The Sex Discrimination Commissioner is an Australian federal government position established to oversee the operation of the ''
Sex Discrimination Act 1984
The ''Sex Discrimination Act 1984'' is an Act of the Parliament of Australia which prohibits discrimination on the basis of mainly sexism, homophobia, transphobia and biphobia, but also sex, marital or relationship status, actual or potential ...
''. The position was created alongside the Act as one of the specialist commissioners of the
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity 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 ...
. The commissioner also has an educative role, frequently called upon to comment upon gender issues in the workforce.
The role was created with the Act in 1984, with the
Hawke government appointing
Pam O'Neil
Pamela Frances O'Neil (born 20 September 1945) is a former Australian politician. She was the Labor member for Fannie Bay in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1977 to 1983. In 1984, she was appointed Australia's first Sex Dis ...
, a Labor MLA from the Northern Territory, as the first commissioner. She was replaced in 1988 by
Quentin Bryce
Dame Quentin Alice Louise Bryce, (née Strachan; born 23 December 1942) is an Australian academic who served as the 25th governor-general of Australia from 2008 to 2014. She is the first woman to have held the position, and was previously the ...
, who became Australia's first female Governor-General in 2008. The fate of the position appeared unclear in the late 1990s, as
Susan Halliday, the then-Commissioner, repeatedly came into conflict with the
Howard
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
Liberal government, despite being a Liberal appointee. Halliday's angry resignation in 2001 led to speculation that the office may be disbanded;
Pru Goward
Prudence Jane "Pru" Goward (born 2 September 1952) is a former Australian politician and was a Liberal member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2007 to 2019, representing the seat of Goulburn.
She was the New South Wales Minis ...
, a close personal friend of Howard, was instead appointed as her replacement. Goward resigned in late 2006 in order to run for the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...
, and was replaced in mid-2007 by lawyer
Elizabeth Broderick
Elizabeth Broderick is an Australian lawyer, who was the Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner for over eight years from 2007 to 2015 and has been a United Nations special rapporteur for Discrimination against Women and Girls since 2017. ...
, a former partner with
Blake Dawson
Ashurst Australia is the Australian branch of Ashurst LLP, an international commercial law firm. The Australian headquarters of Ashurst are in Sydney.
Prior to its acquisition by Ashurst, the Australian firm was named Blake Dawson, one of th ...
.
Reviews by Kate Jenkins
Respect@Work Report
In January 2020, Sex Discrimination Commissioner
Kate Jenkins
Kate Jenkins (born 1968) has been the Sex Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission since 2016. Previously, she was Commissioner at the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission. Jenkins is also on the ...
handed to the
Morrison government
The Morrison government was the federal executive government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the Liberal Party of Australia, between 2018 and 2022. The Morrison government commenced on 24 August 2018, when it was sworn ...
her ''Respect@Work Report'', described by the ABC as “a landmark national inquiry into sexual harassment in workplaces by the Australian Human Rights Commission”. On 8 April 2021, the Morrison government released its response to the report, which it has dubbed
A Roadmap for Respect: Preventing and Addressing Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces', accepting (either wholly or in principle) or “noted” all 55 recommendations. Though the legislation is still to be prepared, it was indicated that the definition of “serious misconduct” in workplaces will include sexual harassment, which will also be a valid reason for dismissal. Judges and politicians will be subject to the same sexual harassment laws as the wider population. Under human rights laws, the time limit for complaints will be extended from six months to two years.
Review of Parliament House's workplace culture
On 5 March 2021, Jenkins said she will lead a review of Parliament House's workplace culture following the
2021 Australian Parliament House sexual misconduct allegations
In February and March 2021, a number of allegations involving rape and other sexual misconduct against women involving the Australian Parliament and federal politicians were raised, causing controversy especially for the federal Liberal-Nationa ...
.
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins to lead review into Parliament House workplace culture
/ref> She is expected to hand down her interim report in July 2021.
List of Sex Discrimination Commissioners
* Pam O'Neil
Pamela Frances O'Neil (born 20 September 1945) is a former Australian politician. She was the Labor member for Fannie Bay in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1977 to 1983. In 1984, she was appointed Australia's first Sex Dis ...
(1984–1988)
* Quentin Bryce
Dame Quentin Alice Louise Bryce, (née Strachan; born 23 December 1942) is an Australian academic who served as the 25th governor-general of Australia from 2008 to 2014. She is the first woman to have held the position, and was previously the ...
(1988–1993)
* Sue Walpole
Sue or SUE may refer to:
Music
* Sue Records, an American record label
* ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus
* "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie
Places
* Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits island ...
(1993–1997)
* Susan Halliday (1998–2001)
* Pru Goward
Prudence Jane "Pru" Goward (born 2 September 1952) is a former Australian politician and was a Liberal member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2007 to 2019, representing the seat of Goulburn.
She was the New South Wales Minis ...
(2001–2006)
* Elizabeth Broderick
Elizabeth Broderick is an Australian lawyer, who was the Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner for over eight years from 2007 to 2015 and has been a United Nations special rapporteur for Discrimination against Women and Girls since 2017. ...
(2007–2015)
* Kate Jenkins
Kate Jenkins (born 1968) has been the Sex Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission since 2016. Previously, she was Commissioner at the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission. Jenkins is also on the ...
(2016–present)
See also
* Sex discrimination
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...
* 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 ...
* Sex Discrimination Act 1984
The ''Sex Discrimination Act 1984'' is an Act of the Parliament of Australia which prohibits discrimination on the basis of mainly sexism, homophobia, transphobia and biphobia, but also sex, marital or relationship status, actual or potential ...
References
{{reflist
External sources
Sex Discrimination Act 1984 on Austlii
Gender equality
Gender in Australia
Human rights in Australia
1984 establishments in Australia