Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

In short, the answer to the senator's question is no. The proposed consolidation of the five anti-discrimination acts into a single act will deliver clearer and simpler legislation that will be easier to understand and comply with, delivering regulatory benefits to business. The consolidated act increases certainty and reduces cost to business by addressing gaps, removing inconsistencies, reducing complexity and streamlining the complaints process.

The consolidated act also replaces two separate tests for discrimination with a simpler single test that is similar to what currently operates in state and territory legislation. Instead of the legalistic approach to defining discrimination in the existing acts, the consolidated law will take a principles based approach, making the law easier to understand, apply and comply with. For example, under the existing acts, defining discrimination requires the construction of a hypothetical comparator to determine whether discrimination has occurred. In the consolidated act this will be replaced by a simple definition for discrimination, incorporating unfavourable treatment based on an attribute or conduct.

Under the consolidated act, the Australian Human Rights Commission will have greater scope to dismiss unmeritorious complaints at an early stage. The new, consolidated act incorporates a shifting burden of proof, which will move from the complainant to the respondent only after a prima facie case has been established. This will limit the number of unmeritorious claims made, as complainants must first prove that a case exists before the burden of proof shifts to the respondent.