Annual Report
2002/2003
Equal Opportunity Commission
Government of Western Australia
ABOUT THIS REPORT
This report aims to provide an overview of our activities during 2002/03. Section 1 (on page 1) provides the Commissioner’s Overview. Details on the Commission’s educative and policy initiatives and services undertaken in 2002/03 are provided in Section 2 (on page 5). Statistical information and analysis of trends relating to enquiries and complaints are provided in Section 3 (on page 10). Compliance with legislation and organisational issues are outlined in Section 4 (on page 20). Performance Indicators are on page 26 and Financial Statement on page 31. Case studies of conciliated complaints are provided in Appendix B (on page 53).
The Annual Report 2002/03 is available from the Publications section of the Commission’s website located at www.equalopportunity.wa.gov.au. Printed copies may be requested from the Commission, where necessary.
YOUR SAY
As the Commission is constantly striving to improve our services, any comments, observations or queries relating to the contents of our Annual Report will be appreciated.
Please contact the Commission by email directly from our website or through the Commission’s directory details.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION’S DIRECTORY
HEAD OFFICE
Level 2
141 St George’s Terrace
PERTH WA 6000
TELEPHONE AND FACISIMILE NUMBERS
Telephone: (08) 9216 3900
TTY Number: (08) 9216 3936
Toll Free: 1800 198 149
Facsimile: (08) 9216 3960
POSTAL ADDRESS
PO Box 7370
Cloisters Square
PERTH WA 6850
WEBSITE
www.equalopportunity.wa.gov.au
Statement of Compliance
TO THE HON JIM MCGINTY,
ATTORNEY GENERAL
I have pleasure in submitting this Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2003 for your information and presentation to Parliament.
This report has been prepared in accordance with Section 62 of the Financial Administration and Audit Act 1985, Section 95 of the Equal Opportunity Act 1984, and Section 31 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994.
I draw your attention to my overview that describes emerging trends and key achievements for this financial period.
Yvonne Henderson
Commissioner for Equal Opportunity
29 August 2003
Contents
Contents
ABOUT THIS REPORT i
YOUR SAY i
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION’S DIRECTORY i
Statement of Compliance ii
Contents iii
Commissioner’s Overview 1
1.1 KEY ACHIEVEMENTS 3
1.2 FUTURE DIRECTIONS 3
1.3 FINANCIAL OVERVIEW 4
1.4 ABOUT THE COMMISSION 4
Report on Community Education 5
2.1 PROMOTE RECOGNITION, AWARENESS AND ACCEPTANCE 5
2.2 TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR EMPLOYERS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS 5
2.3 COMMUNICATING EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY TO POTENTIAL COMPLAINANTS AND ADVOCACY TRAINING TO THE COMMUNITY SECTOR 7
Report on Conciliation Services 10
3.1 HANDLING ENQUIRIES AND COMPLAINTS 10
3.2 ENQUIRIES VERSUS COMPLAINTS 10
3.3 ANSWERING ENQUIRIES 11
3.4 HANDLING COMPLAINTS 12
3.5 INDUSTRY AND SECTOR OF RESPONDENT ORGANISATIONS 15
3.6 HOW COMPLAINTS WERE RESOLVED 16
3.7 HOW QUICKLY WERE COMPLAINTS FINALISED 17
3.8 WHAT COMPLAINANTS AND RESPONDENTS SAID 18
3.9 PROVISION OF LEGAL ASSISTANCE 18
3.10 CASES OF CONCILIATED COMPLAINTS 19
Report on Corporate Governance and Compliance 20
4.1 COMPLIANCE WITH RELEVANT WRITTEN LAWS 20
4.2 LEGISLATIVE AND OTHER COMPLIANCE 20
4.3 OUTPUT BASED MANAGEMENT 24
4.4 COMPLIANCE STATEMENT 25
Performance Indicators 26
CERTIFICATION OF PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 26
AUDITOR GENERAL INDEPENDENT AUDIT OPINION 27
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 28
Financial Statements 31
CERTIFICATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2003 31
AUDITOR GENERAL INDEPENDENT AUDIT OPINION 32
Statement of Financial Performance 33
Statement of Financial Position 34
Statement of Cash Flows 35
Output Schedule of Expenses and Revenues 36
Summary of Consolidated Fund Appropriations and Revenue Estimates 37
Notes to the Financial Statements 38
Appendix A 52
Table 14 Outcomes of Closed Complaints by Grounds 2002/03 52
Appendix B 53
CASE SUMMARIES 53
Race - Goods, Services And Facilities: Conciliated 53
Impairment – Goods, Services & Facilities: Conciliated 53
Family Responsibility – Employment: Conciliated 54
Family Responsibility – Employment: Dismissed 54
Race And Impairment – Accomodation: Conciliated 54
Pregnancy, Sex And Family Responsibility – Employment: Conciliated 55
Age – Education: Dismissed 55
Sex – Employment: Conciliated 55
Racial Harassment – Employment: Conciliated 55
Sexual Harassment And Victimisation – Employment: Conciliated 56
iv Contents
Commissioner’s Overview
4 Commissioner’s Overview
It has been a busy year for the Commission.
Officers have responded to 4,941 enquiries, received by telephone, in writing through the post or by email and in person. All officers of the Commission assist in responding to requests from the public. Some of the enquiries relate to requests for printed information, others refer to registrations for the many training courses and workshops run by the Commission, while other enquiries ultimately develop into formal complaints.
The Commission has added significant amounts of information to its website to assist those seeking information about the Act, training courses and information about the Commission’s current activities. The Commission’s website recorded 17,900 hits this year. Ongoing improvement to the website is planned to make access to material about human rights more readily available which will be of assistance to students and researchers as well as to the general public. The answers to frequently asked questions is a popular feature of the website.
Our training courses continue to be well attended and we are now receiving more requests for courses appropriate to the specific needs of individual organisations and agencies. The Commission has responded to these requests and has delivered courses on-site where requested.
The Commission has received a significant number of written submissions into its ongoing investigation into Aboriginal housing issues and officers have travelled to regional areas to take oral submissions from individuals whose circumstances limit their ability to make written submissions.
The Commissioner and her staff continue to respond to numerous requests to deliver talks about the Act and the role of the Commission to community groups, employer and employee organisations, in accordance with the Commission’s charter to educate and promote equal opportunity in the community.
The Commission has been involved in the Kalgoorlie project to address racial issues in the town. The Commission, in association with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has delivered training to Aboriginal advocates and has had continued involvement in the project to develop and set up protocols for the resolution of issues in the town. This protocol, when completed, may well provide a model for other towns to improve communication between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal leaders and organisations in order to resolve issues that can create racial tensions within the town.
The Commission has had significant involvement in the Premier’s Anti-Racism Strategy and welcomes the opportunity to be involved in ongoing projects to eliminate racism. The Commission, in partnership with the Office of Multicultural Interests is planning to host a workshop titled ‘Institutional Racism: An Individual and Organisational Response’ by Professor Charles Husband, University of Bradford, on the issue on identifying and addressing systemic racism.
As overt examples of discrimination are rectified and community awareness of what is required to comply with the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 increases, the challenge is to identify and eliminate institutionalised barriers to equal opportunity. These barriers prevent the community from fully utilising the talents of all of its citizens and subject individuals to less favourable treatment in their workplaces, in accessing goods and services and in other areas covered by the Act.
ENQUIRIES
The public enquiry line is staffed from Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.
The Commission responded to 4,941 enquiries during the 2002/03 year.
COMPLAINT HANDLING
There was a slight increase in the number of matters which were converted from enquiries to formal complaints by the Commissioner, from 634 in 2001/02 to 637 in 2002/03. Many individuals made multiple complaints against one or more respondents. The Commission handled 1,087 complaints, 60 more than last year. Compared with the previous year, there was a decrease in the number of complaints which lapsed, from 150 to 75. This year, 141 (29.6%) of the formal complaints closed were conciliated within the Commission whilst 25 (73.5%) of the complaints were finalised after referral to the Equal Opportunity Tribunal were settled through mediation, the majority with the assistance of Commission Legal Officers. Of the total number of complaints closed, 33.2% were conciliated and settled through mediation.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Although there was a decline in the number of community education and training courses delivered, the number of participants attending the courses increased from 3,554 in 2001/02 to 6,338 this year. The reduced number of training sessions was due to the increase in the length of training sessions and introduction of a new workshop developed in relation to the amendments to the Equal Opportunity Act making it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender history.
The Commission has been involved in delivering training to a group of Aboriginal advocates in the Kalgoorlie-Boulder region to enable them to respond to the social justice and equal opportunity needs of their communities.
The Commission has also assisted community organisations (including advocacy groups) by providing training when requested. Jointly sponsored workshops by the Commission, such as one with the Sussex Street Community Legal Centre and the People With Disabilities (WA) Inc. is an example of these ‘rights’ centred training sessions.
LEGAL ASSISTANCE
The closure of more complaint files during the year has resulted in a higher number of referrals by the Commissioner to the Equal Opportunity Tribunal (53 compared with 41 in the previous financial year). The number of complainants receiving legal assistance increased from 64 last year to 93 in 2002/03. The total number of complaints that were settled this year with the assistance of a Legal Officer rose from 20 to 25 compared with the previous year.
Private law firms provided pro bono legal advice and representation to a number of complainants under a new arrangement between the Commissioner and participating legal firms. The assistance provided by these firms assisted in reducing the Tribunal related workload on the Commission’s Legal Officers. It is expected that this beneficial arrangement will continue next year.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION
On 21 September 2002 the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill 2002 was proclaimed. This new legislation had the effect of amending the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 to prohibit discrimination because of a person’s sexual orientation or gender history.
The Act defines ‘sexual orientation’ as heterosexuality, homosexuality, lesbianism or bisexuality. It does not include transsexualism. The ground includes imputed sexual orientation and it is also unlawful to discriminate against a relative or associate of a person because of their sexual orientation.
The definition of ‘de facto’ partner now includes a partner of the same sex.
GENDER IDENTITY
The Attorney General asked the Commissioner to report on gender identity. A Working Party was established by the Commissioner to obtain relevant information. The Commissioner submitted her report to the Attorney General in December 2002.
ABORIGINAL HOUSING INVESTIGATION
In December 2002, the former acting Commissioner for Equal Opportunity, Ms Moira Rayner, announced an investigation into the provision of public housing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Western Australia in accordance with Section 80 of the Equal Opportunity Act 1984. The impetus for the investigation is the long history in the Commission of heavy rates of complaints by Aboriginal people about discrimination in relation to the provision of housing by the Department of Housing and Works. It was noted that 37.7% of all complaints received by the Commission in 2001/02 were complaints of this nature.
After releasing the Terms of Reference and a Consultation Paper, individuals and organisations were invited to make written submissions. As many Aboriginal people sought the opportunity to make an oral submission, Commission officers have visited metropolitan and regional areas and will continue taking oral submissions in the next financial year.
NEW CHALLENGES
The challengers ahead are to seek to resolve increasingly complex complaints more quickly and to work to eliminate systemic discrimination within organisations, both public and private.
Key areas of concern are:
§ women continue to experience difficulties accessing maternity leave and negotiating a return to a position comparable with the one occupied prior to leave;
§ the need for flexible work arrangements to enable male and female workers to balance their family responsibilities and their work is a major challenge;
§ the inability of the Commission to deal with allegations of racial and religious vilification; and
§ the inability of the Commission to respond to complaints of harassment by bullying particularly in the workplace.
ANTI-RACISM STRATEGY
The Equal Opportunity Commission has participated in the Premier’s Anti-Racism Strategy Committee and offers advice and suggestions in relation to initiatives canvassed by that committee to address racism in the community as well as to promote and encourage anti-racist attitudes in schools, sport, employment and generally.
PUBLIC INTEREST DISCLOSURE ACT 2003
With the new Public Interest Disclosure Act 2003 the Commission has responsibility to investigate complaints of victimisation by whistleblowers.
1.1 KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
§ Developed and delivered a new workshop relating to the amendments to the Equal Opportunity Act making it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender history.
§ The Commissioner submitted a report to the Attorney General on gender identity.
§ The Interdepartmental Committee on Gay and Lesbian Law Reform completed its task and the committee folded in March 2003.
§ Maintained high levels of customer satisfaction with our complaint handling process.
§ Provided legal assistance to complainants in an unprecedented number of matters that were referred to the Equal Opportunity Tribunal.
§ For the first time staff members of the Commission participated in the annual Pride Parade.
1.2 FUTURE DIRECTIONS
§ Future directions for Outreach include a review of the program for the purposes of promoting a community engagement and capacity building program in partnership with government and the community.