The Sex and Age Discrimination Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 has been passed by Parliament and is awaiting Royal Assent.

The key amendments made by this Bill will amend the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 to :
• extend protections from discrimination on the grounds of family responsibilities to both women and men in all areas of work;
• provide greater protection from sexual harassment for students and workers;
• ensure that protections from sex discrimination apply equally to women and men; and
• establish breastfeeding as a separate ground of discrimination.

The Bill also amends the Age Discrimination Act 2004 to establish an Age Discrimination Commissioner in the Australian Human Rights Commission.