Seniors Rights Service has developed a submission for the review of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (ADA). Our paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the current discrimination laws in Australia and identifies opportunities to provide greater protection for older people.
Seniors Rights Service has developed a submission for the review of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (ADA). Our paper provides a comprehensive analysis of current discrimination laws in Australia and identifies opportunities to provide greater protection for older people.
Our submission is informed by our work as a specialist community legal centre, providing advice and assistance to older people across New South Wales. We aim to achieve a modern Anti-Discrimination Act that offers greater protection for older people, ensuring they can enjoy their human rights free from discrimination of any kind.
We seek to enhance protection for older people against age discrimination through systemic changes to the ADA. This includes implementing appropriate tests, defining the elements to prove and determining who has the burden of proof in discrimination matters.
We highlight that the current ADA does not fully cover services that are delivered in a discriminatory manner in relation to age as there is no protection against vilification. We recommend that the ADA follow the Northern Territory and Tasmania anti-discrimination legislation and include age as a protected attribute in relation to vilification. This addition would extend the coverage and effectiveness of other protections within the ADA.
Our submission recommends the inclusion of strata schemes in the ADA as an additional protected area. Strata schemes involve common property and require engagement between unrelated parties. Our clients have experienced that strata managing agents, committees and owners’ corporations often disregard requests for modifications to common property that would enable older people with mobility issues or other disabilities to access common areas.
Seniors Rights Service supports the ADA, including prohibitions on attribute-based harassment in relation to age. As a fundamental human right, older people should not be subjected to offensive, intimidating, or humiliating treatment based on their age. We note that such protection aligns with the current government’s priorities, including:
- the first National Plan to Respond to the Abuse of Older Australians (Elder Abuse) 2019-2023
- the findings of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety
- the draft National Plan to End the Abuse and Mistreatment of Older People 2024-2034
Anti-discrimination laws in NSW are in significant need of modernisation, particularly to provide greater protection from discrimination, vilification and harassment for older people. There is also a need to reduce the exemptions available for lawful discrimination against older people to create a fairer and more just society.
Our submission includes fifteen recommendations to ensure older people in NSW are protected from discrimination and can enjoy a rich life as respected members of the community, with dignified and equitable access to the care and support they need.
Seniors Rights Service welcomes and supports the direction that the NSW Law Reform Commission is heading in relation to the review of the ADA and looks forward to contributing to the second consultation paper.
