Tag Archives: Fair Work Commission

Australian trans, gender diverse and intersex employees need better protection, too

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On Tuesday morning, Australian news sites and social media feeds alike trumpeted the US Supreme Court decision to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees against discrimination.

As with too many issues of social justice, however, it seems our ability to see discrimination clearly is much better from across the vast Pacific Ocean than it is at home.

I wonder how many of those who shared that welcome news are aware the Fair Work Act here does not protect trans, gender diverse and intersex employees against adverse action and unlawful termination?

That’s because the relevant provisions of our industrial law (sections 351 and 772 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)) cover ‘race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, family or carer’s responsibilities, pregnancy, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin’ – but not gender identity or sex characteristics (intersex status).

The consequence of this exclusion is that trans, gender diverse and intersex employees who are subjected to abuse at work, or even dismissed, on the basis of who they are cannot make a complaint to the Fair Work Commission.

This lack of protection is particularly harmful given these are populations that already experience low rates of employment.

A recent survey by Equality Australia found that, while the proportion of LGBTIQ+ people aged 25 to 64 years who were unemployed or looking for work increased from 6% pre COVID-19 to 10.8% post COVID-19, for trans and gender diverse people specifically it rose from an already-high 10.5% to a shocking 15.2% now.

That’s almost 1-in-6 trans and gender diverse adults unemployed today, with the potential to go much, much higher in coming months.

I raised the lack of protection for trans, gender diverse and intersex employees with the Turnbull Government in 2018, with then-Minister for Small and Family Business, the Workplace and Deregulation, Craig Laundy, rejecting calls to address this legislative gap, instead pointing to general discrimination protections in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (SDA).

And it’s true that gender identity and intersex status are covered in the SDA – but this ignores the fact complaints to the Australian Human Rights Commission can take much longer to conciliate, and enforcing them may require action in the Federal Court or Federal Circuit Court, at the risk of significant costs orders against the complainant.

In contrast, arbitration by the Fair Work Commission can be much quicker, and it is generally a ‘no-costs’ jurisdiction.

That’s exactly why sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family responsibilities and pregnancy are covered under *both* the SDA and Fair Work Act, allowing parties to choose an expedited, low-cost resolution if it suits their circumstances.

Women, and even lesbians, gay men and bisexuals, discriminated against in the workplace can exercise that choice. As can employees discriminated against on the basis of race, disability and age, who are all protected by their respective federal discrimination Acts, as well having access to the Fair Work Commission.

That choice is denied to some of the most vulnerable members of our community. Trans, gender diverse and intersex employees are confronted by the possibility of longer wait times, and potentially higher costs, to address the same type of dispute.

Of course, a lot has happened in the two years since Minister Laundy refused to fix this problem. The economic crisis brought on by coronavirus means that the Government, business and unions are now involved in consultations on how to reform the industrial relations regime to get people back to work.

This is an ideal opportunity for Prime Minister Morrison, and Attorney-General Porter – who is also the Minister for Industrial Relations – to help trans, gender diverse and intersex Australians into employment, and to protect them against possible mistreatment once there.

This is obviously not the only employment-related discrimination provision that needs updating (hello LGBT teachers in religious schools outside Tasmania and the ACT, LGBT employees in religious aged care homes and other service delivery organisations outside Tasmania, bisexual employees in the NSW public service, and non-binary and intersex employees in the NSW, Victorian, Queensland, WA and NT public services, too – see A Quick Guide to Australian LGBTI Anti-Discrimination Laws).

Indeed, Australia’s LGBTI anti-discrimination regime could perhaps be described as a ‘patchwork’ – except it is still missing far too many patches and for too many of us it simply doesn’t work.

But it is possibly the problem that is most easily fixed. It would only take a couple of quick legislative stitches to ensure trans, gender diverse and intersex people finally enjoy the cover of the Fair Work Act.

Take Action

As indicated above, the Morrison Government is currently engaged in consultation with business and unions about its coronavirus-related industrial relations reforms. Which means now is the perfect time to ask for the Fair Work Act 2009(Cth) to be amended to cover gender identity and sex characteristics (intersex status). Why not start with the AG himself:

The Hon Christian Porter MP

Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations

PO Box 6022

House of Representatives

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

(02) 6277 7300

Online contact

Twitter: @cporterwa

Update 21 June 2020:

It has been brought to my attention that there is a possibility the Fair Work Commission would interpret ‘sex’ to include gender identity and potentially intersex status, based on this information on their website.

However, this interpretation is open to legal challenge, and may be overturned in the Federal Court. I remain of the view the only way to put workplace protection for trans, gender diverse and intersex people beyond doubt would be to add gender identity and sex characteristics to the Fair Work Act.

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The US Supreme Court decision highlights the lack of Fair Work Act coverage of trans, gender diverse and intersex employees in Australia.

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Cooperative workplaces must be trans and intersex inclusive workplaces

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The Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department has issued a consultation paper titled: ‘Cooperative Workplaces – How can Australia capture productivity improvements from more harmonious workplace relations’.

 

Submissions are due by Friday 28 February 2020. The following is mine:

 

Attorney-General’s Department

via IRconsultation@ag.gov.au

 

Monday 24 February 2020

 

To whom it may concern

 

Cooperative workplaces must be trans and intersex inclusive workplaces

 

Thank you for the opportunity to provide this submission in response to the Cooperative Workplaces consultation paper.

 

I do so as a long-term advocate on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community.

 

In this submission I will focus on the following questions posed in the paper:

2. To what extent do employees benefit from cooperative workplaces?

7. How does the Australian industrial relations system support and encourage cooperative workplaces?

10. What has been the experience with techniques and practices to foster cooperative workplaces including, but not limited to: …

e) Fair treatment policies and procedures.

 

From my perspective, the benefits of cooperative workplaces flow from all employees being treated fairly and with respect, and where all employees are protected against discrimination on the basis of who they are.

 

If employees are able to bring their full selves to work, without having to hide who they are or fear mistreatment and other forms of abuse, they are likely to be happier, healthier and consequently work better.

 

Unfortunately, this is not the situation for all employees in Australian workplaces today. That’s at least in part because some groups, including trans and gender diverse, and intersex, employees do not enjoy the same rights as other employees.

 

Specifically, while gender identity and intersex status are protected attributes under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth), they are not included in equivalent protections in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

 

For example, the adverse action provisions in sub-section 351(1) cover:

  • Race
  • Colour
  • Sex
  • Sexual orientation
  • Age
  • Physical or mental disability
  • Marital status
  • Family or carer’s responsibilities
  • Pregnancy
  • Religion
  • Political opinion
  • National extraction, and
  • Social origin.

 

Note that this long list does not protect trans, gender diverse or intersex people.

 

The same list of attributes, with the same exclusions, is found in sub-section 772(1)(f), which protects employees against unlawful termination. Meaning that the Fair Work Act does not protect trans, gender diverse and intersex Australians from mistreatment or unfair dismissal based on who they are.

 

There are other exclusions too:

  • Section 153 provides that discriminatory terms must not be included in modern awards. The list of relevant attributes includes sexual orientation, but excludes gender identity and sex characteristics;
  • Section 195 includes a similar prohibition on discriminatory terms in enterprise agreements, and once again omits trans, gender diverse and intersex people;
  • Sub-section 578(c) provides that the Fair Work Commission must perform its functions taking into account ‘the need to respect and value the diversity of the work force by helping to prevent and eliminate discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, family or carer’s responsibilities, pregnancy, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin.’

 

There is literally no requirement for the Fair Work Commission to help prevent or eliminate transphobic and intersexphobic workplace discrimination.

 

This leaves trans, gender diverse and intersex employees at a distinct disadvantage compared to other groups, including lesbian, gay and bisexual employees.

 

Indeed, even a certain infamous footballer was potentially covered against unfair dismissal on the basis of religious belief, whereas one of the main groups that he directed his offensive statements against – transgender Australians – is not.

 

I wrote to the former Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and the former Minister for Jobs and Innovation, Senator Michaelia Cash, raising this issue in May 2018, calling on them to amend the Fair Work Act to include gender identity and sex characteristics (being the terminology preferred by intersex advocate organisations including Intersex Human Rights Australia) as protected attributes.

 

I received a response to that letter from the then Minister for Small and Family Business, the Workplace and Deregulation, Craig Laundy, in July of that year, rejecting this call.

 

While he stated that ‘The Australian Government believes that discrimination in the workplace is unacceptable and all employees have the right to be free from discrimination at work”, he pointed to the SDA protections as being sufficient:

 

“The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 is the principal legislation providing protection against discrimination or harassment on the basis of sex and/or gender. It also covers discrimination and harassment in the workplace. The Sex Discrimination Act explicitly covers discrimination on the basis of gender identity and intersex status.”

 

Which, to be blunt, entirely misses the point.

 

First, other groups protected by the Fair Work Act, including those based on race, sex, age, disability and even sexual orientation, are covered by both that Act and an equivalent Commonwealth anti-discrimination law. If it is good enough for them, it is good enough for trans, gender diverse and intersex Australians.

 

Second, being included in the Fair Work Act gives people who are mistreated in the workplace, or unfairly dismissed, additional options in terms of making complaints, with potential implications for timing, jurisdiction, costs and compensation. Excluding gender identity and sex characteristics from one puts trans, gender diverse and intersex employees in an inferior legal position.

 

Third, there is a symbolic effect from the exclusion of gender identity and sex characteristics from the Fair Work Act, with many employers possibly viewing anti-trans and anti-intersex workplace discrimination as being less important than other types of workplace mistreatment.

 

Perhaps that is an inevitable outcome when the Government itself, as recently as 2018, was saying the same thing – loudly and clearly – by failing to address this obvious inconsistency, even after it was brought to their attention.

 

With a new Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, a new Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations – both portfolios held by Christian Porter – as well as an apparent interest in ‘cooperative workplaces’, I believe it is essential for the Government to take action on this issue as a matter of urgency.

 

Recommendation 1

The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) should be amended to include gender identity as a protected attribute, with a definition based on the definition in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984:

‘Gender identity means the gender-related identity, appearance or mannerisms or other gender-related characteristics of a person (whether by way of medical intervention or not), with or without regard to the person’s designated sex at birth.’

 

Recommendation 2

The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) should be amended to include sex characteristics as a protected attribute, with a definition settled after consultation with Intersex Human Rights Australia and other intersex individuals and organisations, and based on the definition in the Yogyakarta Principles + 10:

‘understanding sex characteristics as each person’s physical features relating to sex, including genital and other sexual and reproductive anatomy, chromosomes, hormones, and secondary physical features emerging from puberty.’

 

If these recommendations are implemented, then trans, gender diverse and intersex employees around the country stand to benefit from being able to work with less fear from workplace mistreatment and abuse.

 

In doing so, the Australian industrial relations system will better support and encourage cooperative and harmonious workplaces where people are able to bring their full selves to work (if they so wish).

 

And all workplaces will be encouraged to adopt improved fair treatment policies and procedures, that don’t exclude trans, gender diverse and intersex employees, and don’t treat prohibitions on transphobic and intersexphobic discrimination as somehow less important than prohibitions relating to other protected attributes, including sexual orientation.

 

Overall, Australia would benefit from a significant minority of happier, healthier and yes more productive employees.

 

Thank you for taking this submission into consideration. Please contact me at the details provided should you require additional information.

 

Sincerely

Alastair Lawrie

 

Cooperative workplaces

 

For more, see Unfairness in the Fair Work Act.

If you have enjoyed reading this article, please consider subscribing to receive future posts, via the right-hand scroll bar on the desktop version of this blog or near the bottom of the page on mobile. You can also follow me on twitter @alawriedejesus