Hedley & Ors & Community Services Directorate (Discrimination)

Ms Jeannine Hedley, Ms Hilary Davies and Ms Halina Krupinski sought relief from the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT) for alleged unlawful discrimination under the Discrimination Act 1991. The Respondent, the Community Services Directorate (CSD), is a government entity responsible for administering housing schemes in the Australian Capital Territory. The applicants, all single women and former tenants of Housing ACT, alleged that they were treated unfavourably due to their marital status and parental status, resulting in their inability to participate in housing purchase schemes offered to other tenants.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the eligibility criteria for the Sale to Tenant Scheme and the Shared Equity Scheme constituted unlawful discrimination against single tenants residing in unit properties, in contravention of the Discrimination Act. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine whether the exclusion of single tenants from these schemes, based on their residential property type, constituted discrimination on the grounds of marital status and parental status.

The Tribunal found that the eligibility criteria for the housing purchase schemes did not amount to unlawful discrimination. The Tribunal considered that the criteria were based on property characteristics rather than the applicants' personal attributes and that the schemes were not designed to discriminate against any particular group. The Tribunal held that the CSD's policy was not discriminatory as it applied uniformly to all tenants, regardless of marital or parental status, and that the exclusion of unit properties from the schemes was a reasonable and lawful condition. Consequently, the Tribunal dismissed the application.

As a result of the Tribunal's decision, the applicants' claims for unlawful discrimination were dismissed, and no orders were made in their favour.