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The Federal Government’s online guide for the business community () stipulates that it is unlawful for employees or jobseekers to be disadvantaged as a result of any of the following:Įqual opportunity employment legislation in Australia FederalĪt the national level, equal opportunity employment falls within the domain of the Australian Human Rights Commission, which investigates complaints related to the following acts of federal legislation: Age Discrimination Act 2004
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Equal opportunity law aims to promote everyone's right to equal opportunities eliminate, as far as possible, discrimination and sexual harassment and provide redress for people whose rights have been breached. Discrimination is treating, or proposing to treat, someone unfavourably or bullying them because of a personal characteristic protected by law. However, the basic idea remains the same and is well-expressed in the following definition provided by the state government of Victoria:Įqual opportunity means that every person can participate freely and equally in areas of public life such as in the workplace, in education, or in accessing goods and services. What is equal opportunity?Īs we will see in the next section, the idea of equal opportunity is enshrined by different state and federal laws that vary slightly in their language. Broadly speaking, these laws are oriented around the concept of ‘equal opportunity’, which holds that employees and jobseekers are not to be penalised for any inappropriate reasons. As a graduate in Australia, there are various legal frameworks designed to ensure that you can pursue your career goals without being unfairly disadvantaged on account of traits such as your race and ethnicity, gender, religious affiliation, age, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or degree of able-bodiedness.
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