This page points to some Australian and overseas anti-discrimination legislation and international agreements.

Particular enactments are discussed in more detail in pages relating to online Accessibility, politics and Hate Speech, and debate about free speech and Censorship.

     Commonwealth

Federal legislation in Australia includes -

Affirmative Action (Equal Opportunity for Women) Act 1986 (AAEOW)

Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA)

Equal Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987 (EEOCA)

Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 (HREOC)

Human Rights (Sexual Conduct) Act 1994 (HRSC)

Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (RDA)

Racial Hatred Act 1995 (RHA) - background here

Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (SDA)

     New South Wales

In NSW the main enactments are -

Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (ADA)

Disability Services Act 1993 (DSA)

     South Australia

In South Australia -

SA Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (SAEO)

     Northern Territory

In the NT -

Anti-Discrimination Act 1994 (ADA)

     Tasmania

In Tasmania successive governments have concentrated on physical disability; the state's record on gender and sexual preference continues to be poor -

Disability Services Act 1992 (DSA)

Sex Discrimination Act 1994 (SDA)

     ACT

In the ACT -

Discrimination Act 1991 (DA)

     New Zealand

In New Zealand the keystone enactments are -

Bill of Rights Act 1990 (BRA)

Human Rights Act 1993 (HRA)

and the Treaty of Waitangi.

     Canada

Canada has a package of federal and provincial legislation -

Ontario Human Rights Code (HRC)

Canadian Human Rights Act (HRA)

Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms (Charter)

Canadian Bill of Rights

     US

The two significant federal Acts are the -

Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 (ADA)

Hate Crimes Prevention Act 1999 (HCPA)

Several states have developed complementary or independent legislation.

     UK

In the UK the main enactment remains the Disability Discrimination Act 1999 (DDA), supplemented by the Special Educational Needs & Disability Act 2001. They're underpinned by the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA), in line with pan-EU legislation such as the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Online aspects are discussed in Martin Sloan's 2001 paper in the UK Journal of Information, Law & Technology.

     European Union

The 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is here.

The Treaty of Amsterdam for member states of the European Union makes specific provision for measures against discrimination. An overview is here.

Article 13 of the Treaty complement existing powers regarding discrimination against people on the grounds of specific characteristics, notably Article 141 (gender discrimination), Article 137 (measures to tackle exclusion from the labour market) and Article 12 (discrimination on the grounds of nationality).

In addition to works cited on the preceding page of this profile we recommend the paper by Philip Alston & J H Weiler on An 'Ever Closer Union' in Need of a Human Rights Policy: The European Union & Human Rights.

     United Nations

The major UN statements and covenants are the -

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

Convention concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation (CDEO)

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