A public statement that can be made by an Education Provider saying what they are doing to make sure they do not discriminate. Action Plans are voluntary. An Education Provider writes them up and then gives them to HREOC to be made public through the HREOC website. HREOC reviews and approves the Action Plan before they post it.
One or more actions taken by an Education Provider to assist a student with disability to participate in education on the same basis as other students.
Someone who is closely connected with a person with disability. They can include:
- Family members and other relatives
- Carers
- Friends
- People in a business relationship
An education provider is under an obligation to consult in order to understand a student's disability and work out if any adjustments are needed. This consultation should involve an on-going discussion with the student and research and cover:
- The challenges, needs and barriers for the student.
- Thinking about how to overcome these.
- Thinking about whether any adjustments are reasonable.
- Asking that the education provider write a letter to you with what was discussed and what decisions were made.
You should look at the section - Obligations: Consultation - for more detail on what consultation involves.
Court orders are decisions of a court, commission or tribunal that require someone to do something. If someone claims that they are following a court order you should ask to see the order and contact the court to confirm its requirements. Otherwise you should ask a solicitor to help you properly identify a court order.
Stands for Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth). The DDA applies everywhere in Australia and is looked after by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC). It is aimed at protecting and promoting the right of people with disability to be treated as equals within the community. It gives the Federal Government the power to make Disability Standards including the Education Standards.
A situation where a person is treated less favourably because of their disability or where there is an unreasonable requirement placed on them that they cannot meet because of their disability. There are two types of disability discrimination:
- Direct discrimination is where someone openly treats you unfairly because of your disability.
- Indirect discrimination is where someone applies a rule or requirement that you cannot meet and people without your disability can meet it. For indirect discrimination to be unlawful the rule or requirement must be unreasonable.
People with disability have a right to be treated as equals in the community.
The DDA gives the Federal Government the power to set Disability Standards in the areas where discrimination can occur, e.g. employment, transport and education. Disability Standards explain, in more detail, what rights are protected under the DDA for people with a disability. Disability Standards are part of disability discrimination law and it is unlawful for a person or organisation to disobey them.
Covers any organisation that educates or trains people. Examples of Education Providers are:
- Pre-schools and kindergartens (but not child care)
- Public and private schools
- Public education and training places, like TAFE
- Private education and training places, like a private business college
- Universities
Set out the Rights of students with disability under the DDA in the area of education. They also set out the Obligations of Education Providers, like schools and universities, under the DDA to assist students with disability in the area of education.
Situations where an Education Provider can discriminate against a student with disability without breaking the law. Exceptions included in the Education Standards are:
- Unjustifiable Hardship
- Protection of public health
- Court orders or acts done under special laws
- Special Measures
Abusing, bullying or teasing someone because they have a disability in a way that makes the person upset, unhappy or scared.
Stands for the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. This organisation helps people with disability when they make a complaint about an Education Provider that is not obeying the Education Standards.
Things that an Education Provider could do when trying to meet their obligations. They are not legal requirements. An Education Provider may be able to meet their obligations in a number of different ways that are not necessarily listed in the Measures for Compliance.
These are things that Education Providers must do to respect the rights of students with disability. They are legal requirements and disobeying them is against the law, unless an Exception applies.
Special laws that allow discrimination. The government has to identify these laws and make them public. Currently there are only a small number of such laws.
An Adjustment is reasonable if it meets the needs of the student with disability without impacting too much on other people. To determine if an Adjustment is reasonable an Education Provider must consider:
- The barriers, needs or challenges that face a student with disability.
- The views of the student or their Associate.
- Whether the Adjustment will impact on the academic standards or requirements of the course.
- What advantages or disadvantages the Adjustments might have on the people affected by it.
- The costs of making the Adjustment.
These are things that a student with disability can expect from an Education Provider. The most important right is that a student with disability has the opportunity to participate in education on the same basis as students without disability.
Actions or services taken to assist or help people with disability. These services will usually only be available to people with disability and no other people. They are sometimes called positive discrimination.
An Exception that allows an Education Provider to refuse to make an Adjustment because the cost involved and the impact on the Education Provider and other people would be too great. The Education Provider must prove that an Adjustment would cause it Unjustifiable Hardship. To do that the Education Provider must look at:
- Benefits or disadvantages that will be caused by making the Reasonable Adjustment.
- The effect of the disability of the student in question.
- Its own financial position and the costs of making the Reasonable Adjustment.
Threatening or hurting someone because they are thinking about making a Disability Discrimination complaint or if they have already made one. Victimisation is a crime.
