Today in Parliament, Abigail gave notice of a motion highlighting the unfair exclusionary practices of many employers against candidates including people with disability, First Nations people, people over 55, and people who live with a long-term illness or mental illness.

Abigail said:

I give notice that on the next sitting day I will move:

(1)     That this House notes that:

• an alarming number of employers are discriminating against certain candidates by excluding them from recruitment processes, with a report by the Australian HR Institute (AHRI) revealing that 70 per cent of employers admitted to excluding candidates including people with disability, First Nations people, people over 55, and people who live with a long-term illness or mental illness;
• published on 17 March 2026, the AHRI report surveyed more than 600 business leaders or senior human resources decision-makers, and found that:
  • 19 per cent of employers said they would not consider hiring applicants who report having a disability;
  • 16 per cent of employers said they would not consider hiring applicants who report as being neurodiverse;
  • 28 per cent of employers said they would not consider hiring applicants who report having a long-term sickness;
  • 10 per cent of employers said they would not consider hiring applicants who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander;
  • 32 per cent of employers said they would not consider hiring applicants who report having a history of mental illness;
  • 19 per cent of employers said they would not consider hiring applicants who are aged 55 and over; and
  • 41 per cent of employers said they would not consider hiring applicants with a history of drug and alcohol problems;
• in response to these findings, the Australian Human Rights Commission has called for changes in the federal Disability Discrimination Act 1992 to impose a positive duty on employers to prevent disability discrimination from occurring in the first place;
• people with disability face significant barriers to accessing equal and inclusive employment across both the public sector and the private sector, at nearly every stage from recruitment and training to workplace adjustments;
• many people with disability who experience disability discrimination don’t take action or even make a complaint, often because of the enormous barriers including a lack of knowledge about their rights or where to get assistance, concerns about the impact of proceedings on their health and wellbeing or future career, and the reality that it is near impossible to prove disability discrimination in court;
• anti-discrimination laws at both a federal and NSW level are almost entirely reliant on a person coming forward to make a complaint, with no obligation for organisations and employers to take preventative measures to stop discrimination from happening;
• NSW’s Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 only prohibits discrimination, making no effort to actively promote equality or dismantle the systemic barriers preventing inclusion;
• both Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory have a positive duty within their laws to provide reasonable adjustments for people with disability;
• the NSW Law Reform Commission has been reviewing the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 since 2023 to modernise, simplify and align the Act with human rights obligations and contemporary standards; and
• many expert organisations including the Australian Lawyers for Human Rights, Legal Aid NSW, People with Disability Australia, NSW Law Society, Disability Advocacy NSW and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre have publicly called for changes to the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 to introduce a positive duty to make reasonable adjustments for people with disability, applied to all organisations including employers, educators and providers of goods and services.

(2)     That this House affirms that all people deserve to live free from discrimination and exclusion, and it is the responsibility of governments, employers, educators, providers of goods and services and all organisations to take meaningful action to promote the full and equal participation of all people in our society, including people with disability, within all areas of public life.

(3)       That this House calls on the NSW government to commit to amending the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 to legislate a positive duty on all organisations to proactively prevent discrimination, including an explicit requirement for all organisations to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate a person’s particular needs including a person’s disability.

24 March 2026