Australian Capital Territory Current Acts

DISCRIMINATION ACT 1991 - SECT 5AA

    (1)     In this Act:

"disability "means—

        (a)     total or partial loss of a bodily or mental function; or

        (b)     total or partial loss of a part of the body; or

        (c)     the presence in the body of organisms that cause disease or illness; or

        (d)     the presence in the body of organisms that are capable of causing disease or illness; or

        (e)     the malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of the body; or

        (f)     a disorder or malfunction that results in a person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction; or

        (g)     a disorder, illness or disease that affects a person's thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment or that results in disturbed behaviour; or

        (h)     any other condition prescribed by regulation.

    (2)     For this Act, "disability" includes—

        (a)     behaviour that is a symptom or manifestation of the disability; and

        (b)     a disability that a person may have in the future, including because of a genetic disposition to the disability; and

        (c)     a disability that it is thought a person may have in the future, whether or not—

              (i)     the person has a genetic disposition to the disability; or

              (ii)     there is anything else to indicate the person may have the disability in the future; and

Note     Disability also includes a disability that the person has or is thought to have, and a disability that the person has had in the past, or is thought to have had in the past (see s 7 (2)).

        (d)     reliance on—

              (i)     a support person; or

              (ii)     a disability aid; or

              (iii)     an assistance animal.

    (3)     In this section:

"assistance animal" means an assistance animal trained to assist a person with disability to alleviate the effect of the disability (including by guiding a person who is blind or vision impaired or alerting a person who is deaf or hearing impaired to sounds), that satisfies any requirements prescribed by regulation.

"disability aid"—

        (a)     means equipment (including a palliative or therapeutic device) that is generally recognised to alleviate an effect of a disability; and

        (b)     includes anything prescribed by regulation.    

Note     Power to make a statutory instrument (including a regulation) includes power to make different provision in relation to different matters or different classes of matters, and to make an instrument that applies differently by reference to stated exceptions or factors (see Legislation Act

, s 48).

"support person" means a person who provides assistance or services to another person because of a disability the other person has.

Examples

carer, assistant, interpreter, reader