EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Sex Discrimination (Operation of Legislation) (No. 1) Regulations
Statutory Rules 1986 No 191
Issued by the Authority of the Attorney-General
These regulations, made under section 116 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, continue, after the expiration of 2 years after the commencement of the Act, the application of the provisions of paragraphs 40(1)(a) and 40(1)(b) of the Act in relation to the Commonwealth and Territory legislation specified in the Schedule to the Regulations.
Section 116 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing matters that are required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Divisions 1 and 2 of Part II of the Act provide that it is unlawful to discriminate against a person on the ground of sex, marital status or pregnancy in certain areas of activity. Paragraphs 40(1)(a) and 40(1)(b) in Division 4 of Part II of the Act are exemption provisions which provide that nothing in Division 1 or 2 of Part II affects anything done by a person in direct compliance with -
(a) any other Act, any State Act, or any law of a Territory in force at the date of commencement of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984; or
(b) a regulation, rule, by-law, determination or direction in force at the date of commencement of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984.
Sub-section 40(2) provides that, except to the extent that regulations made for the purposes of sub-section 40 (2) otherwise provide, paragraphs 40(1)(a) and 40(1)(b) shall cease to be in force at the expiration of 2 years after the commencement of the Act. The date of commencement of the Act was 1 August 1984. Sub-section 40(3) provides that regulations made for the purposes of sub-section 40(2) may make provision in relation to the application of paragraphs 40(1)(a) and 40(1)(b) either generally or in relation to specified legislation.
Proposed regulations 1 and 2 respectively provide for the citation of the Regulations and the Interpretation provision.
Proposed regulation 3 provides that the exemption in paragraph 40(1)(a) shall not cease to be in force at the expiration of 2 years after the commencement of the Act in relation to the legislation specified in the Schedule. Proposed regulation 4 is to the same effect in respect of paragraph 40(1)(b), relating to all regulations, rules, by-laws, determinations or directions made under the legislation specified in the Schedule and in force at the date of the commencement of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984.
Authority: | Section 116 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 |