Wednesday 22 April 2015 5.30 – 6.30 pm followed by light refreshments Associate Professor Belinda Smith Sydney Law School Fellows Road Theatre 1 ANU College of Law, Building 6A, Fellows Rd, The Australian National University In the first claim of sexual orientation discrimination under the Sex Discrimination Act to be decided by a court (Bunning v Centacare [2015] FCCA 280) the judge said the Act protects ‘the state of being’ but it ‘does not cover behaviours’. Does this mean that I am allowed to be gay, so long as I don’t act gay? Or, by analogy, I am allowed to have family responsibilities, but am not entitled to fulfil those responsibilities? The judge’s approach reflects the High Court jurisprudence, but how did we arrive at such a narrow and meaningless understanding of discrimination (and equality) in our law? And what does this approach mean for the scope of protections in the Fair Work Act 2009 against adverse action? The case of Victoria v Grant [2014] FCAFC 184 can help us to understand how limiting this approach is: the state of depression might be protected, but not acting depressed? Belinda Smith is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law, University of Sydney. Her main field of research is anti-discrimination laws, with a focus on gender equality and workers with family responsibilities. In articles and chapters published in Australia, the United States and Japan she has explored alternative regulatory tools and frameworks for promoting equality. She has worked extensively on promoting reform of Australian anti-discrimination laws, served on the board of the Disability Discrimination Legal Centre NSW and is a member of the editorial board of the Australian Journal of Labour Law. The views expressed in this seminar are those of the presenter and do not necessarily represent the views of The Australian National University. Presented by Australian Labour Law Association Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association of the ACT RSVP online by Monday 20 April at ANU College of Law T 02 6125 1096 This lecture is free and open to the public law.anu.edu.au/events/anu-college-law/labour-lawseminar-series-0 PUBLIC LECTURE Labour Law Seminar Series ‘Being’ versus ‘doing’ – what is really protected under anti-discrimination laws?