What We Do

Working with and through our peak body Economic Justice Australia and its member organisations, we provide advice to government on social security reform, to strengthen the effectiveness and integrity of Australia’s social security system.

Recent examples include:

• Calling for reform to Centrepay, which has long been misused by businesses as a vehicle for economic abuse, diverting money away from people when they need it most.
• Lobbying to implement Services Australia’s Advocates Channel, a direct line for advocates to access Centrelink teams, which has significantly improved service delivery and reduced delays for our clients.
• Contributing to two Economic Justice Australia projects, the Automation in Social Security Project and the Remote Women’s Project, to ensure technology and automation do not disproportionately disadvantage vulnerable populations.

We lead advocacy and industry initiatives to prevent workplace sexual harassment, discrimination and other workplace issues, focusing on issues in Queensland and working with Working Women’s Centre Australia and other partners on national issues. We are particularly focused on the primary prevention of gender-based violence in workplaces, promoting economic security for women, and the safe digital transformation of workplaces.

Recent examples include:

• Marking Equal Pay Day, which recognises the gender pay gap which requires Australian women to work an average of 50 extra days each year to earn the same median wage as men.
• Telling a parliamentary inquiry that automated decision-making and machine-learning systems have the potential to reinforce and exacerbate existing power imbalances, gender inequality, discrimination and bias, social and economic disadvantage, and create new mechanisms for harassment in the workplace.
• Informing the Australian Law Reform Commission’s review of justice responses to sexual violence about the need to address workplace sexual violence, focusing on barriers to justice, access to legal support, and ensuring just outcomes for survivors.

We work to change laws, policies and attitudes to break down barriers and promote inclusivity. We push for stronger anti-discrimination rules to protect people and ensure workplaces, services, and communities are equitable and inclusive.

Recent examples include:

• Our Paw Reform Project, which aims to simplify laws that regulate assistance animals for Queenslanders with disability.
• As part of an alliance of Queensland lawyers and advocates, contributing to a ‘Ten Point Plan for a Fairer Queensland: No more excuses for discrimination’
• As a member of the Power to Prevent Coalition, successfully advocating for a modified equal access costs model in federal anti-discrimination law in Australia, addressing a key barrier to people pursuing redress for discrimination and sexual harassment.
• Drawing on our work with people facing disability discrimination and employment-related issues, reporting on the positive impact of Queensland’s human rights act, and revealing areas where protections fall short. We’ve also used this experience to contribute to a national research project assessing mechanisms to resolve human rights complaints in Australia.