What is disability discrimination?

Disability discrimination is when you’re treated unfairly or less fairly because you’re a person with disability. It’s also when you’re treated unfairly or less fairly because you’re a relative, friend, carer or coworker of a person with disability.

This article focuses on disability discrimination. If you or your child experience discrimination because of your race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status or pregnancy, you can find information in our articles on services and support for racism, healthy attitudes to gender, supporting trans or gender-diverse children, services for LGBTIQ+ families, education, work and teenage pregnancy and pregnancy and work. You can also go to Australian Human Rights Commission – Links to human rights organisations and resources.

Types of discrimination

There are 2 types of discrimination.

Direct discrimination is when someone treats a person with disability unfairly or less fairly because of their disability. An example might be someone telling you that your child can’t take part in a playgroup because your child’s appearance would upset the other parents and children.

Indirect discrimination is when a person with disability is prevented from doing something a person without that disability can do. In this situation, no-one sets out to be deliberately unfair, but the end result is unfair. An example might be your child not being able to use the local swimming pool because it doesn’t have a ramp for wheelchairs.

Lawful and unlawful discrimination
People with disability can’t be discriminated against in:

  • education
  • access to goods, services and facilities
  • access to public places
  • accommodation
  • clubs and associations
  • sport
  • employment and work.

Sometimes discrimination might be lawful, in circumstances like:

  • court orders
  • insurance and superannuation
  • visa applications and other migration matters
  • public health
  • charities
  • pensions.

Sometimes people or organisations might argue that it would cause ‘unjustifiable hardship’ to accommodate a person’s disability. Unjustifiable hardship is when it would be unreasonably difficult for people or organisations to make the adjustments needed to accommodate a person’s disability.

Australian Government law

Disability Discrimination Act 1992
The Australian Disability Discrimination Act 1992 is an Australia-wide disability law that defines disability, as well as lawful and unlawful discrimination.

The Act says that people can’t be treated unfairly because they have past, existing or future disability. It also says people can’t be treated unfairly because of their association with someone who has disability – for example, because they work or live with someone with disability.

Under the Act, disability includes intellectual disability, physical disability, learning difficulties and disorders and developmental disability, including autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Disability Discrimination and Other Human Rights Legislation Amendment Act 2009
This Act updates several aspects of the 1992 Disability Discrimination Act. For example, it clarifies the definition of disability and what it means to discriminate against someone because they have an assistance animal or disability aid.

The Australian Human Rights Commission administers the Acts and decides what to do if there’s a complaint about disability discrimination covered by Australian Government law.

More information about disability discrimination at the Australian Government level

State and territory anti-discrimination laws

Australian states and territories have anti-discrimination laws and bodies that deal with complaints about discrimination.

Australian Capital Territory: ACT Discrimination Act 1991
For information or help, contact the ACT Human Rights Commission:

  • Phone: (02) 6205 2222 or 1800 822 272
  • TTY: (02) 6205 1666
  • Translating and Interpreting Service: 131 450
  • Email: human.rights@act.gov.au

You can also contact the ACT Children and Young People Commissioner by phoning (02) 6205 2222.

New South Wales: NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977
For information or help, contact Anti-Discrimination NSW:

Northern Territory: Northern Territory of Australia Anti-Discrimination Act 2014
For information or help, contact the Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Commission:

Queensland: Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act 1991
For information or help, contact the Queensland Human Rights Commission:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can email firstnations@qhrc.qld.gov.au or call 1300 130 670 and ask to speak with a First Nations officer.

LGBTIQ+ people can email lgbtiq@qhrc.qld.gov.au with their questions or concerns or to arrange a time to speak with a liaison officer.

South Australia: South Australian Equal Opportunity Act 1984
For information or help, contact the South Australian Office of the Equal Opportunity Commissioner:

Tasmania: Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Act 1998
For information or help, contact Equal Opportunity Tasmania:

  • Phone: (03) 6165 7515 or 1300 305 062
  • SMS: 0409 401 083
  • Translating and Interpreting Service: 131 450 then ask for (03) 6165 7515
  • Speak and Listen: 1300 555 727 then ask for 1300 305 062
  • TTY: 133 677 then ask for 1300 305 062
  • Internet Relay: connect to the National Relay Service then ask for 1300 305 062
  • Email: office@equalopportunity.tas.gov.au

Victoria: Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 2010
For information or help, contact the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission:

Western Australia: Western Australian Equal Opportunity Act 1984
For information or help, contact the WA Equal Opportunity Commission:

Making a complaint about disability discrimination

If you’re thinking about making a complaint about disability discrimination, you should think about things like:

  • what you want to get out of the complaint process
  • how much making a complaint will cost you
  • whether you’ll need an advocate or a lawyer to help you make the complaint.

The information below can help you get started on a complaint about disability discrimination.

Who can make a complaint about discrimination?
Under the Australian Disability Discrimination Act and corresponding state or territory laws, you can complain of disability discrimination if you:

  • are a person with disability and believe you’ve been unlawfully discriminated against
  • are a parent, spouse, partner, friend or carer of someone with disability and believe that you’ve been discriminated against
  • are acting on behalf of a person with disability who is experiencing unlawful disability discrimination – for example, you’re a parent, carer, friend and so on.

How do you make a complaint about discrimination?
You must make a complaint in writing and send it to either the Human Rights Commission or the relevant state or territory agency. The Commission and the state and territory agencies all have standard online complaint forms that might help, but you don’t need to use those forms if you don’t want to.

When you make a complaint, make sure you include the following details:

  • contact details for all parties involved
  • a report of what happened and who was involved
  • a timeline of events including dates and times
  • any supporting evidence, like written statements from witnesses and their contact details
  • a statement that describes how you’ve been affected by the discrimination
  • an explanation of what you’d like to happen.

Be sure to keep a copy of your complaint.

What is the time limit on discrimination complaints?
You must make a complaint within 12 months of the discrimination happening unless you have a very good reason for the time to be extended.

How are discrimination complaints assessed?
When the Human Rights Commission gets a written complaint, it works out whether the circumstances of the complaint are covered by the law. If it believes that they’re not or that they fall under some other area of the law, the Commission lets you know that it can’t accept the complaint.

When the Commission accepts a complaint, it investigates it and tries to resolve it through conciliation. Conciliation is when you and the person or organisation you’ve complained about meet to talk about the complaint and try to agree on how best to sort out the issue.

If this doesn’t work, you can take your complaint to the Federal Court of Australia or the Federal Circuit Court.

If you’re making a complaint under the Australian Disability Discrimination Act, you can send it by mail or fax or via the Human Rights Commission’s complaints page. The Commission’s complaint-handling process is free.

Which anti-discrimination law to use

You can’t have a disability discrimination complaint heard at the same time under both the Australian Disability Discrimination Act and an equivalent state or territory law. All the Acts have advantages and disadvantages, and the best one for you to use depends on your case.

Some of the things to think about are:

  • whether your complaint is covered by the Australian Act or a state or territory law
  • what outcomes you want – for example, if you want financial compensation, you might choose the Australian Act because the courts that administer this Act have no maximum limit on the amount of compensation they can give
  • how much it might cost you to make complaints under different acts
  • whether there are exemptions that apply under one act but not another.

The Human Rights Commission, the relevant state or territory authority or a community legal centre can look at your circumstances and help you decide which law to use.

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