EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Sex Discrimination (Operation of Legislation) (No. 1) Regulations (Amendment)
Statutory Rules 1987 No. 8
Issued by the Authority of the Attorney-General
These regulations, made under section 116 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (the Act), amend the Sex Discrimination (Operation of Legislation) (No. 1) Regulations (the principal 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.
Regulations 3 and 4 of the principal Regulations as they now stand provide, in effect, that pargaraphs 40(1) (a) and 40(1)(b) of the Act shall continue in force indefinitely in respect of the Commonwealth and Territory legislation specified in the Schedule to the Regulations, and also in respect of all regulations, rules, by-laws, determinations or directions made under that legislation.
The proposed Regulations will repeal Regulations 3 and 4 of the principal Regulations and substitute new Regulations 3 and 4 which will provide that paragraphs 40(1)(a) and 40(1)(b) of the Act shall remain in force until 28 July 1988 in respect of the Commonwealth and Territory legislation specified in the Schedule to the principal Regulations and also in respect of all regulations, rules, by-laws, determinations or directions made under that legislation.
The purpose of this amendment is to impose a time limit within which the legislation specified in the Schedule to the principal Regulations is to be reviewed for consistency with the Act.