250-plus disability protests on masks

Victoria’s human rights commission has received more than 250 complaints of disability discrim­ination over rules on masks.

Staff clean tables in a cafe in Melbourne’s Federation Square in October. Picture: David Crosling

Victoria’s human rights commission has received more than 250 complaints of disability discrim­ination over rules on masks, with complainants receiving letters of apology, financial compensation and gift cards after dispute ­resolution.

The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission found that mandatory mask wearing as part of the public health directions did not breach human rights but some people did not have their exemption to the rule recognised.

According to the VEOHRC’s report on the pandemic, more than nine in 10 of mask complaints related to the refusal of goods and services while the rest concerned employment.

“The commission successfully resolved many of these complaints through dispute resolution, with the outcomes including letters of apology, financial compensation and gift cards, changing an organisation’s policy, providing training to staff and education of respondents of their obligations under the Equal Opportunity Act and DHHS guidelines,” said ­VEOHRC commissioner Ro Allen.

A VEOHRC spokesperson said the value of compensation and gift cards paid by businesses varied but was unable to quote prices due to confidentiality.

Case studies of people with a valid exemption offered in the report include a woman suffering from bipolar disorder and depression denied service at a bank, a man told by his employer that he couldn’t work without a mask despite it increasing the likelihood he would suffer panic attacks and a man denied entry to a hotel for not wearing a mask.

“When the man told hotel staff he could not wear a mask for medical reasons, he was asked to show a medical exemption certificate and then refused service,” said the report.

“The complainant felt embarrassed and ostracised in front of his friends and other customers.”

The VEOHRC received 182 complaints in 2020 relating to pandemic health orders, 155 of which related to disability ­discrimination.

As well, the report said limited public information on and justification for the public health orders “made it difficult for ­people outside of government to understand the extent to which the restrictions imposed on human rights were necessary and proportionate.”

Commissioner Allen said recently passed pandemic legislation would “provide some transparency” over pandemic measures.

The report also found two-years of pandemic and the government response “dispro­portionately impacted on some Victorians by exacerbating existing inequalities in our society”.

“While some enforcement of emergency laws and directions may be necessary to ensure compliance, there is a risk enforcement will disproportionately affect marginalised communities who are potentially already over-policed, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, multicultural communities and people who are experiencing homelessness or sleeping rough,” the report said.

The VEOHRC noted that a disproportionate number of nearly 40,000 fines issued by Victoria Police were to ­Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and multicultural communities.