EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Sex Discrimination Regulations (Amendment)

Statutory Rules 1987 No. 56

Issued by the Authority of the Attorney-General

Section 116 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (“the Act”) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing matters that are required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

Section 75A of the Act provides that a person summoned to appear before the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (“the Commission”) is entitled to be paid, in respect of the person’s attendance, fees and allowances for expenses, fixed by or in accordance with the regulations.

The regulations amend the Sex Discrimination Regulations to provide, by new regulation 4, that the fees and allowances payable to a person under sub-section 75A(1) of the Act will be fixed by the Commission or the member of the Commission presiding at the inquiry in accordance with the Schedule to the regulations. The scale of fees and allowances set out in the new Schedule to the regulations generally reflect the fees and allowances which are specified in the Federal Court Rules.