In Victoria and New South Wales, a person who has a discrimination complaint under state law may complain to (in NSW) the Anti-Discrimination Board or (in Victoria) the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner. Appeals from those entities are made to (in NSW) the Civil and Administrative Tribunal of New South Wales (NCAT) or (in Victoria) the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
One area in which anti-discrimination laws are extensive is employment law. Both the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act (1977) and the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act (2010) set out protections from discrimination in connection with employment.
On 18 April 2018 the High Court determined in Burns v Corbett [2018] HCA 15 that, as a State Tribunal, NCAT does not have jurisdiction to determine disputes or complaints between residents of different states.
What does this mean?
This has implications in particular for Border residents when discrimination occurs or is alleged and the complaining party resides in a different state to the person alleged to have contravened discrimination law.
One consequence of this decision is that, where one party is resident of a different state or the residency of one of the parties is unknown to the other, realistically the best available option for the victim may be a claim to under federal law, such as to the Australian Human Rights Commission or the Fair Work Commission.
To discuss the best options available to you under anti-discrimination law, please call any of our offices to make an appointment.
MORGAN COUZENS LEGAL
The information provided in this blog is produced for guidance purposes only and is not legal advice. The information contained in this blog is based on the current state of the law at the time of writing. The law may have changed since this blog was written.
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Legal advice should be sought for your individual circumstances. For advice tailored to your individual circumstances, please contact us by telephone on (03) 5722 4681.
