What is direct discrimination?

• When someone treats you or proposes to treat you less favourably than they would treat someone else in similar circumstances who does not have the disability, because of the disability. Examples include:
  • a school refusing the enrolment of a student with a disability, saying they don’t have the resources/money to support them adequately
  • a business refusing to hire a person with a disability as a receptionist because they want a different “image”
  • a restaurant or airline refusing to admit a person with Autism because they don’t like the sounds they are making
• In the Equal Opportunity Act, it is enough just to treat someone unfavourably due to their disability for the treatment to be discrimination – there is no need for a comparison to be made to anyone else
• Failure to provide ‘reasonable adjustments’ also constitutes (is) direct discrimination under the Disability Discrimination Act. (See section on “Reasonable Adjustments”)

It is not always easy to know  if you have been  discriminated against,  contact us to discuss your own case.