Significant amendments to Queensland’s anti-discrimination legislation; What’s Changing?

The Respect at Work and Other Matters Amendment Act 2024 (Qld) (“Amendment Act”) received assent on 19 September 2024 with the following amendments to the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld) (“ADA”) coming into effect on 1 July 2025.

New Protected Attributes

Individuals who have any of the six new attributes will be protected from being discriminated against based on those attributes. The six new attributes protected are ‘subjection to domestic or family violence’, ‘homelessness’, ‘physical appearance’, ‘expunged conviction’, ‘irrelevant criminal record’ and ‘irrelevant medical record’.

An irrelevant criminal record includes records of a person who has:

• been charged with an offence, but the proceedings for the offence have not been finalised or have lapsed, been withdrawn or struck out; and
• been acquitted of an offence or a person’s conviction has been quashed or set aside; and
• a conviction, but the circumstances of that conviction are not directly relevant to the situation in which the criminal record is being considered.

An irrelevant medical record is defined to mean a person’s medical record or part of a person’s medical record that is not directly relevant to the situation in which the record or part of the record is being considered. The term ‘medical record’ is deemed to include a record of applications or claims for compensation under a workers’ compensation scheme.

The new protection of subjection to family and domestic violence will prohibit discrimination against certain individuals because they have been subjected to behaviour that is abusive, threatening, or coercive.

The attribute of physical appearance is defined to mean a person’s weight, size or height, a birthmark, scar on a person’s face or body or another characteristic of a person’s face or body that a person has because of another protected attribute or that is not freely chosen. Characteristics that are freely chosen include hairstyle, piercings, or tattoos. It must be noted however, that tattoos or piercings which a person has because of a protected attribute, for example religious or cultural reasons, will be protected under the physical appearance attribute.

The new attribute of homelessness has not been defined however, it is likely to include persons who lack secure, safe and functioning housing. The attribute of expunged conviction is defined to include convictions which have now been removed completely under the Criminal Law (Historical Homosexual Convictions Expungement) Act 2017 (Qld), for example convictions for acts of homosexuality.

The protected attribute of ‘pregnancy’ is being extended to include potential pregnancy, with potential pregnancy being defined to include a person’s capability to become pregnant, desire to become pregnant and likelihood of becoming pregnant.

Revised Definitions of Discrimination

The definition of ‘direct discrimination’ will be amended so that the test is now whether a person treats or proposes to treat another person unfavourably because of a protected attribute. The amended definition expands the type of behaviour that may be considered to be direct discrimination and removes the need for a comparative factor.

The definition of ‘indirect discrimination’ will also be amended to be the imposing of, or proposal to impose, an unreasonable term that disadvantages, or is likely to disadvantage, a person because they have a protected attribute, removing the need for a person with a protected attribute to be unable or unwilling to comply with the proposed term.

Positive Duty Amendment

The amendments to the ADA impose requirements on all entities covered by the ADA, including workplaces, education facilities, accommodation facilities and persons providing goods and services, to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate discrimination, sexual harassment, harassment on the basis of sex and other objectionable behaviour.

Extension of Time Limit

The time limit for making a complaint under the ADA will be extended from one (1) year to two (2) years from the date of the alleged contravention of the Act which is the subject of the complaint.

What should Queensland organisations and businesses be doing in the lead up to 1 July 2025?

If you are an employer and require your current or potential employees to undertake criminal history checks or any form of medical testing, we recommend that you review the extent to which these checks are necessary in your business.

Other steps that should be being considered by organisations, business and PCBU’s include:

• Ensuring your policies, procedures and other control measures have been reviewed and updated to accommodate the new amendments.
• Consulting with your workers to ensure that they feel safe and respected in the workplace and while undertaking work functions.

If you require any assistance in complying with this legislation, please contact our office to arrange a time to discuss.