There are both federal and state laws to protect the rights of people with disabilities including members of the deaf community. The Disability Discrimination Act was passed in 1992 and is a national law. It is administered by the Australian Human Rights Commission (formerly Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commision, known as HREOC). There is also state law about disability discrimination in the NSW Disability Services Act 1993. 

As described on Australian Human Rights Commission’s website, the main objectives of the Disability Discrimination Act are to:

• eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities
• promote community acceptance of the principle that people with disabilities have the same fundamental rights as all members of the community, and
• ensure as far as practicable that people with disabilities have the same rights to equality before the law as other people in the community.

It aims to prevent direct and indirect discrimination of persons with disability in many parts of public life, such as employment, education and access to premises.

The Act makes harassment on the basis of disability against the law. It also protects friends, relatives and others from discrimination because of their connection to someone with a disability.

A plain language Guide to the Disability Discrimination Act is available on Australian Human Rights Commission’s website as well as frequently asked questions and an overview of complaint outcomes.

Other organisations that provide advocacy services include:

• Disability Discrimination Legal Centre
• NSW Anti-Discrimination Board (Lawlink)
• United Nations