Age Discrimination - Your Rights and Responsibilities

AGE

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			What is age discrimination? What about when it’s not so clear? When is it unlawful? When is it lawful to discriminate? What can I do about discrimination? What will happen if I lodge a complaint with the Commission? What happens with the complaint? Who else might be involved? What else do I need to know?

What is age discrimination?

Age discrimination can happen if you are treated unfairly simply because of how old you are. Sometimes it’s unlawful, for example, if you are not selected for a training course at work because you are close to ‘retiring age’, or if you’re told you can’t rent a flat because ‘young people always wreck them’.

The law which prohibits age discrimination is the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act 1991. This piece of legislation is managed by the Anti-Discrimination Commission.

What about when it’s not so clear?

Sometimes, the unfairness is less obvious and is called indirect discrimination. This can happen when a rule or policy which seems to be fair at first glance, can end up discriminating against people of a certain age. An example of this would be a job ad which asks for ten years experience, when it’s not really necessary to do the work. This could result in excluding young people from applying for the job.

When is it unlawful?

Age discrimination is unlawful, under the Anti-Discrimination Act, in a range of areas, including

work
school or college
buying things in shops, hotels etc
trying to, or using the services of professionals or tradespeople
renting a house, motel room, office etc
buying land
applying for credit or a loan
dealing with banks, insurance companies etc
trying to, or using the services of state or local governments.

It’s important to remember, however, that not all discrimination is against the law.

When is it lawful to discriminate?

The Act is very clear about when discrimination is unlawful, and when it’s not. The legislation allows for exemptions, which mean that sometimes age discrimination is allowed.

Some exemptions are clear-cut, for example, it would not be unlawful to pay a worker who is under 21 years old, according to their age, or to select an actor on the basis of their age, or to take into account the age limits for obtaining some work licences.

Others may need to be raised by the person responding to the complaint, and argued according to their own merits.

What can I do about discrimination?

You have a few choices if you believe you have been discriminated against because of your age.

You could talk to the person who is discriminating against you, because they might not mean it, or be unaware they are doing it. You may be able to resolve the problem by pointing it out, and asking them to stop.
If it happens at work, as it often does, you might want to talk to a manager or union rep about it, or you could lodge a complaint with your employer.
You might want to ring the local office of the Anti-Discrimination Commission and talk to an Enquiry Officer. They can help you with advice about whether the behaviour seems to breach the law, give you information about lodging a complaint and how it will be dealt with, or refer you on to another agency if this is what you want.

What will happen if I lodge a complaint with the Commission?

If you decide to lodge a complaint, you need to provide us with details, either on one of our complaint forms, or in a letter.

You need to include:

your name, address for service and other contact information
what happened
when and where it happened
who was involved (and their contact details)
who else was there
any other information you think would be useful.

In the complaint, you need to give us enough information to support your claim that you have suffered discrimination because of your age. We don’t need ‘evidence’ or ‘proof’, but we do need details.

Keep in mind that you need to lodge this complaint within twelve months of the discrimination happening.

There’s no charge for lodging a complaint with the Commission, or having it dealt with, but if you decide you need legal or other advice, there may be costs involved.

What happens with the complaint?

The first step is to assess the complaint, to see whether your claim of discrimination is covered by the Act. If it is, the complaint will be dealt with through the Commission’s free, independent and private process. This includes a meeting between you and the person you’ve complained about. This meeting gives everyone a chance to discuss the problem and work out a solution, with the help of the complaint handler from the Commission.

Many complaints are settled through these meetings. If agreement is not reached , however, you may want the complaint to be referred to the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal, where it will be determined on the information presented to it.

Who else might be involved?

Often, if the complaint involves a work situation, the employer or the organisation will be included in the complaint. This is because, under the law, the employer has a responsibility to provide a safe workplace for their staff, that is, a workplace free of discrimination. They can be liable for the behaviour of their workers who act in a discriminatory way.

Employers can defend their liability under the Act by arguing that they took reasonable steps to prevent the discrimination from happening in their workplace.

This might involve running information sessions with staff, developing company policy, and making sure that if there are complaints, they are taken seriously and dealt with quickly. What employers can’t do is avoid this liability by saying they weren’t aware of the discrimination happening.

What else do I need to know?

Contact your nearest Commission office if you need to know more about:

the Anti-Discrimination Act
how we can provide information sessions to organisations, or training in various aspects of the legislation.
other types of discrimination
federal legislation in this area. You could also ring the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission in Sydney on 1300 656 419

This information is intended as a guide only. It is not a substitute for legal advice. For more information contact the Commission on 1300 130 670 statewide or Teletypewriter 1300 130 680 statewide.