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Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

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Section 1 - Policy Statement

Part A - Policy Declaration

(1) The University is committed to providing an environment for staff and students that embraces and supports a knowledge of and respect for equity and cultural inclusion, safety and security and which is free from harassment and discrimination.

What is Equal Employment Opportunity

(2) Equal Opportunity means that all people regardless of gender, race, colour, age, marital or parental status, carer responsibilities, sexual preference, disability or religious belief have the right to be given fair consideration for a position or other position related benefits such as staff training and development. Equal Employment Opportunity aims to redress past disadvantage by improving employment access and participation for EEO groups.

(3) The University has policies and procedures in place that ensure employment practices are free from discrimination and that appointment is based on merit. The specific equity groups for employment are:

  1. Women;
  2. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples;
  3. People from non-English speaking backgrounds, and
  4. People with disabilities.

(4) The University is committed to a workplace free from all forms of unlawful discrimination and expects all staff to adhere to the related policies and procedures. These are:

  1. Code of Conduct
  2. Harassment, Bullying and Discrimination Policy
  3. Personal Relationships Policy

(5) Each staff member is expected to be aware of equal employment opportunity principles and to ensure that they adhere to them. Managers and senior staff are responsible for ensuring that programs devised to promote equal opportunity are implemented. They are also required to work co-operatively with staff whose task it is to devise, develop and implement measures to meet Legislative requirements.

(6) All staff are expected to undertake training in equal employment opportunity. EEO on line training is available though the Equity and Diversity Office (EO Online). The training program promotes awareness of discrimination and harassment issues and provides an understanding of the legal rights and responsibilities of staff. The program is presented in 2 modules, with all staff completing module 1 and staff with supervisory or managerial responsibilities being required to complete modules 1 and 2.

(7) The University aims to address grievances of staff in a timely and fair way, and has in place a Grievance Policy for University Staff. In fulfilling its commitment to Equal Employment Opportunity the University undertakes to:

  1. create and promote an environment free of discrimination and harassment;
  2. collect and analyse equal employment information for patterns which impact on equal opportunity;
  3. develop and implement EEO programs to improve access and participation in employment for equity groups;
  4. review policies and practices to ensure equal employment opportunity is adhered to;
  5. set goals, targets and measures for equity groups; and
  6. comply with state and federal legislation on discrimination and equal employment opportunity.

(8) The Vice Chancellor takes overall responsibility for equal employment opportunity with assistance from the Head, Equity and Diversity.