Ladies,

I have received a response from the HRLRC about this issue. I am happy to forward a copy of the letter to anyone, if you want to pm me.

Generally though, they think the police checks breach the Victorian Charter of Human Rights but the discrimination would probably be found to be justified and proportionate given that the purpose of the legislation is to protect children.

Unfortunately the police checks are not considered a breach of the Equal Opportunity Act either, because a person's police check is not protected under the legislation. However, there has been recommendations on this issue - that a person should not be discriminated against on the basis of their police checks - but for now, it's not applicable. The HRLRC recommends writing a friendly letter to the A-G on this issue.

There's a bit more to it, but let me know if you're interested and I'll forward a copy of the letter to you.

Hope that clarifies some things...seems like we all have to grin and bear it, despite how outrageously discriminatory it is on a moral and social level.

Seph