Queensland Businesses, Organisations Now Have Legal Duty to Prevent Discrimination Before it Occurs

Queensland’s Parliament has passed the most significant changes to the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act since its introduction over 30 years ago, placing a new onus on businesses, organisations and government agencies. Managers and business owners will now be responsible for preventing discrimination before it occurs, rather than merely responding to it—while significantly expanding the categories of people protected under the Act. But critics fear it will over-burden small businesses and stifle free speech. A ‘Positive Duty’ to Prevent Harm? The expectation that organisations will take steps to prevent discrimination and vilification is called a “positive duty,” and those who fail may be subject to as-yet-unspecified penalties....