Tasmanian Legislation

The Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (TAS), can be found here:

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/tas/consol_act/aa1998204/

This act covers discrimination on a number of grounds and in a number of areas. The pertinent ground and area for the girl school uniform debate is gender and education and training.

While we encourage you to peruse the legislation document, we have outlined below the crucial areas for the girl school uniform debate:

Relevant sections for school uniforms:

Section 14 PART 4 – Discrimination and prohibited conduct Division 1 – Discrimination

Direct discrimination.

(1) Discrimination to which this Act applies is direct or indirect discrimination on the grounds of any prescribed attribute.

(2) Direct discrimination takes place if a person treats another person on the basis of any prescribed attribute, imputed prescribed attribute or a characteristic imputed to that attribute less favourably than a person without that attribute or characteristic.

(3) For direct discrimination to take place, it is not necessary –

(a) that the prescribed attribute be the sole or dominant ground for the unfavourable treatment; or

(b) that the person who discriminates regards the treatment as unfavourable; or

(c) that the person who discriminates has any particular motive in discriminating.

Section 15. Indirect discrimination

(1) Indirect discrimination takes place if a person imposes a condition, requirement or practice which is unreasonable in the circumstances and has the effect of disadvantaging a member of a group of people who –

(a) share, or are believed to share, a prescribed attribute; or

(b) share, or are believed to share, any of the characteristics imputed to that attribute –

more than a person who is not a member of that group.

(2) For indirect discrimination to take place, it is not necessary that the person who discriminates is aware that the condition, requirement or practice disadvantages the group of people.

 Section 16. Discrimination on ground of attribute

A person must not discriminate against another person on the ground of any of the following attributes:

(e) gender.