A strong and modern Anti-Discrimination Act for Queensland: More Queenslanders to be protected from bad behaviour

Queensland's Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall has welcomed legislation passed by state parliament today and says it will make Queensland’s equality laws some of the strongest in the nation.

Mr McDougall said the laws would mean more Queenslanders would be protected from discrimination.

"Queenslanders have told us they want to see a shift to prevention to remove the unfair burden on individuals to call out bad behaviour," Mr McDougall said.

"This is a significant step forward for Queensland and the welcome result of extensive consultation with communities, religious groups, the public and community sectors, and business.

"Preventing discrimination and harassment holds proven benefits for businesses and organisations, including retaining staff longer, increasing productivity, and reducing costs. It’s a win for everyone.

"We know that businesses and organisations already have a lot of work to keep up with compliance – particularly smaller ones with fewer resources. This means what’s required will be different depending on factors like the size of your business, organisation or agency, and the sector you operate in.

"These aren’t radical changes. They reflect good business practice and complement existing legislative requirements at a federal level.

"We will be working with stakeholders over the coming months to make sure the changes are well understood and implemented fairly."

Long-awaited changes to the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act will mean businesses, organisations and government agencies have a legal obligation – called a ‘positive duty’ – to prevent discrimination, sexual harassment, and vilification, instead of responding to problems after they occur.

More Queenslanders will be protected from discrimination as a result of the reforms, including victim-survivors of domestic and family violence and people experiencing homelessness. The law will also be more responsive to discrimination on combined grounds.

Vilification protections will be extended to cover Queenslanders who are publicly vilified – including online – because of their disability, age, or sex.

The reforms were passed through the Respect at Work and Other Matters Amendment Bill. They represent the most significant changes to the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act since its introduction over 30 years ago and will help ensure the law keeps pace with the needs and expectations of contemporary Queensland.

The law currently relies on complaints being made by individual people about things that have already happened, in order for discrimination, sexual harassment, vilification, and other conduct to be addressed.

This approach places an unfair burden on people experiencing these behaviours, doesn’t work to prevent the harm they cause, and is an ineffective framework for addressing systemic discrimination.

Shifting the focus to prevention will mean businesses, organisations and government will need to take reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent these from happening, rather than respond to complaints if and when they arise.

The Commission will work with industry, experts and peak bodies over the coming months to ensure the changes are well understood before they come into effect on 1 July 2025. We will develop guidance materials to make sure it’s as easy as possible for entities to understand their responsibilities and comply with the law.

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More Information

Initial details about the upcoming changes are available on our website.

Media Contacts

QHRC Media

Email: comms@qhrc.qld.gov.au

Phone: 0407 657 411