Members of the Employment, Diversity and Inclusion Committee will sit down with the Acting Anti-Discrimination Commissioner and discuss different perspectives on, and follow up in relation to, a number of topics presented by the Acting Anti-Discrimination Commissioner at the 2025 Employment Law Conference. This will be an informal armchair discussion in which the Acting Anti-Discrimination Commissioner can share their insights, observations and experiences working in this space.  

Topics covered at the 2025 Employment Law Conference included:

• Overview of the Anti Discrimination Act 1998 (Tas)(ADA) including time frames stipulated in the Act, interpretations of relevant sections of the Act and the implications of Tribunal and Court decisions on the practical operation of the Act.
• Exploration of the ADA where lawyers may be a party to a complaint, as a legal representative acting on behalf of a party or as a employer/manager/partner.
• Discussion of the role of a representative of a party in conciliation under the ADA.
• How as lawyers, we can advocate for the legislation that seeks to protect us all from unlawful discrimination and prohibited conduct.

Also touched on were the following key obligations and roles of lawyers under the Anti-Discrimination Act (ADA):

• Professional roles: Lawyers’ responsibilities as advocates, colleagues, managers, and employers.
• Client obligations: Acting competently and lawfully for clients under the ADA.
• Acting on behalf of others (s 61): Commissioner permission and circumstances of automatic standing.
• Complaints process (s 62): Form and requirements of a valid complaint.
• Time limits (s 63): Limitation periods and relevant case law.
• Withdrawal of complaints (s 68): When and how complaints may be withdrawn.
• Rights of review: Review and appeal pathways under the Act.
• Statutory exceptions (s 101): Scope and application, including Delaney.
• Conciliation (ss 75–77): Mandatory conciliation processes and outcomes.
• Workplace conduct: Obligations owed to colleagues and staff.
• Secondary liability (ss 21, 104): Aiding, permitting, or facilitating contraventions.
• Employer obligations (s 104): Duties and vicarious liability of law practices.

Presenter Bio

Pia Saturno, Acting Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, Office of the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, is a graduate of the University of Tasmania being admitted in 1996. She completed her articles of clerkship, as it was then, at the Department of Justice before taking up the role of Research Officer to the Governor of Tasmania, Sir Guy Green. In 2000 she was appointed to the role of Investigation and Conciliation Officer with the Office of the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner. Over the past 25 years Pia has worked under the leadership all of the past Commissioners and in November 2024, was appointed Acting Anti-Discrimination Commissioner.