Commonwealth funded aged-care accommodation and sex discrimination

The SDAA also contains a rather significant removal of the traditional exemption covering certain religious institutions running aged-care accommodation.

The exemption under Section 23(3)(c) of the Act, which allowed religious accommodation operators to refuse accommodation and related benefits to persons on the basis of several sex and sexuality protected attributes, is removed for religious bodies providing Commonwealth-funded aged care. The exemption is removed regardless of the level of Commonwealth-funding.

As noted in submissions Castan Centre for Human Rights Law at Monash University and the supplementary explanatory memorandum, the policy decision is aimed at aligning these institutions with the same community standards as already imposed on other Commonwealth funded accommodation providers.