NSW Disability Discrimination Legal Centre

Things to consider before making a complaint

admin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:48:14 +0000

If you have a disability discrimination issue you’ll first need to work out how you want to deal with it. Taking legal action is just one of several options.

Initial self-help options

An initial option is to send a written complaint to the discriminating party. As part of the complaint request a reply, informing them that if they do not reply within 14 to 21 days you will take the matter further.

Fact sheets and useful links

admin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:24:57 +0000

Fact sheets

The NSW DDLC has written a number of downloadable fact sheets for your use:

Do I have to disclose my disability to my employer?
What are the

Disability and discrimination

admin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:11:13 +0000

What is a disability defined as?

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and Anti-Discrimination Act (ADA) use different definitions of disability.

Anti-Discrimination Act (ADA) (NSW 1977) defines a disability as:

Total or partial loss of a person’s bodily or mental functions or of a part of a person’s body; or
The presence in a persons body of organisms causing or capable of causing disease or illness; or
The malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of a person’s body; or
A disorder or malfunction that results in a person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction; or
A disorder, illness or disease that affects a person’s thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment or that results in disturbed behaviour

Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) (Commonwealth 1992) defines a disability as:

Total or partial loss of the person’s bodily or mental functions; or
Total or partial loss of a part of the body; or
The presence in the body of organisms causing disease or illness; or
The presence in the body of organisms capable of causing disease or illness; or
The malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of the person’s body; or
A disorder or malfunction that results in the person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction; or
A disorder, illness or disease that affects a person’s thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment, or that results in disturbed behaviour, and includes a disability that:
Presently exists; or
Previously existed but no longer exists; or
May exist in the future; or
Is imputed to a person

The DDA and ADA also cover:

Future disability: A condition which runs in the family which you may develop in the future.

Imputed disability: Something someone believes another person has, whether or not they do. For example, someone may believe a gay man has HIV/AIDS.

Temporary disability: A disability that exists for a short period of time and isn

Policy and law reform

admin — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:58:51 +0000

We engage as much as possible in policy work and law reform and strive to utilise our collective experience in providing legal advice, casework and community legal education to put forward positions which help achieve substantive equality for people with disability.

Convention on the Rights of People with Disability

admin — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:55:39 +0000

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol was adopted on 13 December 2006 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and was opened for signature on 30 March 2007.

Bridging the access gap for people with disability

admin — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 02:13:44 +0000

FAQs factsheets now online

admin — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 10:26:37 +0000

DDLC

Recent casework

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:28:10 +0000

Discrimination in the Provision of Goods and Services—Auslan Interpreter

Our client, who has a hearing impairment, wished to undertake a course at a local registered training organisation, which offered fully funded courses by a government department. In order for our client to attend the course though he needed an Auslan interpreter and this would cost an additional $5000. Our client made a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission against the government department that administered the course as he felt it was unfair that the department would not give him extra funding to pay for an interpreter.

At conciliation the parties agreed to settle on the basis that the government department would provide extra funding for an Auslan interpreter and the registered training organisation would assist our client by providing a flexible learning environment that would enable him to complete some of the course by reading materials

2009 staff planning day

admin — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:38:05 +0000

On 21 January 2009, DDLC staff took time out to get together and plan on how to improve service delivery for our clients.

At the end of the day, we came up with a list of

Companion Card

admin — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:40:26 +0000

The Companion Card was recently introduced in NSW with the aim to reduce discrimination against people with significant and lifelong disabilities who require a companion to travel with them on public transport or participate in recreational activities.

The card grants free admission or fare for the person