In this section, we use the term ‘disability’ to refer to what the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld) calls ‘impairment’. Both terms share the same meaning in this context.
Legal protections for people with disability
The Anti-Discrimination Act
The Act makes it illegal to treat someone unfairly because of their disability in areas such as:
- work
- education
- accommodation
- access to goods and services.
Types of disability discrimination
Direct
Direct discrimination happens when a person is treated worse than others because of their disability.
Example: When it becomes known in the workplace that a worker has previously received care for a psychiatric condition, other workers call them names, like ‘psycho’ and ‘weirdo.’
Indirect
Indirect discrimination happens when a rule, policy or practice is difficult, or impossible, to comply with because of a person's disability, unless it is reasonable in the circumstances.
Example: A workplace requires all employees to attend meetings on the second floor of a building with no lift, making it inaccessible for employees with mobility impairments to attend.
Discrimination by association
This happens when someone is treated unfairly because they are associated with a person who has a disability.
Example: A parent of a child with a disability is denied a promotion because their employer assumes they won’t devote enough time to work.
Public entities
Public entities can limit your rights, but only where the limitation is reasonable and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom.
If you have a complaint about a public entity limiting your human rights, you need to contact the public entity involved first. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, you can then make a complaint to us.
Quick links
To learn more about disability discrimination and other human rights, visit: