Anti-discrimination
A person may be discriminated against based upon a range of personal, physical, racial, religious, political or sexual attributes.
QCAT hears complaints of alleged unlawful discrimination, sexual harassment, vilification and victimisation after they have been investigated and referred to QCAT by the Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland (the Commission). The referral report contains the documents provided by the parties in the original complaint and any additional notes made by the Commission.
After reviewing the complaint QCAT may decide and order that a person, group of people or business who the complaint was made against must:
- stop doing the action that caused the complaint
- pay compensation
- pay interest on compensation
- do specific things to redress the loss or damage suffered
- make a public or private apology or retraction
- implement programs to eliminate unlawful discrimination
- pay the other party’s costs, or
- declare an agreement is not legally binding.
QCAT is also responsible for:
- granting an exemption to allow a person or business to do something that is otherwise unlawful under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991, for example advertising for female employees only, and
- providing opinions on anti-discrimination matters to the Commissioner.
Any description of QCAT's jurisdiction on this website is general information only and is not intended to precisely define the types of applications that QCAT has the power to decide. QCAT's jurisdiction is determined by the relevant legislation. If you are unsure about your legal rights you should seek legal advice. Any actions taken to resolve your dispute should be determined by your individual circumstances.