Discrimination Commission and Tribunal Procedure Information Pack

INTRODUCTION

Please note that the information contained in this pack is of a general nature only and it is not intended to replace legal advice about your specific claim.

The Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland (“Commission”) and Anti-Discrimination Tribunal Queensland (“Tribunal”) have been established to handle complaints under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld) (“Act”). Similar provisions exist under federal legislation and are dealt with by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and federal courts. This pack contains practical information about procedure in the Commission and Tribunal. You should refer to information sheets available directly from the Commission about the law of discrimination. These are available on the Commission’s website www.adcq.qld.gov.au.

It is important at the outset to note that there is no general law against all discrimination. It is necessary for any complaint to be brought within the scope of the Act. Please refer to the Commission’s guide about what may comprise discrimination. In brief, the Act contains prohibitions on specific forms of direct and indirect discrimination (such as age, sex, religious belief or activity) in specific areas (such as work and the provision of accommodation). In addition, there is a general prohibition on sexual harassment and vilification. The guide produced by the Commission provides more detail about these matters. In this information pack, the word “discrimination” is used to refer to all forms of conduct prohibited by the Act.