Are there any exceptions and exemptions?
Exemptions and exceptions - Provision of goods and services
Under Victoria's Equal Opportunity Act, it is against the law to treat someone unfairly or harass (hassle) them when providing them with goods and services. This includes sexual harassment.
What does goods and services cover?
Goods and services covers a range of activities, including buying and selling items in shops and other outlets, going to restaurants, bars and hotels, gyms, entertainment venues and cinemas. It includes service providers such as banks, insurance and superannuation companies, child care, medical practices, hospitals and other health services and others. Free services are also covered by the law.
Are there any exceptions?
The following exceptions to the law apply:
Insurance
It is lawful for an insurer to make discriminatory decisions about the cost of insurance or the risk in insuring a particular person or group of people if the decision is based on statistical data or other relevant factors and it is reasonable in the circumstances.
Annuities, life assurance, accident insurance and illness insurance policies are all covered by this exception.
An insurer may also lawfully discriminate if the discrimination is allowed under the Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act or the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act.
Provision of credit
A credit provider may lawfully discriminate when deciding who it will provide credit to and the terms on which it will provide credit if the reasons for the decision are based on actuarial (calculations of risk), statistical or any other data on which it is reasonable to rely. The decision must be reasonable taking into account the data on which it is based and any relevant factors.
Supervision of children
It is lawful for service providers to require children to be accompanied or supervised by an adult if there is a reasonable risk that an unaccompanied or unsupervised child could cause disruption or endanger themselves.
A cinema may require adult supervision of children under a certain age. That way if the child starts to cry or make a noise, the adult can act to make sure the child doesn't affect others' enjoyment of the film.
Special way of providing a service
It is lawful for a provider of goods or services to refuse to provide a service or set reasonable terms for providing the service if it needs to be provided in a special way because of a person's disability or physical features. However, to rely on this exception, the provider of goods or services must show that it either:
- can't reasonably provide the service in the way provided; or
- that it could only be provided on more onerous (difficult) terms than for a person without the particular disability or physical feature.
For example, it may be lawful for a supermarket not to change its freezer shelving to accommodate people of shorter height, or for a shop not to widen its doors to accommodate a person of large build.
