Changes to Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act
From 1 September, changes to Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act (1995) came into place which give protection from discrimination to working parents and carers.
Under the amendments, it is unlawful for an employer to unreasonably refuse to accommodate a person’s responsibilities as a parent or carer. The changes apply in relation to job applicants and existing employees, as well as to to contract workers and partnerships.
The Act provides some examples of how these new rules can be implemented which include
- working part-time
- job sharing
- working from home for all or part of the working week.
- starting and finishing earlier or later
Update May 2011
This will be replaced by the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 in August 2011
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This sounds really great and well overdue. In nursing, some individual units can be quite inflexible. It was only just until recently they allowed staff to work part time in public psychiatry.
The other thing for Queensland families is that they are bringing in the companion card for disabled people. Victoria has had this for some time, and operates under the premise that the disabled person is disadvantaged because they have to pay twice to see the same event able people do. Again this is very overdue.
I also wonder if a generic organisation such as Carers Australia can lobby federal and state governments to ensure the benefits disabled people get in their own state is honored in other states, such as pensioner train fares. When we visit Melbourne we are told that Geoffrey and Peter are not eligible because they carry cards issues in Queensland and visitors from Victoria are treated similarly when they visit Queensland. It doesn’t seem fair.
Janine.
Hi is it possible to provide a new link for the “Guidelines for Employers and Employees” guide. The one above no longer works.
Thanks,
Eric
Hi Eric
The guide has been removed from the The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission website. I presume this is because of the 2010 Act which comes into place in August.
Janine, I also welcome the change to the law and agree that it is ‘long overdue’. It seems hugely surprising that arrangements such as part time work in some sectors have simply not been an option until now. In a developed country such as Australia, I think we should expect to be able to work flexibly, regardless of industry or personal circumstance. I am also shocked by the disparity in policy across different states that you point out; clearly there is a need for greater coordination between states to prevent confusion and promote cohesion of policy across the country.