Disability discrimination webinar well received by disability advocates and organisations

Published 03 November 2021

ADNSW conciliation officers Tory McGuire and Sally Dews hosted a disability discrimination webinar on 28 October that was attended by more than 50 disability advocates and organisations.

The webinar focused on:

• establishing what is considered a disability under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW)
• differentiating between direct and indirect types of disability discrimination
• establishing what is not considered discrimination under the Act
• highlighting the public areas where disability discrimination is lawful and unlawful.

Sally informed advocates about the correct way of lodging a complaint on behalf of a person with disability, the role of ADNSW in dealing with the complaint, and the investigation process including conciliation, when it works best and other outcomes.

Tory answered some frequently asked questions on the advantages and limitations of ADNSW’s conciliation process and disability discrimination related to children with disability being suspended from school at a very young age for behavioural issues.

Tory also addressed a pandemic-related frequently asked question regarding people with disability having experienced challenges with Public Health Orders such as the use of face masks in certain public settings including at work and being refused access to goods and services.

Advocates were presented with four detailed disability discrimination case studies, each supporting the frequently asked questions and explaining how ADNSW was able to help these individuals in achieving a desired outcome from their complaint.

One interesting question which arose from the session was ‘Can you specify when it is more appropriate to make a complaint with Anti-Discrimination NSW rather than with the Australian Human Rights Commission over a matter of discrimination covered by both the Disability Discrimination Act and the Anti-Discrimination Act?’

ADNSW provided advocates with necessary points on processes, wait times and legislation to consider when deciding on which services to access before making a complaint.

The full webinar is available to watch on our ADNSW YouTube Channel.