What is disability?

There are many kinds of disabilities. The meaning of disability is not limited to what a doctor or Centrelink may say. Discrimination law gives a very broad definition of disability.

According to current Australian and Victorian legislation:

“Disability includes impairments of physical, sensory or mental functions which may affect undertaking activities or participating in community life. It may be caused by accident, trauma, genetics or disease. A disability may be temporary or permanent, total or partial, lifelong or acquired, visible or invisible.”

What counts as a disability?

Courts have found a range of impairments may be considered as disabilities.

For example, stress – the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demands placed on them – may be considered a disability under discrimination law if:

it has lasted for a significant period of time, and
it is having a debilitating effect on your ability to carry out usual tasks or daily activities.

Case Study1 – Being severely upset or stressed can constitute an impairment

Laviya v Aitken Greens Pty Ltd, 2010, Victorian Civil and Administration Tribunal (VCAT)

Facts: Anne Laviya was an employee at the Aitken Hill conference centre on the outskirts of Melbourne. She made complaints of discrimination on the grounds of impairment, age and sexual harassment under the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 against her employer in the wake of the Black Saturday bushfire in 2009. Ms Laviya was directly affected by the fires – while her house was saved by a wind change, her car and water tanks were damaged, and she lived without power and services in the days following. Her employer telephoned her a number of times requiring her to return to work directly following the bushfire when she was unfit to do so. Other allegations were made against the employer regarding sexual harassment and dismissal.

Decision: The Tribunal found that Ms Laviya had experienced discrimination on the grounds of impairment in being required to return to work immediately after the bushfires when she was “unfit, and so unable, to do so”. The Tribunal said that “being severely upset to the extent that she was unable to cope with the demands of her job” constituted an impairment. It also found she had experienced sexual harassment. She was awarded $5,000 in damages.

What is disability?

What counts as a disability?

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