Incapacity attorneys name on Michaelia Money to reform discrimination legal guidelines

After a court ruled disability discrimination “almost impossible to prove”, an alliance of lawyers began working with disability rights and community groups to persuade Attorney General Michaelia Cash to rewrite relevant discrimination laws.

The group of 46 disability, community and legal organizations and 15 individuals – including members of the Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group (ADLEA) – have argued that federal judicial proceedings are undermining the protection that people with disabilities should enjoy under anti-discrimination laws.

ADLEA President and Disability Lawyer Natalie Wade said: slaves The case had effectively relieved organizations from the obligation to take positive action to address a person’s disability in terms of the group’s writing. reflects Michaelia Cash that it has effectively created a “new and impracticable legal hurdle” for people with disabilities.

“Thanks to them slaves In this case, people with disabilities must prove that there is a coincidental connection between their disability and the organization’s failure to make reasonable accommodation, ”commented Ms. Wade. “With such an insurmountable barrier, it is almost impossible to prove disability discrimination in court and much more difficult to make appropriate adjustments in practice.”

The group was closed by former Attorney General Christian Porter and asked to wait until the start of the next government when they wrote to him in 2018. Now they request a meeting with Ms. Cash to discuss the changes in the law.

Almost half of people with disabilities report having been discriminated against by their employer on the basis of disability, and one in six reported having experienced some form of discrimination in educational institutions. Before the slaves Set a new precedent, they were under the case Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA).

Sebastian Zagarella, Chief Executive Officer of People with Disability Australia, said the court’s interpretation of the law needed to be corrected with a change in the law.

“We urge Senator Cash and the Morrison Administration to review the intentions of the Disability Discrimination Act and make it imperative that organizations make appropriate adjustments to people with disabilities, ”said Zagarella.

Disabled lawyers urge Michaelia Cash to reform discrimination laws

Last updated: July 05, 2021 Published: July 05, 2021