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Over the past 50 years there has been an increased awareness of disability in society and the rights of disabled people including people with mental health problems. However, there still exists widespread discrimination of people with disabilities.
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 was drawn up to help protect the rights of people with disabilities and enforce the concept of equal opportunities. What is discrimination? Discrimination takes place where a person with a disability is treated less favourably than others, for a reason which relates to the disability, and the less favourable treatment cannot be justified. There are additional definitions given which relate to the different provisions of the Act.
This fact sheet provides information on the following areas:
- What is the Disability Discrimination Act?
- What does the DDA cover?
- Employment and the DDA
- Services and the DDA
- Education and the DDA
- When is discrimination justified?
- How do I take action?
- The Disability Rights Commission
- Further information.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that single copies of individual fact sheets are available free of charge to users of mental health services and their carers, but multiple copies are chargeable to organisations at the rates shown per copy. Photocopying of individual fact sheets by organisations is strictly prohibited.
