8Direct discrimination

8 Direct discrimination (1) Direct discrimination occurs if a person treats, or proposes to treat, a person with an attribute unfavourably because of that attribute. 1 An employer advises an employee that she will not be trained to work on new machinery because she is too old to learn new skills. The employer has discriminated against the employee by denying her training in her employment on the basis of her age. 2 A real estate agent refuses an African man's application for a lease. The real estate agent tells the man that the landlord would prefer an Australian tenant. The real estate agent has discriminated against the man by denying him accommodation on the basis of his race. (2) In determining whether a person directly discriminates it is irrelevant— (a) whether or not that person is aware of the discrimination or considers the treatment to be unfavourable; (b) whether or not the attribute is the only or dominant reason for the treatment, provided that it is a substantial reason.