Commonwealth Numbered Acts

HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION ACT 1986 No. 125 of 1986 - SECT 3

3. (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears-

"act" means an act done-

   (a)  by or on behalf of the Commonwealth or an authority of the
        Commonwealth;

   (b)  under an enactment;

   (c)  wholly within a Territory; or

   (d)  partly within a Territory, to the extent to which the act was done
        within a Territory;

"appoint" includes re-appoint;

"appointed member" means the President or the Human Rights Commissioner;

"Australia" includes the external Territories;

"authority" means-

   (a)  in relation to the Commonwealth-

        (i)    a body (whether incorporated or unincorporated) established for
               a purpose of the Commonwealth by or under a
               Commonwealth enactment;

        (ii)   an incorporated company over which the Commonwealth is in a
               position to exercise control;

        (iii)  a person holding or performing the duties of an office or
               appointment established or made under a Commonwealth enactment
               or by the Governor-General or a Minister of the Commonwealth
               (not being an office or appointment referred to in
               sub-paragraph (c) (iii));

        (iv)   a body, or a person holding or performing the duties of an
               office or appointment, that is declared by the regulations to
               be an authority of the Commonwealth for the purposes of this
               Act;

   (b)  in relation to a State-

        (i)    a body (whether incorporated or unincorporated) established for
               a purpose of the State by or under a law of the State;

        (ii)   an incorporated company over which the State is in a position
               to exercise control;

        (iii)  a person holding or performing the duties of an office or
               appointment established or made under a law, or by the Governor
               or a Minister, of the State;

        (iv)   a local government body in the State; or

        (v)    a body, or a person holding or performing the duties of an
               office or appointment, that is declared by the regulations to
               be an authority of the State for the purposes of this Act; or

   (c)  in relation to a Territory-

        (i)    a body (whether incorporated or unincorporated) established for
               a purpose of the Territory by or under a Commonwealth enactment
               or a law of the Territory;

        (ii)   an incorporated company over which the Administration of the
               Territory is in a position to exercise control;

        (iii)  a person holding or performing the duties of an office or
               appointment established or made under a law of the Territory or
               by the Administrator of a Territory; or

        (iv)   a body, or a person holding or performing the duties of an
               office or appointment, that is declared by the regulations to
               be an authority of the Territory for the purposes of this Act;

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

"Commonwealth enactment" means an Act or an instrument (other than a
Territory enactment or a Northern Territory enactment) made under an Act, and
includes any other legislation applied as a law of the Commonwealth, to the
extent that it operates as such a law;

"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, as that Convention applies in relation to Australia;

"Covenant" means the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a
copy of the English text of which is set out in Schedule 2, as that
International Covenant applies in relation to Australia;

"Declarations" means-

   (a)  the Declaration of the Rights of the Child proclaimed by the General
        Assembly of the United Nations on 20 November 1959, a copy of the
        English text of which is set out in Schedule 3;

   (b)  the Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons proclaimed
        by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 20 December 1971, a
        copy of the English text of which is set out in Schedule 4; and

   (c)  the Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons proclaimed by the
        General Assembly of the United Nations on 9 December 1975, a copy of
        the English text of which is set out in Schedule 5;

"discrimination" means-

   (a)  any distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of race,
        colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or
        social origin that has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality
        of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation; and

   (b)  any other distinction, exclusion or preference that-

        (i)    has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of
               opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation; and

        (ii)   has been declared by the regulations to constitute
               discrimination for the purposes of this Act, but does not
               include any distinction, exclusion or preference:

   (c)  in respect of a particular job based on the inherent requirements of
        the job; or

   (d)  in connection with employment as a member of the staff of an
        institution that is conducted in accordance with the doctrines,
        tenets, beliefs or teachings of a particular religion or creed, being
        a distinction, exclusion or preference made in good faith in order to
        avoid injury to the religious susceptibilities of adherents of that
        religion or that creed;

"enactment" means a Commonwealth enactment or a Territory enactment;

"human rights" means the rights and freedoms recognised in the Covenant,
declared by the Declarations or recognised or declared by any relevant
international instrument;

"instrument" includes a rule, regulation or by-law;

"instrumentality", in relation to a State, includes-

   (a)  a person holding or performing the duties of an office established by
        or under a law of that State;

   (b)  a person employed in the public service of that State; and

   (c)  a person employed by a body established for a purpose of that State by
        or under a law of that State;

"international instrument" includes a declaration made by an international
organisation;

"Judge" means-

   (a)  a Judge of a court created by the Parliament or of a court of a State;
        or

   (b)  a person who has the same designation and status as a Judge of a court
        created by the Parliament;

"law" means a law of the Commonwealth, a law of a Territory or a law of a
State;

"law of a State" means a State enactment or any other law in force in a State,
other than a law of the Commonwealth;

"law of a Territory" means a Territory enactment or any other law in force in
a Territory, other than a law of the Commonwealth;

"law of the Commonwealth" means a Commonwealth enactment or any other law in
force throughout Australia;

"member" means a member of the Commission, and includes the President;

"Minister" means-

   (a)  in relation to a State - a Minister of the Crown of that State; and

   (b)  in relation to the Northern Territory - a Minister of that Territory;

"Northern Territory enactment" means an enactment of the Northern Territory
within the meaning of the Northern Territory (Self- Government) Act 1978 or an
instrument made under such an enactment;

"practice" means a practice engaged in-

   (a)  by or behalf of the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth;

   (b)  under an enactment;

   (c)  wholly within a Territory; or

   (d)  partly within a Territory, to the extent to which the practice was or
        is engaged in within a Territory;

"President" means President of the Commission;

"proposed enactment" means-

   (a)  a proposed law introduced into the Parliament of the Commonwealth or
        the legislature of a Territory;

   (b)  a proposed law prepared on behalf of-

        (i)    the Government of the Commonwealth or the Administration of a
               Territory;

        (ii)   a Minister of State of the Commonwealth; or

        (iii)  a body established by law that has the function of recommending
               proposed laws of the Commonwealth or of a Territory; or

   (c)  an instrument proposed to be made under a law of the Commonwealth or
        under a law of a Territory;

"Race Discrimination Commissioner" means the Race Discrimination Commissioner
appointed under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975;

"relevant international instrument" means an international instrument in
respect of which a declaration under section 47 is in force;

"Sex Discrimination Commissioner" means the Sex Discrimination Commissioner
appointed under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984;

"State" includes the Northern Territory;

"State enactment" means a State Act or an instrument made under a State Act
and includes a Northern Territory enactment;

"Territory" does not include the Northern Territory;

"Territory Act" means an Act passed by a legislature of a Territory and duly
assented to;

"Territory enactment" means a Territory Act, an Ordinance of a Territory or an
instrument made under such an Act or Ordinance, and includes any other
legislation applied as a law of the Commonwealth, to the extent that it
operates as such a law.

(2) In this Act, a reference to the Governor of a State shall, in relation to
the Northern Territory, be construed as a reference to the Administrator of
the Northern Territory.

(3) In this Act-

   (a)  a reference to, or to the doing of, an act includes a reference to a
        refusal or failure to do an act; and

   (b)  a reference, in relation to the doing of an act or the engaging in of
        a practice, to the person who did the act or engaged in the practice
        shall, in the case of an act done or practice engaged in by an
        unincorporated body of persons, be read as a reference to that body.
(4) In the definition of "human rights" in sub-section (1)-

   (a)  the reference to the rights and freedoms recognised in the Covenant
        shall be read as a reference to the rights and freedoms recognised in
        the Covenant as it applies to Australia; and

   (b)  the reference to the rights and freedoms recognised or declared by any
        relevant international instrument shall-

        (i)    in the case of an instrument (not being a declaration referred
               to in sub-paragraph (ii) that applies to Australia - be read as
               a reference to the rights and freedoms recognised or declared
               by the instrument as it applies to Australia; or

        (ii)   in the case of an instrument being a declaration made by an
               international organisation that was adopted by Australia - be
               read as a reference to the rights and freedoms recognised or
               declared by the declaration as it was adopted by Australia.

(5) A reference in this Act to the making of a declaration by an international
organisation shall be read as a reference to the making or adopting of a
declaration, proclamation or other statement by such an organisation in any
way, whether by the passing of a resolution, the issuing of an instrument or
otherwise.

(6) A reference in this Act to the adoption by Australia of an international
instrument being a declaration made by an international organisation shall be
read as a reference to the casting by Australia of a vote in favour of the
making of the declaration by the organisation at the meeting of the
organisation at which the declaration was made or to the giving of some other
public notification by Australia expressing its support for the declaration.

(7) A reference in this Act to a person acting on behalf of the Commission is
a reference to-

   (a)  a person, or each of a body of persons, acting pursuant to a
        delegation under section 19; or

   (b)  an instrumentality of a State performing a function of the Commission
        pursuant to an arrangement in force under section 16.

(8) Except so far as the contrary intention appears, an expression that is
used both in this Act and in the Convention (whether or not a particular
meaning is assigned to it by the Convention) has, in this Act, for the
purposes of the operation of this Act in relation to the Convention, the same
meaning as it has in the Convention.

(9) A reference in this Act to prejudice to the security, defence or
international relations of Australia includes a reference to any such
prejudice that might result from the divulging of information or matters
communicated in confidence by or on behalf of the government of a foreign
country, an authority of a government of a foreign country or an international
organisation to the Government of the Commonwealth, to an authority of the
Commonwealth or to a person receiving the communication on behalf of the
Commonwealth or of an authority of the Commonwealth.