Anti-discrimination laws in Australia
Anti-discrimination laws in Australia have been enacted at both federal and state/territory levels to outlaw discrimination and harassment in a range of areas of public life. Federal law operate concurrently with state/territory laws, so both sets of laws must be followed.
Federal law
The Parliament of Australia has enacted a number of anti-discrimination laws relying on the external affairs power of the Australian Constitution. These include:- Age Discrimination Act 2004
- Disability Discrimination Act 1992
- Racial Discrimination Act 1975
- Sex Discrimination Act 1984
State and territory laws
Each state and territory has its own anti-discrimination law which operates alongside the federal laws:- Australian Capital Territory – Discrimination Act 1991
- New South Wales – Anti-Discrimination Act 1977
- Northern Territory – Anti-Discrimination Act 1992
- Queensland – Anti-Discrimination Act 1991
- South Australia – Equal Opportunity Act 1984
- Tasmania – Anti-Discrimination Act 1998
- Victoria – Equal Opportunity Act 2010 and Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001
- Western Australia – ''Equal Opportunity Act 1984''