Social Status Discrimination
Since 2002 the HPLC has been lobbying for changes to the Equal Opportunity Act 1996 (Vic) to make it unlawful to discriminate against someone on the basis of their social status. The HPLC takes social status to include homelessness, employment status and being in receipt of social security benefits. Remarkably these attributes are not protected attributes under the Act, which means that it is currently lawful to discriminate against someone if they are homeless.
Consultations conducted by the HPLC over the last 5 years have shown that discrimination on the basis of social status is widespread, systemic and often hidden. The HPLC's research and experience has also demonstrated the negative and pervasive effects of discrimination not just through the denial of access to goods and services such as accommodation, education and health services, but in the feelings of exclusion, disempowerment and hopelessness that discrimination invokes in many disadvantaged and marginalised members of our society.
Equal Service
Watch the Equal Service: Homelessness Myths & Memories animations
In 2006 and 2007, the Department of Justice conducted a project entitled Equal Service. The purpose of this project was to confront the issue of discrimination on the basis of homelessness by developing a series of voluntary guidelines and educational tools for accommodation and goods and services providers who regularly interact with homeless people. To access the Equal Service guidelines click here.
As a part of the Equal Service project, the HPLC and members of its Consumer Advisory Group worked with the Department of Justice to produce a series of animations entitled Homelessness: Myths and Memories. The animations form part of the educational component of the project and tell the stories of individuals who have experienced homelessness. The animations can be viewed here.
In late 2006, the Attorney-General initiated an independent review of the Act, and consider ways to improve its fairness, effectiveness and efficiency. In its submissions to the independent review, the HPLC argued that the Act be amended to include social status (homelessness, unemployment and receipt of social security benefits). The HPLC also argued that criminal record discrimination should also be outlawed.
The final report of the Equal Opportunity Act Review was handed down on 31 July 2008. Importantly, the final report recommended that homelessness and ‘irrelevant criminal record' be included as protected attributes under the new proposed Victorian Equality Act. While the review did not accept the HPLC's submission that the broader attribute of social status be included, we consider the two proposed attributes to be an excellent starting point and will be advocating for their inclusion in any new equality legislation in Victoria.
Related Articles
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July 2008
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External link to the Department of Justices' Equal Services Project
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External link to discussion papers and options papers regarding the Department of Justices' Equal Opportunity Review
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External link to the Department of Justices' Equal Opportunity Review final report
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Criminal Record Discrimination
Discrimination on the ground of criminal record is a pervasive issue in Victoria and across Australia. Criminal record discrimination can systematically exclude people from access to goods, services, housing, health care, employment and other things which can result in homelessness, unemployment and recidivism. Such discrimination also frustrates attempts at social inclusion and participation in civil, political, social, cultural and economic life. Currently, Victoria does not have legislation to protect against discrimination on the basis of criminal record, nor does it have a spent convictions regime.
For many years, the HPLC has argued that discrimination on the basis of irrelevant criminal record should be protected under the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act. In the 2008 Final Report of the Equal Opportunity Review, Julian Gardner recommended that the Equal Opportunity Act be amended to include irrelevant criminal record as a protected attribute.
In January 2009, the HPLC responded to Draft Model Spent Convictions Bill: Consultation Paper, released by the Department of Justice Victoria. Our submission was prepared in conjunction with the Victorian Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (VACRO).
In its submission, the HPLC argues that the Bill must be reconfigured to regulate the use of criminal record information more broadly and to ensure that criminal record information can be released only if it is relevant to a specific employment position or other purpose. The submission also makes 13 key recommendations for reform of the Bill.