Disability Discrimination

A  Training  Session,  11  July  2012  

What  is  discrimina;on?  

 (Discrimina*on  and  the  An*  Discrimina*on  Board  of  NSW  ,  An*-­‐Discrimina*on  Board  of  NSW  Factsheet  reprinted  4/01).  

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‘Discrimina;on  means  trea;ng  somebody  unfairly  because  they  happen  to  belong  to  a  par;cular  group  of  people.’  

The  many  faces  of  discrimina;on  in  strata  corpora;ons    

By-­‐laws  with  age  restric;ons  

House  rules  about  breasKeeding  at  the  

pool  

Chairman  flir;ng  with  the  strata  manager  

Discussing  at  a  mee;ng  the  desirability  of  a  

person  based  on  their  appearances  

Asking  a  new  resident  manager  about  his  or  her  marital  status  or  

sexuality  

Enforcing  a  by-­‐law  about  restric;ng  modifica;ons  for  a  wheel  chair  user  

Banning  children  from  playing  on  common  

property  

Restric;ng  certain  food  types  being  cooked  in  a  communal  kitchen    

Refusing  to  install  a  new  and  easier  to  use  pool  area    access  

device  

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The  3  necessary  elements  of  discrimina;on    

Ground  of  discrimina;on  (race,  sex,  etc)  

Type  of  discrimina;on  (direct  or  indirect)  

Specified  area  of  discrimina;on  (e.g.  providing  

services)      

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Recognising  indirect  discrimina;on  is  a  key  issue  for  strata  living    

• Trea;ng  a  person  less  favoruably  because  of  their  disability    

• Telling  someone  they  can’t  use  the  pool  because  their  appearance  will  upset  others    

Direct  discrimina;on  

• A  person  is  prevented  from  doing  something  a  person  without  a  disability  can  do    

• A  person  with  a  disability  can’t  open  the  pool  gate  without  the  aid  of  a  proximity  device  which  the  OC  won’t  install    

Indirect  discrimina;on    

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A  case  study  in  strata  discrimina;on    

©  Copyright  2011  Teys  Lawyers                  www.teyslawyers.com.au  

 Indirect  discrimina;on  on  the  ground  of  impairment  in  accommoda;on  and  the  supply  of  goods  and  services  against  a  Qld  body  corporate.  

 Indirect  discrimina;on  proved  because  residents  had  to  use  a  manual  common  property  access  device  and  the  applicant  could  but  could  easily  have  used  a  proximity  device.  

Compensa;on  of  $25,000  awarded.    

About  the  Presenter  Michael Teys is the Founder and Principal Lawyer of TEYS Lawyers. He has a Bachelor of Laws and practices exclusively in the area of strata and community title law. He is a Fellow of the Australian College of Community Association Lawyers. He was formerly an Adjunct Lecturer with Charles Sturt University. He has also been the CEO of a publicly listed company and one of Australia’s largest strata management companies managing over $8B of residential and commercial property. Michael appears weekly on SKY News Business Channel's Property Success with Margaret Lomas and is a regular panellist for the property edition of Your Money, Your Call for the same channel. You can read Michael’s blog at www.michaelteys.com and follow him on Twitter at @MichaelTeys.com

Teys Lawyers practice nationally in strata and community title law representing owners corporations, bodies corporate and apartment owners. The firm’s practice groups include building defects, strata community disputes, strata title property law, by-law / rules and levy / fee collection.

TEYS Lawyers provide an entirely cloud based working platform for their team. The firm provides flexible working arrangements and has remote working locations in Queensland and Victoria.