1. Go to the website https://www.humanrights.gov.

au/our-work/legal/legislation and identify the

purpose of the following Acts – what is covered, who does this apply to and what is the relevance
in a workplace?
 Age Discrimination Act
 The Age Discrimination Act 2004 helps to ensure that people are not treated less favourably on
the ground of age in various areas of public life including:

 employment
 provision of goods and services
 education
 administration of Commonwealth laws and programs
 The Act also provides for positive discrimination – that is, actions which assist people of a
particular age who experience a disadvantage because of their age. It also provides for
exemptions in the following areas:

 superannuation
 migration, taxation and social security laws
 state laws and other Commonwealth laws
 some health programmes.
 For further information: All about age discrimination.
 Disability Discrimination Act
 The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 has as its major objectives to

 eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities
 promote community acceptance of the principle that people with disabilities have the same
fundamental rights as all members of the community, and
 ensure as far as practicable that people with disabilities have the same rights to equality before
the law as other people in the community.
 For further information visit Disability Rights.
 Racial Discrimination Act
 The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 gives effect to Australia's obligations under the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Its major objectives are to

 promote equality before the law for all persons, regardless of their race, colour or national or
ethnic origin, and
 make discrimination against people on the basis of their race, colour, descent or national or
ethnic origin unlawful.
 For further information: Race Discrimination.
 Sex Discrimination Act
  The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 gives effect to Australia's obligations under the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and certain aspects of the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 156. Its major objectives are to

 promote equality between men and women
 eliminate discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status or pregnancy and, with respect to
dismissals, family responsibilities, and
 eliminate sexual harassment at work, in educational institutions, in the provision of goods and
services, in the provision of accommodation and the delivery of Commonwealth programs.
 For further information: Sex Discrimination.
 Australian Human Rights Commission Act
 The Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (formerly called the Human Rights and Equal
Opportunity Commission Act 1986 ). established the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission (now known as the Australian Human Rights Commission) and gives it functions in
relation to the following international instruments:

 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
 Convention Concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation (ILO 111)
 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
 Convention on the Rights of the Child
 Declaration of the Rights of the Child
 Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons
 Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons, and
 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on
Religion or Belief.
 In addition, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner has specific
functions under the AHRC Act and the Native Title Act,1993 to monitor the human rights of
Indigenous people.

 For further information: The Australian Human Rights Commission (information sheet).

 Australian Human Rights Commission Regulations 1989 (Cth)

 Section 3(1) of the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth) defines discrimination.
The Australian Human Rights Regulations 1989 (Cth) lists additional grounds which will
constitute discrimination under the Act.

2. Current projects that have been implemented as part of the national strategies for each of the
following acts can be found on the relevant areas of www.humanrights.gov.au. Review these
current projects and analyse the key factors and campaigns which would be beneficial and could
 be adapted for managing a diverse workplace. Which potential benefits for a workplace can you
find in each of these projects?
 Age Discrimination Act
Promoting positive & diverse portrayals of older australians
The Age Discrimination Commission of Australia conducted an awareness campaign within 2013
– 2015. The project was aimed at finding and resolving the barriers posed against older people
in Australia. They helped create awareness on the effects of age discrimination and how to
combat the root causes. Their approaches include portraying older people correctly in the
media, including their diversities, while highlighting their values, abilities and experiences. There
was also a call to reform the society in a way that older people are supported and enabled to
reach maximum potential (Humanrights.gov.au, 2015).

 Disability Discrimination Act

DDA25 anniversary
Thursday 1 March, 2018, signified the 25th anniversary of the commencement of the operation
of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Humanrights.gov.au, 2018). The theme was ‘Equality
before the Law’ and the discussions included the successes and drawbacks of the Disability
Discrimination Act, the rights of the disabled and the rights of women and indigenous people
with disabilities. This project has helped create increased awareness on the rights of the
disabled (Humanrights.gov.au, 2018).

 Racial Discrimination Act

Racial discrimination? Know your rights
In November, 2015 the 40th anniversary of the Racial Discrimination Act was celebrated by the
Australian Human Rights Commission with educational videos, accompanying PowerPoint
presentations, posters and postcards, which helped to increase the awareness of the Australian
society about the Racial Discrimination Act and how it can be used to promote equality amongst
all races (Humanrights.gov.au, 2015).

 Sex Discrimination Act

National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces
In June 2018, Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, announced a national
inquiry into sexual harassment in Australian workplaces (Humanrights.gov.au, 2018). A toolkit
was developed (Have Your Say – Conversation Toolkit) to increase conversations in the
workplace, community and amongst groups, about sexual harassment. This creates room for
openly conversing and enlightening the public on sexual harassment, by reporting and allowing
for investigations (Humanrights.gov.au, 2018).

3. Choose 1 of the following options:

 a) Review your existing diversity policy in the workplace (if one exists) and compare what is
included to what should be included. Identify what is potentially lacking and which of the
aspects you have researched could be included

b) Given consideration to the requirements you have identified in Question 1 and the positives
you have analysed and identified in Question 2; develop a diversity policy which sufficiently
covers all aspects required to manage diversity in a contemporary, modern workplace which
fosters effective communication and promotes harmony and an inclusive team

Age discrimination older people should be giving fear priority because they have more to still offer
when it come to experience. When workplace start to get rid of their older work just for the
reason of Age discrimination, it has a lot of effect to the younger worker and it may cause lost of
knowledge to the younger workers. They should be encouraged to provide more of their
knowledge to encourage workplace harmony.
With this older people should be treated fairly too both in pay-gap and no matter the person skin,
colour, background they should always proper communication language that everyone has to
understand and be able to ask questions where they are not clear about.

4. Develop a bullying/harassment policy that can be used in your workplace. The policy needs to
include:
(You may access and reference you state WHS legislation or Fairwork for specific requirements in
your state and the following link provides a checklist:Bullying Policy Checklist for employers page -
Comcare)
 The legal requirements set out by law
 Examples of what is defined as bullying and harassment and what is not
 A clear statement that will outline the processes and procedures to be followed in case of
any incident including the stages of informal and formal procedures
 A statement regarding how you will implement this policy in the workplace and ensure that staff are
trained and aware on an ongoing basis, as part of an integrated consultation process

Bullying in the workplace

Workplace bullying is repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or group of

workers, that creates a risk to health and safety. Workplace bullying has been identified as an
important risk and hazard across all the federal jurisdictions. However, if bullying and other
workplace conflict is identified and dealt with early the situation can be addressed and resolved,
preventing bullying from becoming acceptable behaviour which can result in workplace injury.

Risk

Bullying in the workplace can cause significant psychosocial risk to workers who experience or
witnesses such behaviour. Psychosocial risks may arise from the poor management of risk
factors such as work design, lack of implementing change management strategies,
high/inappropriate job demands or lack of control over work. Psychosocial risks are one of the
main causes of workplace stress leading to a deterioration of a workers' mental health. The
presence of bullying in the workplace can be a result of poor workplace culture supported by an
environment which allows such behaviour to occur. Poor people management skills and lack of
supportive leadership can also add to the stress. The effects of workplace bullying on a worker
vary according to the nature of the bullying behaviour, but may include:

 Stress, anxiety or sleep disturbance

 Mental health issues such as depression
 Reduced quality of family and home life
 Increased absenteeism and staff turnover
 Reduced work performance

Remedy

Everyone at the workplace has a duty in relation to stopping and/or intervening when they see
workplace bullying occurring. All workers can help to ensure that bullying behaviours do not
occur.

A Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) has the primary duty of care under
the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable,
the health and safety of workers and that other persons at the workplace are not put at risk from
the work that is carried out. 'Health' is defined in the WHS Act as both physical and
psychological health.

PCBUs should ensure the organisation has systems, policies and procedures in place to
prevent bullying and effectively respond to allegations that may arise, in order to provide a safe
and healthy workplace and meet their duties under the WHS Act. The risk of workplace bullying
can be eliminated or minimised by creating a work environment where everyone treats each
other with dignity and respect. It is best dealt with by taking a preventative approach that
involves:

 early identification of bullying, unreasonable behaviour and situations likely to increase

the risk of bullying
 implementing control measures to prevent the risks and respond to workplace bullying,
and
 monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of the control measures.

Everyone in the workplace should actively work to prevent workplace bullying before it becomes
a risk to health and safety. Prevention may be achieved by:

 Ensuring senior management commitment to a workplace that does not tolerate

unacceptable behaviours and deals with reports of bullying in a confidential, fair and
timely manner
 Consulting with workers to create and promote a mentally healthy workplace culture
 Ensuring the organisation has appropriate workplace bullying policies and procedures in
place and workers are trained in these procedures
 Actively managing workplace psychosocial risk factors and stressors
 Providing regular and respectful performance feedback
 Having a Harassment Contact Officer (HCO) in place for workers to speak to
 Ensuring there is training for workers and managers on workplace bullying
 Including bullying and harassment information in workplace induction programs