GLOSSARY
ABS Service Delivery Charter: This Charter articulates the high standards of service that the ABS will provide and the relationship between the ABS and users of its products and services. It also outlines the complaints and grievance mechanisms in place to address concerns about the ABS' performance in providing services.
APSC: The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) is a central agency within the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio. The Commission supports two statutory office holders: the Public Service Commissioner—who is also agency head—and the Merit Protection Commissioner. Their functions are set out in sections 41(1) and 50(1), respectively, of the Public Service Act 1999 (the PS Act).
Carers: The Carer Recognition Act 2010 identifies carers as people who provide care, support and assistance to another individual in need of support due to disability, medical condition (including terminal or chronic illness), mental illness, frail and/or aged. This varies slightly from the current ABS definition of a carer (for the purposes of carers leave) which is someone who is required to provide care or support to members of their immediate family or household who are ill, injured or experiencing an unexpected emergency.
Disability: As per Disability Discrimination Act 1992, disability, in relation to a person, is defined as:
(a) total or partial loss of the person’s bodily or mental functions; or
(b) total or partial loss of a part of the body; or
(c) the presence in the body of organisms causing disease or illness; or
(d) the presence in the body of organisms capable of causing disease or illness; or
(e) the malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of the person’s body; or
(f) a disorder or malfunction that results in the 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;
and includes a disability that:
(h) presently exists; or
(i) previously existed but no longer exists; or
(j) may exist in the future (including because of a genetic predisposition to that disability); or
(k) is imputed to a person.
Inherent Requirements: Those duties that are necessary to get the basic job done, not
how the job is done. For example, a person with a movement disability may be able to perform the part of her work that requires her to transport computer screens and boxes to clients throughout an organisation if she/he has the appropriate equipment, such as a trolley.
Reasonable Workplace Adjustment (RWA): Refers to changing some aspect of the work environment so that employees with a disability are able to perform to the best of their ability when they:
(a) carry out the essential duties of their job;
(b) seek new employment;
(c) pursue promotion;
(d) undertake training; and/or
(e) participate in other important aspects of the workplace (e.g. performance appraisal sessions, information sessions, meetings of employees, clients or respondents).
Unlawful Discrimination (Australian Human Rights Commission definition): under federal and state legislation, unlawful discrimination occurs when someone, or a group of people, is treated less favourably than another person or group because of their race, colour, national or ethnic origin; sex, pregnancy or marital status; age; disability; religion; sexual preference; trade union activity; or some other characteristic specified under anti-discrimination or human rights legislation.
Workplace discrimination can occur in:
- recruiting and selecting staff
- terms, conditions and benefits offered as part of employment
- who receives training and what sort of training is offered
- who is considered and selected for transfer, promotion, retrenchment or dismissal.
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