Close Menu
Honi Soit
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • Heat Hazing: The Surfer Takes on the ‘Manosphere’ in a Delirious But Ineffective Saga.
    •  In Conversation with Thomas Mayo
    • I am filled with the digital confetti of your every desire: Artspace opens Amongst the clouds
    • “Every penny of our tuition fee becomes a missile fired at Palestinians”: Students vote against new definition of antisemitism at SGM
    • 2025 Queer Revue: A wild ride of wigs, fanfiction, and Pitbull 
    • I like my Lower House shaken, not stirred: LNP and Greens look to new leadership
    • 2025 USU Board Election Provisional Results Announced
    • 77 Years of Nakba: Thousands protest in Sydney against Israel’s Occupation
    • About
    • Print Edition
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    • Writing Comp
    • Advertise
    • Locations
    • Contact
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok
    Honi SoitHoni Soit
    Tuesday, May 20
    • News
    • Analysis
    • Culture
    • Opinion
    • University
    • Features
    • Perspective
    • Investigation
    • Reviews
    • Comedy
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    Honi Soit
    Home»News

    NSW’s Anti Discrimination Act is an antiquated piece of legislation in need of reform

    Antiquated language and inconsistencies limit the extent to which the law can protect members of the queer community.
    By Yasmin AndrewsFebruary 22, 2023 News 2 Mins Read
    LGBTQ flag in pride march
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    New South Wales was the first state in Australia to pass anti-discrimination protections for gay people – ensuring they could not be discriminated against in employment, housing, and public education – in 1982, two years before it even decriminalised homosexual sex. But, as WorldPride gets underway and Sydney’s reputation as a gay-friendly city has grown internationally, New South Wales’ Anti Discrimination Act is still an inadequate piece of legislation which fails to protect many vulnerable members of the queer community. Only an overhaul of the Act will have it meet the contemporary needs of the queer community. 

    In their current state, NSW anti-discrimination laws protect LGBTQ+ people on the basis of sexuality or “transgender status”, but antiquated language and inconsistencies limit the extent to which these laws can protect members of the queer community. The Act defines “transgender status” as relevant only to people who identify “as a member of the opposite sex”; excluding non-binary, agender, and genderfluid individuals.

    Similarly, the Act protects people from discrimination “on the grounds of homosexuality”, which means that bisexual people may not be protected from discrimination. 

    The Act’s mechanisms for preventing discriminatory behaviour are also deeply insufficient. Currently, the current system can only aid individuals who have already been victimised by their oppressor. When the only means of counteracting discrimination means to have to suffer it, some queer people are faced with a situation in which it is safer to hide their identity rather than subject themselves to discrimination. 

    In other states across Australia, these inadequacies have been addressed through law reform efforts or they are in the process of being remedied. As a result, NSW’s legislation has been left behind. And queer people have been left to suffer. The changes the state government must make are not difficult changes; it is only neglect which is to blame for the current state of the Anti Discrimination Act. It’s time the government fixed it. 

    anti discrimination legislation queer Reform

    Keep Reading

    “Every penny of our tuition fee becomes a missile fired at Palestinians”: Students vote against new definition of antisemitism at SGM

    I like my Lower House shaken, not stirred: LNP and Greens look to new leadership

    2025 USU Board Election Provisional Results Announced

    77 Years of Nakba: Thousands protest in Sydney against Israel’s Occupation

    No Soap in the Box

    “USyd you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide”: Post-SGM Palestine Rally

    Just In

    Heat Hazing: The Surfer Takes on the ‘Manosphere’ in a Delirious But Ineffective Saga.

    May 20, 2025

     In Conversation with Thomas Mayo

    May 19, 2025

    I am filled with the digital confetti of your every desire: Artspace opens Amongst the clouds

    May 19, 2025

    “Every penny of our tuition fee becomes a missile fired at Palestinians”: Students vote against new definition of antisemitism at SGM

    May 19, 2025
    Editor's Picks

    A meditation on God and the impossible pursuit of answers

    May 14, 2025

    We Will Be Remembered As More Than Administrative Errors

    May 7, 2025

    NSW universities in the red as plague of cuts hit students & staff

    April 30, 2025

    Your Compliance Will Not Save You

    April 16, 2025
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok

    From the mines

    • News
    • Analysis
    • Higher Education
    • Culture
    • Features
    • Investigation
    • Comedy
    • Editorials
    • Letters
    • Misc

     

    • Opinion
    • Perspective
    • Profiles
    • Reviews
    • Science
    • Social
    • Sport
    • SRC Reports
    • Tech

    Admin

    • About
    • Editors
    • Send an Anonymous Tip
    • Write/Produce/Create For Us
    • Print Edition
    • Locations
    • Archive
    • Advertise in Honi Soit
    • Contact Us

    We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. The University of Sydney – where we write, publish and distribute Honi Soit – is on the sovereign land of these people. As students and journalists, we recognise our complicity in the ongoing colonisation of Indigenous land. In recognition of our privilege, we vow to not only include, but to prioritise and centre the experiences of Indigenous people, and to be reflective when we fail to be a counterpoint to the racism that plagues the mainstream media.

    © 2025 Honi Soit
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • Accessibility

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.