It is most likely that an employment related discrimination claim that occurred prior to 1 August 2011 will be covered by the old Act – the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (Vic).
The Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) has come in into operation and now supersedes the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (Vic). The answer as to which law will apply if a person is discriminated against prior to August 2011 is dependent upon which section of the Act you are relying on.
The Victorian Government has repealed the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (Vic) and replaced it with the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic). Some provisions of the new Act were gradually implemented. However, all provisions of the new Act came into force on 1 August 2011, if they had not already commenced.
The applicable law in a given situation will be the law that was in force at the time the discriminatory act occurred. This means that discrimination that occurred prior to 1 August 2011 will need to be brought under the old Act and discrimination that occurs after 1 August 2011 will need to be brought under the new Act.