Research summary report

Alysia Blackham, ‘Addressing Age Discrimination in Employment: A report on the findings of Australian Research Council Project DE170100228’ (Research Report, University of Melbourne, November 2021) https://doi.org/10.46580/124368

Briefing papers

Alysia Blackham, Equality Law and Positive Duties: Recommendations for Federal Reform (2022).

Alysia Blackham, Impact case study: DE170100228 Addressing age discrimination in employment (2022).

Submissions

Robin Banks, Alysia Blackham, and Alice Taylor (lead authors), ‘Submission of the Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group on the Northern Territory Department of Justice and Attorney General, Exposure Draft Anti-Discrimination Bill 2022’ (2022).

Alice Taylor, Robin Banks, Alysia Blackham, and Liam Elphick (lead authors), ‘Submission of the Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group to the Queensland Human Rights Commission Review of Queensland’s Anti-Discrimination Act’ (2022).

Robin Banks, Alysia Blackham, Liam Elphick and Alice Taylor (lead authors), ‘Submission of the Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group in response to the ACT Government’s Inclusive, Progressive, Equal: Discrimination law reform: Discussion Paper 1 – Extending the Protections of Discrimination Law’ (submitted to the ACT Justice and Community Safety Directorate, 2022).

Robin Banks, Alysia Blackham, and Liam Elphick (lead authors), ‘Submission of the Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group to the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia Project 111: Review of the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA)’ (submitted to the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia, 2021).

Alysia Blackham (lead author), ‘Submission by the Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group to the Review of the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012’ (submitted to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2021).

Alysia Blackham, ‘Submission to the Senate Select Committee on Job Security’ (submitted to the Senate Select Committee on Job Security, 2021).

Alysia Blackham, ‘Submission to the Call for Contributions on Ageism and Age Discrimination – 2021’ (submitted to the Independent Expert on the Human Rights of Older Persons, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Human Rights, 2021).

Alysia Blackham, ‘Submission on the Victorian Youth Strategy’ (submitted to the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet, 2020).

Alysia Blackham (lead author), ‘Submission by the Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group to the Review of Sexual Harassment in Victorian Courts’ (submitted to the Review of Sexual Harassment in Victorian Courts, 2020).

Alysia Blackham, ‘Submission to the Consultation on the Mandatory Retirement Age for Judicial Office Holders’ (submitted to the UK Lord Chancellor & Secretary of State for Justice, 2020).

Alysia Blackham, ‘Submission on the Recommendations of the Inquiry into the Victorian On-Demand Workforce’ (submitted to the Victorian Government Consultation on the Recommendations of the Inquiry, 2020).

Alysia Blackham, ‘Submission to the Scottish Parliament Equalities and Human Rights Committee: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on equalities and human rights’ (submitted to the Scottish Parliament Equalities and Human Rights Committee, 2020).

Alysia Blackham, ‘Submission to the Women and Equalities Committee, Unequal Impact: Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the Impact on People with Protected Characteristics’ (submitted to the Women and Equalities Committee, UK House of Commons, 2020).

Bill Swannie, Robin Banks, Alysia Blackham, Liam Elphick, Simon Rice, and Belinda Smith, ‘Submission by the Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group to the New South Wales Legislative Council Portfolio Committee No. 5 – Legal Affairs, Inquiry into the Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Complaint Handling) Bill 2020’ (submitted to the New South Wales Legislative Council Portfolio Committee No. 5 – Legal Affairs, 2020).

Alysia Blackham, ‘Submission to the Scottish Parliament Equalities and Human Rights Committee: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on equalities and human rights’ (submitted to the Scottish Parliament Equalities and Human Rights Committee, 2020).

Beth Gaze, Liam Elphick, Bill Swannie, Alysia Blackham, Robin Banks and Belinda Smith, ‘Submission by the Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group (ADLEG) to the Legal and Social Issues Committee, Legislative Assembly, Parliament of Victoria Inquiry into Anti-Vilification Protections: Review of the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 (Vic)’ (submitted to the Legal and Social Issues Committee, Legislative Assembly, Parliament of Victoria, 2020).

Liam Elphick, Alice Taylor, Robin Banks, Alysia Blackham, Beth Gaze, Sarah Moulds, Simon Rice, Belinda Smith and Margaret Thornton, ‘Submission by the Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group (ADLEG) to the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department on the Religious Discrimination Bill 2019 (Cth) Second Exposure Draft’ (submitted to the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department, 2020).

Liam Elphick and Alice Taylor (lead authors) and 12 others, including Alysia Blackham, ‘Submission by the Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group (ADLEG) to the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department on the Religious Discrimination Bill Exposure Draft’ (submitted to the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department, 2019).

Alysia Blackham, ‘Submission to the Inquiry into the Victorian On-Demand Workforce’ (submitted to the Inquiry into the Victorian On-Demand Workforce, 2019).

Beth Gaze, Alysia Blackham (lead authors) and 7 others, ‘Submission on the proposed Victorian Gender Equality Bill’ (submitted to the Victorian Department of Health & Human Services, 2018).

Media coverage

Interviewed by Stephanie Anderson on Channel 9 News Melbourne, 12 August 2022.

Interviewed by Mandy Presland on ABC News Radio, 27 June 2022.

Jacqueline So, ‘Highlight: COVID-19 sparked unconscionable conduct, unfair dismissal concerns’, Australasian Lawyer, 15 March 2022, https://www.thelawyermag.com/au/practice-areas/employment-and-labour/highlight-covid-19-sparked-unconscionable-conduct-unfair-dismissal-concerns/398600

Interviewed by Markus Mannheim on ABC Radio Southern Queensland, 2 June 2021.

Georgia Neaverson, ‘Discrimination, termination and other legal challenges brought on by COVID-19’, Australasian Lawyer, 2 March 2021, https://www.thelawyermag.com/au/practice-areas/workplace-relations-and-health-and-safety/discrimination-termination-and-other-legal-challenges-brought-on-by-covid-19/247916

Leeanda Smith, ‘Women in Education’ (2020) 3 Education: Journal of the NSW Teachers Federation 16.

Nick Bonyhady, ‘“Must qualify for JobMaker”: Businesses wary of discrimination laws’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 2 November 2020.

Jade Macmillan, ‘Companies are telling older people not to bother applying in JobMaker job ads. Is that legal?’, ABC News, 31 October 2020.

Megan Breen, ‘Protecting Workers in the Gig Economy’, In the Black, 1 October 2020.

Grace Back, ‘Women Are Less Likely Than Men To Be Hired During Lockdown, New Data Shows’, Marie Claire, 22 September 2020.

Helen Trinca, ‘Deloitte Age Discrimination Case puts Spotlight on Equality Policy’, The Australian, 16 August 2020.

Hannah Wootton and Edmund Tadros, ‘EY drops requirement for partners to retire at 60’, The Australian Financial Review, 7 August 2020.

Nicola Berkovic, ‘Calls for Federal Body to Handle Allegations against Judges Grow Louder’, The Australian, 5 August 2020.

Grace Back, ‘Women Have Been Hardest Hit By Job Losses Amid The Pandemic’, Marie Claire, 25 May 2020.

Claudia Farhart, ‘Women have been the Hardest Hit by Australia’s Coronavirus Job Losses’, SBS News, 8 May 2020.

Meg Hill, ‘Gig Economy Grey Area’, CBD News, 25 March 2020.

Rachael Palmer, ‘The Ageing Workforce Paradox’, HRM, 24 February 2020.

John Rolfe and Joseph Attanasio, ‘Weary Workers in it for the Long Haul’ Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 4 December 2019, p 11.

Royce Kurmelovs, ‘The end of the affair: why Australians are falling out of love with cars’, The Guardian, 22 April 2019.

Events

Addressing Age Discrimination in Employment (2022): This workshop brought together academics, practitioners, NGOs and representatives of equality commissions and statutory agencies to reimagine and advance age equality at work, to generate ideas and innovative pathways for how we can create age-inclusive workplaces and achieve decent work for people of all ages.

Age(ing) Futures: Reimagining Age Equality at Work (2022): This interdisciplinary workshop asked participants to (re)imagine age equality at work, and (re)envisage our path to a more equal future. Drawing on ideas of utopia as method, and appreciative inquiry, it sought to build on what we know, identify what works, and chart new paths to a (re)imagined future.

Using Transparency to Achieve Equality (2020): This workshop explored how the tension between privacy and transparency can be overcome in the attempt to achieve equality across all areas of public life. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives, and the practical insights of policy makers and agencies charged with obtaining data, the workshop sought to find new ways of balancing the need for transparency with privacy and confidentiality, and to develop new principles to guide government and organisational activity in the pursuit of equality. Convened with Emerita Professor Margaret Thornton (ANU) and Associate Professor Dominique Allen (Monash); funded by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. The workshop led to a special issue of the journal Law in Context in 2021.

Australian Equality Law Forum (2019): The inaugural Australian Equality Law Forum offered a unique opportunity to discuss and debate emerging issues in Australian equality and discrimination law. The Forum brought together leading interdisciplinary scholars, practitioners, and representatives from government, equality bodies, unions, employers, not-for-profits and other organisations to promote dialogue around some of the most challenging issues in equality law today. In 2019, the themes selected for discussion at the Forum included: sexual harassment; exceptions and exemptions; enforcement; and equality law in the workplace. The Forum featured short contributions from leading voices in the field, followed by structured discussion and debate from all participants. The report from the event was published on The Conversation.

Berkeley Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law Study Group Annual Conference (2018): The Berkeley Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law Conference at Melbourne Law School brought together 30 speakers and 55 participants from around the world for two days of enjoyable and stimulating discussion, including representatives from all equality commissions in Australia. It featured fruitful discussions regarding ways in which we could strengthen the links between equality commissions and Australian academia. A summary of the event is available here.

UK Roundtable on Age Discrimination in Employment (2016): A roundtable was held at University College London on Friday 9 December 2016 on age discrimination in employment. The roundtable brought together academics, policy makers, government departments, employer groups, trade unions, legal practitioners, equality commissions and age groups to consider progress on addressing age discrimination in the workplace, and the steps that still need to be taken to achieve equality. The roundtable was funded by a grant from the Office for Research at Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne. The report on the outcomes of the Roundtable can be viewed below.