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Equal Opportunity Review

An Equality Act for a Fairer Victoria

Equal opportunity legislation in Victoria dates back to 1977. The legislation has been successful in raising awareness and preventing some forms of discrimination. However, there remains a need to address systemic barriers to equal opportunity.
This need was raised in the Attorney-General's Justice Statement 2004 and 2008, the Victorian Government's 2006 election commitment, as well as recent government policies including Growing Victoria Together 2 and A Fairer Victoria. These policies recognise the particular relationship between systemic discrimination and entrenched disadvantage in Victoria.

Review Process

In August 2007, the Attorney-General appointed former Victorian Public Advocate, Mr Julian Gardner, to conduct a review of certain aspects of the Equal Opportunity Act 1995.
The review was conducted between September 2007 and June 2008. A Discussion Paper was released in November 2007 and was followed by an Options Paper in March 2008. The Discussion and Options Paper and the Options Paper, and submissions from the public to the Papers can be downloaded from Related Publications menus.
Input to the review was also received through meetings and consultations with a range of stakeholders, including business and community groups.

Exceptions and Exemptions

The review did not consider the exceptions and exemptions in the Act. These are the subject of a separate review. The details of this review can be found on the Exceptions Review page.

Final Report

The final report from the review was launched in July 2008. The report, Equal Opportunity Review Final Report: An Equality Act for a Fairer Victoria makes recommendations on a range of issues including the scope of the legislation, its alignment with the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities, the complaints process and the powers and governance structure of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.

Implementation

The first stage of the Government’s response to the final report was implemented through the Equal Opportunity Amendment (Governance) Act 2009. This Act implements the recommendations relating to the governance structure of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.
The Act received Royal Assent on 14 April 2009 and has a default commencement date of 1 October 2009. The Act:

• creates a new governance structure for the Commission that provides clear lines of responsibility and accountability
• creates a new Commissioner position
• creates a Board with sufficient capacity to provide strategic oversight of the Commission’s broad responsibilities under the Equal Opportunity Act, the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities and the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001. The new Board was announced by the Attorney General on 29 September 2009. A copy of the announcement is available for downloading.

To find the Equal Opportunity Amendment (Governance) Act 2009 follow Web Links and Legislation menus.

The 2009 Statement of Government Intentions states that the Government will introduce a Bill in late 2009 or early 2010 to implement the remainder of the response to the final report.

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Author:	Equal Opportunity Act Review Project Team
Place of Publication:	Melbourne
Publisher:	Department of Justice
Date of Publication:	Discussion Paper - November 2007 Options Paper - March 2008 Final Report - June 2008
Number of Pages:	Discussion Paper - 82 pages Discussion Paper Easy English - 22 pages Options Paper - 123 pages Oprtions Paper Easy English - 14 pages Options Paper Large Print - 319 pages Final Report PDF - 160 pages Final Report Word - 130 pages Speech by the Hon R Hulls MP Attorney-General - 7 pages Speech by Julian Gardner - 5 pages Media Release Equality Commissioner and Board Announced - 1 page
Copyright:	State of Victoria 2007 and 2008.