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The Federal Government has announced the intention to streamline federal anti-discrimination legislation into one comprehensive law.

 The existing Disability Discrimination Act 1992, Racial Discrimination Act 1975, Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and the Age Discrimination Act 2004 will be combined into a single Act, aiming to address inconsistencies and clarify rights and obligations.  This reform is in response to the National Human Rights Consultation Committee Report.

 These steps were welcomed by the Australian Human Rights Commission President Cathy Branson QC, however she also said she was disappointed that the Government had missed an opportunity to create an "adequate national system of protection".

The Committee's major recommendation was the development of a Human Rights Act, however this will not be implemented  at this stage.

 "Without a Human Rights Act, human rights protection in Australia remains piecemeal and inadequate.  There remain too many instances where a person whose human rights have been breached can do nothing about it," Ms Branson said.

Ms Branson urged the Government to revisit the idea of a Human Rights Act as part of its 2014 review of the Human Rights Framework.