Contents

• Introduction
• International law relating to racism and discrimination
  • International conventions and declarations
  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  • International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
• Commonwealth of Australia laws and policies
  • Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act (1975)
  • Commonwealth Racial Hatred Act (1995)
  • Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act (1986)
  • Commonwealth policies
• State and territory legislation
  • New South Wales: Anti Discrimination Act (1977)
  • South Australia: Equal Opportunity Act (1984) and Racial Vilification Act (1996)
  • Western Australia: Equal Opportunity Act (1984) and Criminal Code
  • Australian Capital Territory: Discrimination Act (1991)
  • Queensland: Anti-Discrimination Act (1991)
  • Northern Territory: Anti-Discrimination Act (1992)
  • Victoria: Equal Opportunity Act (1995) and Racial and Religious Tolerance Act (2001)
  • Tasmania: Anti-Discrimination Act (1998)
• Summary of scope of Australian racial discrimination laws
• References
  • Print References
  • Websites

Australian legislation and international law

Summary of Scope of Australian Racial Discrimination Laws

The various Australian acts relating to racial discrimination use different definitions of “race” and some of the State and Territory legislative definitions provide wider coverage than the Federal Racial Discrimination Act. The table below summarises the scope and the interpretation of “race” in each of the acts using terminology contained in those acts. No inferences are made about the scope and interpretation of “race” as defined in each act.