers to prevent discrimination and promote equality of treatment and equal opportunity as the ultimate goals. FREE AND EQUAL An Australian Conversation on Human Rights 25