On 14 July 2009, the SA Parliament passed the Equal Opportunity (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill, strengthening SA laws and giving South Australians better options to solve discrimination problems locally.
There is more protection for:
- people who care for a dependent child or a family member
- people with a mental illness, or an infection without symptoms
- domestic partners
- people discriminated against because of their spouse or partner
- contractors
- people who have been sexually harassed.
Workers have better protection, if they:
- are sexually harassed and the employer has not taken reasonable steps to prevent the harassment
- are harassed by customers or clients – such as waiters harassed by patrons, and care workers harassed by residents
- wear dress or adornments symbolic of their religion.
Schools and universities must have sexual harassment policies. And, students and staff are able to lodge a complaint about sexual harassment by any student aged 16 or over.
The time limit for lodging a complaint is doubled, from six months to twelve months.
Also, some outdated laws have been repealed:
- clubs and associations may not turn away homosexual members
- small partnerships may not refuse to admit new members to partnership on the ground of their sexuality
- church-run hospitals, aged-care homes and welfare agencies may not discriminate on sexuality.
A commencement date for the new law is yet to be fixed. For more information, go to: www.eoc.sa.gov.au
