Know your rights: Age Discrimination

Laws to protect you against discrimination . . .

Australia’s most recent federal anti-discrimination law, the Age Discrimination Act 2004, aims to ensure that all Australians – young and old – and everyone in between are treated equally and have the same opportunities as others.

The law protects people across Australia from discrimination on the basis of their age in different areas of public life, such as work, education and buying goods and services.

Negative stereotypes often lie at the heart of age discrimination. That’s why an important part of our work is to help foster positive community attitudes towards young and older Australians.

Male mature age Worker with hammer

What does the Age Discrimination Act do?

The Age Discrimination Act 2004 aims to ensure that people of all ages are treated equally and have the same opportunities.

The Act protects you against discrimination in many areas of public life, including:

Work – such as getting a job, terms and conditions of a job, training, promotion, dismissal and redundancy.
Education – whether enrolling or studying at school, TAFE, university or other educational institutions.
Accommodation – renting or buying an apartment or house.
Getting or using services – at shops, restaurants, banks, theatres, sports and social clubs, public transport, dentists, doctors, superannuation, insurance, credit and government services.
Access to premises – going to public places like entertainment venues, shopping centres, libraries and parks.
Commonwealth Government laws or programs

Elizabeth was 17 years old. She was employed by a recreational centre as a customer service attendant on a casual basis. She claimed she had not been given shifts for approximately four months because she had been replaced by younger workers.

The company confirmed that it had employed new workers but said that they were the same age as Elizabeth and were not employed to replace her. They suggested that there were concerns about her work performance and thought she was not interested in ongoing work as she had not contacted them to inquire about future shifts.

The complaint was resolved through conciliation with an agreement that the employee kept her job and was transferred to work in a different branch of the company.

When is age discrimination allowed?

Under the Act, there are some situations where it may not be unlawful to treat someone differently on the basis of age, including:

Commonwealth laws regarding taxation, social security, superannuation and migration
some health programs
youth wages or direct compliance with industrial agreements and awards.

There are also occasions when people in a particular age group will need extra help. The Act says that it is not unlawful to provide programs and support that meet an identified need of people in different age groups.

For example, ‘positive’ discrimination can include concessions for older Australians to receive certain medical services, like influenza shots, and special assistance to support homeless teenagers for accommodation.
Female mature age worker in business setting
multicultural young girls

What about the workplace?

Age discrimination can commonly occur in employment.

You can make a complaint to the Commission if you feel that, because of your age, you have been:

refused employment
dismissed
denied a promotion, transfer or other employment-related benefits
given less favourable terms or conditions of employment
denied equal access to training opportunities
selected for redundancy
harassed.

It doesn’t matter if you are applying for a job, an apprentice or trainee, on probation, work part-time or full-time, or if you are a casual or permanent employee – you’re protected by the Act.

The law covers all types of employers, including: the Commonwealth and state governments; the private sector; charities and associations; as well as contract and commission-based work; and recruitment and employment agencies.

Employers have a legal responsibility to take ‘reasonable precautions’ and exercise ‘due diligence’ to avoid discrimination against young and mature age workers.

You must be able to do the job

It is not against the law to refuse someone a job if, because of their age, they can’t perform the ‘inherent requirements’ of the position.

In other words, you must be able to carry out the essential duties of the job.

The employer should tell you what the job involves and what you must be able to do.

For example, a young person may not be able to meet the ‘inherent requirements’ of a courier job if they are not yet eligible for a driver’s licence.

For more information on the Age Discrimination Act see: http://www.humanrights.gov.au/about/legislation/

Making a complaint

If you feel that you have been discriminated against because of your age, you can contact the Commission and talk with a Complaints Information Officer.

The phone number is 1300 656 419. Your call will be confidential.

Complaints to the Commission must be in writing. You can make your complaint by writing a letter, sending an email or by using our online form at: www.humanrights.gov.au/complaints_information .

A complaint can be made in any language. You can also make a statement to the Commission in Braille, or verbally on video or audio tape. We can also help you write out your complaint if you need assistance.

There is no cost involved in lodging a complaint with the Commission.

If it appears that the issues you raise are covered by the Act, the Commission will contact the other person or organisation and ask for their side of the story. We will then work with both of you to try to find a solution that everyone can agree with. This is called conciliation. A large number of complaints are resolved this way.

If conciliation does not work, you can choose to take your complaint further to the Federal Court of Australia.

It is against the law for anyone to victimise you for making a complaint.

Resolving complaints

Depending on what the complaint is about, conciliation can result in:

an apology
reinstatement to a job
the provision of goods or services in a non-discriminatory way
changes in an organisation’s policies or practices
payment of financial compensation.

Nora was a 60-year-old woman who had been employed as a casual for two years with a club until she was made redundant. She alleged that this was because of her age and claimed a younger person was later employed in her position.

The club said that Nora’s employment had been finalised for operational reasons.

The complaint was resolved through conciliation with the club agreeing to reinstate Nora to her former position, pay financial compensation and provide her with a letter of apology.

Preventing discrimination

Everyone can play a role to help ensure that people of all ages have the same opportunities as others.

The Commission undertakes a wide range of activities to build awareness about the rights and responsibilities of individuals and organisations under the Age Discrimination Act, especially in the workplace.

We also promote the importance and value of mature workers. Mature Workers Mean Business is an online resource that includes case studies of employers and employees, research and reports, as well as information to debunk a number of myths about mature workers.

We have also produced information to help young people ensure they don’t ‘cop’ discrimination – this is available at: www.humanrights.gov.au/complaints_information/young_people.html

In addition, the Age Discrimination Commissioner has a role to review legislation, provide policy advice to government and others and undertake projects to tackle the attitudes and stereotypes that can lead to discrimination against people of different ages.

You can find out more about what we’re doing by visiting: http://www.humanrights.gov.au/age