Equal employment opportunity

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) is about:

making sure that workplaces are free from all forms of unlawful discrimination and harassment, and
providing programs to assist members of EEO groups to overcome past or present disadvantage.

EEO groups are people affected by past or continuing disadvantage or discrimination in employment. These groups are:

women
Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders
members of racial, ethnic, and ethno-religious minority groups, and
people with a disability.

Discrimination is treating someone unfairly or harassing them because they belong to a particular group. Under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977, it is against the law in NSW for any employer, including the Government, to discriminate against an employee or job applicant because of their: age; sex; pregnancy; disability (including past, present or possible future disability); race, colour, ethnic or ethno-religious background, descent or nationality; marital status; homosexuality; or transgender.

Both direct and indirect discrimination is against the law. Direct discrimination means the treatment that is obviously unfair or unequal. Indirect discrimination means having a requirement that is the same for everyone but has an effect or result that is unfair to particular groups.

Employees have the right to:

a workplace that is free from unlawful discrimination and harassment
equal access to benefits and conditions, and
fair processes to deal with work-related complaints and grievances.

Employees have the responsibility to:

act to prevent harassment and discrimination against others in your workplace,
respect differences among your colleagues and customers such as cultural and social diversity, and
treat people fairly (don’t discriminate against or harass them).

Managers and supervisors have the responsibility to:

take steps to ensure that all work practices and behaviours are fair and free from all forms of unlawful discrimination and harassment
provide employees with equal opportunity to apply for available jobs, training and development, higher duties and flexible working hours
ensure selection processes are based on merit, transparent and the methods used are consistent.

Further information on EEO is located at http://www.eeo.nsw.gov.au and information on common selection criteria can be found at http://www.jobs.nsw.gov.au