Commonwealth Numbered Acts

DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT 1992 No. 135 of 1992 - SECT 4

4.(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

"accommodation" includes residential or business accommodation;

"administrative office" means:

   (a)  an office established by, or an appointment made under, a law of the
        Commonwealth; and

   (b)  an office established by, or an appointment made under, a law of a
        Territory; and

   (c)  an appointment made by the Governor-General or a Minister otherwise
        than under a law of the Commonwealth or of a Territory; and

   (d)  an appointment as a director of an incorporated company that is a
        public authority of the Commonwealth; but does not include:

   (e)  an office of member of the Assembly, member of the Executive, or
        Minister within the meaning of the Australian Capital Territory 
        (Self-Government) Act 1988 ; or

   (f)  an office of member of the Legislative Assembly, member of the Council
        or Minister of the Territory, within the meaning of the
        Northern Territory  (Self-Government) Act 1978 ; or

   (g)  an office of member of the Legislative Assembly within the meaning of
        the Norfolk Island Act 1979; or

   (h)  an office or appointment in the Australian Public Service;

"associate", in relation to a person, includes:

   (a)  a spouse of the person; and

   (b)  another person who is living with the person on a genuine domestic
        basis; and

   (c)  a relative of the person; and

   (d)  a carer of the person; and

   (e)  another person who is in a business, sporting or recreational
        relationship with the person;

"auxiliary aid" means equipment (other than a palliative or therapeutic
device) that provides assistance to a person with a disability to alleviate
the effect of the disability;

"club" means an association (whether incorporated or unincorporated) of
persons associated together for social, literary, cultural, political,
sporting, athletic or other lawful purposes that provides and maintains its
facilities, in whole or in part, from the funds of the association;

"Commission" means the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
established by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986;

"commission agent" means a person who does work for another person as the
agent of that other person and who is remunerated, whether in whole or in
part, by commission;

"Commissioner" means the Disability Discrimination Commissioner appointed
under section 113;

"committee of management", in relation to a club or a registered organisation,
means the group or body of persons (however described) that manages the
affairs of that club or organisation, as the case may be;

"Commonwealth employee" means a person who:

   (a)  holds an office or appointment in the Australian Public Service or is
        employed in a temporary capacity in a Department; or

   (b)  holds an administrative office; or

   (c)  is employed by a public authority of the Commonwealth; or

   (d)  holds an office or appointment in the Commonwealth Teaching Service or
        is employed as a temporary employee under the
        Commonwealth Teaching Service  Act 1972 ; or

   (e)  is employed under the
        Australian Security Intelligence Organization Act  1979 , the
        Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, the Supply and Development Act 1939
        or the Naval Defence Act 1910; or

   (f)  is a member of the Defence Force; or

   (g)  is a member, staff member or special member of the Australian Federal
        Police;

"Commonwealth law" means:

   (a)  an Act, or a regulation, rule, by-law or determination made under an
        Act; or

   (b)  an ordinance of a Territory, or a regulation, rule, by-law or
        determination made under an ordinance of a Territory; or

   (c)  an order or award made under a law referred to in paragraph (a) or
        (b);

"Commonwealth program" means a program conducted by or on behalf of the
Commonwealth Government;

"complaint" means a complaint lodged under section 69;

"compulsory conference" means a conference convened undersection 74;

"contract worker" means a person who does work for another person under a
contract between the employer of the first-mentioned person and that other
person;

"Convention" means the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention,
1958 adopted by the General Conference of the International Labour
Organization on 25 June 1958, a copy of the English text of which is set out
in Schedule 1 of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986;

"Covenant on Civil and Political Rights" means the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, a copy of the English text of which is set out in
Schedule 2 of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986;

"Department" has the same meaning as that expression has in the Public Service
Act 1922;

"disability", in relation to a person, means:

   (a)  total or partial loss of the person's bodily or mental functions; or

   (b)  total or partial loss of a part of the body; or

   (c)  the presence in the body of organisms causing disease or illness; or

   (d)  the presence in the body of organisms capable of causing disease or
        illness; or

   (e)  the malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of the
        person's body; or

   (f)  a disorder or malfunction that results in the person learning
        differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction; or

   (g)  a disorder, illness or disease that affects a person's thought
        processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment or that results
        in disturbed behaviour; and includes a disability that:

   (h)  presently exists; or

   (i)  previously existed but no longer exists; or

   (j)  may exist in the future; or

   (k)  is imputed to a person;

"disability discrimination" has the meaning given by sections 5 to 9
(inclusive);

"discriminate" has the meaning given by sections 5 to 9 (inclusive);

"document" includes any book, register or other record of information, however
compiled, recorded or stored;

"educational authority" means a body or person administering an educational
institution;

"educational institution" means a school, college, university or other
institution at which education or training is provided;

"employment" includes:

   (a)  part-time and temporary employment; and

   (b)  work under a contract for services; and

   (c)  work as a Commonwealth employee; and

   (d)  work as an employee of a State or an instrumentality of a State;

"employment agency" means any person who, or body that, whether for payment or
not, assists persons to find employment or other work or assists employers to
find employees or workers, and includes the Commonwealth Employment Service;

"enactment" has the same meaning as in the Human Rights and Equal  Opportunity
Commission Act 1986 ;

"exemption" means an exemption granted under section 55;

"Federal Court" means the Federal Court of Australia;

"function" includes duty;

"institution of tertiary education" means a university, technical and
further education institution or other institution at which tertiary education
or training is provided;

"interim determination" means an interim determination under"instrumentality
of a State" means a body or authority established for a public purpose by a
law of a State and includes a local government body;

"premises" includes:

   (a)  a structure, building, aircraft, vehicle or vessel; and

   (b)  a place (whether enclosed or built on or not); and

   (c)  a part of premises (including premises of a kind referred to in
        paragraph (a) or (b));

"President" means President of the Commission;

"principal" means:

   (a)  in relation to a commission agent - a person for whom the commission
        agent does work as a commission agent; and

   (b)  in relation to a contract worker - a person for whom the contract
        worker does work under a contract between the employer of the
        contract worker and the person;

"proposed enactment" has the same meaning as in the Human Rights and Equal 
Opportunity Commission Act 1986 ;

"public authority of the Commonwealth" means:

   (a)  a body incorporated, whether before or after the commencement of this
        Act, for a public purpose by a law of the Commonwealth or a law of a
        Territory, being a body corporate employing staff on its own behalf;
        or

   (b)  an authority or body, not being a body corporate, established, whether
        before or after the commencement of this Act, for a public purpose by,
        or in accordance with the provisions of, a law of the Commonwealth or
        a law of a Territory, being an authority or body employing staff on
        its own behalf; or

   (c)  an incorporated company over which the Commonwealth, or a body or
        authority referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), is in a position to
        exercise control;

"registered organisation" means an organisation within the meaning of the
Industrial Relations Act 1988;

"relative", in relation to a person, means a person who is related to the
first-mentioned person by blood, marriage, affinity or adoption;

"representative complaint" means a complaint that the Commission determines,
under section 89, should be dealt with as a representative complaint;

"respondent", in relation to a complaint, means the person who is, or each of
the persons who are, alleged to have done the act to which the complaint
relates;

"services" includes:

   (a)  services relating to banking, insurance, superannuation and the
        provision of grants, loans, credit or finance; or

   (b)  services relating to entertainment, recreation or refreshment; or

   (c)  services relating to transport or travel; or

   (d)  services relating to telecommunications; or

   (e)  services of the kind provided by the members of any profession or
        trade; or

   (f)  services of the kind provided by a government, a government authority
        or a local government body;

"State", except in subsections 12(11) and (12), includes the Australian
Capital Territory and the Northern Territory;

"technical and further education institution" has the same meaning as that
expression has in the Employment, Education and Training Act 1988;

"Territory", except in subsection 12(12) or in paragraph (c) of the
definition of "administrative office" in this subsection, does not include the
Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory;

"this Act" includes the regulations;

"unjustifiable hardship" has the meaning given by section 11;

"voluntary body" means an association or other body (whether incorporated or
unincorporated) the activities of which are not engaged in for the purpose of
making a profit, but does not include:

   (a)  a club; or

   (b)  a body established by a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a
        Territory; or

   (c)  an association that provides grants, loans, credit or finance to its
        members.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, refusing or failing to do an act is taken to
be the doing of an act and a reference to an act includes a reference to a
refusal or failure to do an act.