The Age Discrimination Act 2004 is an Act of the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...

that prohibits

age discrimination Ageism, also spelled agism, is discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against seniors, and patterned on sexism and racism. Butler def ...

in many areas including

employment Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

, accommodation and the provision of goods and services. Persons of any age can be discriminated against within the meaning of the act. Some exemptions are provided, including for

religious organisation Religious activities generally need some infrastructure to be conducted. For this reason, there generally exist religion-supporting organizations, which are some form of organization that manages: * the upkeep of places of worship, such as ...

charitable organisation A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

s and positive discrimination. Complaints of discrimination must first be made to the

Australian Human Rights Commission The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body funded by, but opera ...

(AHRC), where a

conciliation Conciliation is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process whereby the parties to a dispute use a conciliator, who meets with the parties both separately and together in an attempt to resolve their differences. They do this by lowering te ...

process can be initiated. Filing a complaint is free."Complaints under the Age Discrimination Act"

. If the complaint is not resolved through the conciliation process, it can be taken to the Federal Court or the Federal Circuit Court. In general, age discrimination is not a criminal offence. However, the Act creates criminal offences of discriminatory advertising, victimisation and failure to disclose statistical or actuarial data upon request by the President of the AHRC.

References

{{reflist 2004 in Australian law Acts of the Parliament of Australia Ageism Anti-discrimination law in Australia Children's rights legislation Old age in Australia

See also

References