"Australia" includes the Territories to which this Act extends.
"authority" means:
- (a)
- an incorporated or unincorporated body or authority
established for a public purpose:
(i) by an Act or by regulations made under
an Act; or
(ii) by or under a law of a Territory (other than a law of the Australian
Capital Territory or the Northern Territory);
being a body whose staff consists of, or includes, persons who are not APS
employees; or - (b)
- a company or other body corporate incorporated under a law
of the Commonwealth, of a State or of a Territory, being a company or body
corporate in which the Commonwealth has a controlling interest;
but does not
include a relevant employer as defined in section 3 of the Equal
Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 .
"designated group" means any of the following classes of persons:
- (a)
- members of the Aboriginal race of Australia or persons who are descendants of
indigenous inhabitants of the Torres Strait Islands;
- (b)
- persons who have
migrated to Australia and whose first language is not English, and the
children of such persons;
- (c)
- persons with a physical or mental disability;
- (d)
- any other class of persons prescribed by the regulations for the purposes
of this definition.
"discrimination" means:
- (a)
- discrimination that is unlawful under the
Racial Discrimination Act 1975 or the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 ; or
- (b)
- discrimination by which a person with a physical or mental disability is,
because of the disability, treated less favourably than a person without the
disability.
"employee" means a natural person appointed or engaged:
- (a)
- under a
contract of service, whether on a full-time, part-time, casual or temporary
basis; or
- (b)
- under a contract for services.
"employment matters" includes:
- (a)
- recruitment procedure, and selection
criteria, for appointment or engagement of persons as employees;
- (b)
- promotion and transfer of employees;
- (c)
- training and staff development for
employees; and
- (d)
- conditions of service of employees.
"operative day", in relation to an authority, means the day specified in
relation to that authority in subsection 5(2).
"overseas" means outside Australia.
"program", in relation to a relevant authority, means an equal employment
opportunity program designed to ensure that appropriate action is taken by the
authority:
- (a)
- to eliminate discrimination by it against; and
- (b)
- to
promote equal opportunity for;
women and persons in designated groups in
relation to employment matters.
"relevant authority" means an authority that employs 40 or more employees in
Australia.
"responsible Minister", for a relevant authority, means:
- (a)
- if the
regulations prescribe a Minister as responsible for the authority—that
Minister; or
- (b)
- otherwise—the Minister responsible for the authority.
"trade union" means:
- (a)
- an organisation of employees registered pursuant
to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 ; or
- (b)
- a trade union within
the meaning of a State Act or law of a Territory.
"woman" means a member of the female sex irrespective of age.
- (2)
- A
reference to discrimination in relation to employment matters does not include
a reference to discrimination that:
- (a)
- is essential for the effective performance of the duties to which the
employment matters relate; and
- (b)
- is not unlawful under the
Racial Discrimination Act 1975 or the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 .
- (3)
- For
the purposes of this Act, an authority employs an employee in Australia if the
contract, by which the employee is appointed or engaged, is made in Australia,
notwithstanding that the employee may perform duties overseas.
- (4)
- Nothing in
this Act shall be taken to require any action incompatible with the principle
that employment matters should be dealt with on the basis of merit.
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Commonwealth Consolidated Acts