Commissioner for Equal Opportunity

Full description

Background

The Equal Opportunity Act 1977 (No. 9025) made it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of sex (including sexual harassment) or marital status in certain areas. The Office of the Commissioner for Equal Opportunity (VA 1830) and the Equal Opportunity Board (VA 1417) were established under the provisions of the Equal Opportunity Act 1977.

Function

The Commissioner dealt with complaints under the Equal Opportunity Act through the process of negotiation and conciliation and referred unresolved complaints to the Equal Opportunity Board.

The Commissioner of Equal Opportunity was required to investigate:
- Complaints lodged with the Registrar of the Equal Opportunity Board.
- Matters referred by the Board.

The Commissioner's role was investigative, conciliatory and negotiation oriented. Outside the metropolitan area, complaints could be lodged with a clerk of the Magistrates Court.

From 1977 to 1983 the function encompassed:
Receipt, investigation, conciliation, negotiation and adjudication of complaints of discrimination on the grounds of sex (including sexual harassment) and marital status in the areas of employment, education, accommodation and the provision of goods and services, under the provisions of the Equal Opportunity Act 1977.

From 1983 the function extended to include complaints received under the federal Racial Discrimination Act 1975 and the Human Rights Commission Act 1981, under a co-operative agreement between the Victoria and the Commonwealth.

The Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (No. 10095) extended the grounds of unlawful discrimination to include race, impairment, political or religious beliefs and extended the areas to which the Act applied to include clubs which receive Government funding or use Crown land.

Until 1984, complaints of discrimination on the grounds of race could be heard and conciliation undertaken as part of the ethnic affairs function. However, there was no legal sanction until proclamation of the 1984 Act.

The Attorney General assumed responsibility for the hearing of racial discrimination complaints from the Minister for Ethnic Affairs (VRG 76) in 1984 and for the Equal Opportunity Commission from the Premier (VRG 50) in 1985. Following the abolition of the Attorney General's department in 1992, the responsibility was transferred to the Department of Justice (VA 3085).

The Victorian Equal Opportunity Amendment Act 1993 reworked the structure and operations of Equal Opportunity Authorities. The Commissioner for Equal Opportunity was replaced with a five person Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VA 4278) . The Equal Opportunity Board continued to operate in an interim capacity until the advent of the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 1995 which stated that complaints that could not be resolved by conciliation through the Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission were able to be referred to the Anti-Discrimination List, within the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VA 4146).