ACTIn ForceAct
Discrimination Act 1991
33BGenuine occupational qualifications
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33B Genuine occupational qualifications
(1) Part 3 does not make it unlawful to discriminate against a person in
relation to a position as an employee, commission agent, contract
worker or business partner if—
(a) it is a genuine occupational qualification of the position that the
position be filled by a person having a particular protected
attribute; and
Examples—genuine occupational qualifications
• employing a female carer to provide personal care services for a woman on
the basis of privacy or modesty
• selecting a person of a particular race for a role in a theatrical performance on
the basis of authenticity, aesthetics or tradition
• preferencing people with lived experience of family and domestic violence for
peer support positions in a women’s crisis centre
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to discrimination on the ground of
religious conviction.
Exceptions about sex, relationship status, pregnancy or breastfeeding Division 4.2