Access Equity Policy

Whether you're a learner here for a few months or a few years you have the right to be treated fairly while you're with us.
This means that regardless of your cultural background, gender, sexuality or age, whether you are pregnant, whether you have a disability or whether you are married or not you have the right to learn in an environment free from discrimination and harassment. This is the law.

Your first point of contact should be your employer representative or the facilitator of your course. These people can provide you with information about your options for dealing with a complaint and they can talk to you about the complaint process and how it works.

Types of Discrimination

Discrimination is about using information to make choices and this is something that we all do everyday. However, when certain information about a person is used to discriminate between them and another person it can be unlawful discrimination and that's what we refer to when we talk about discrimination at Stella.

Direct discrimination is treating someone less favourably on the grounds covered by equal opportunity law. For example if a student is denied entry to a course because the facilitator thinks that their heavy accent will prevent them from getting job in that field this is directly discriminating against the student on the ground of race.

Indirect discrimination happens when there is a requirement which at first sight seems fair but which in fact is unreasonable, and so treats one group of people less favourably than another group on the grounds covered by equal opportunity law. For example if there is a requirement that every student in a particular course does a written exam this seems reasonable because the requirement is the same for everyone. However someone with a disability might not be able to write and so this requirement could be discriminatory on the ground of disability if there is not provision made for the student to do the test in some alternative format such as an oral exam.

Discrimination can take many forms for example:

• Harassment and bullying (see below for more on this) by staff or other students

• Excluding a potential student or failing a student from a course because they can't fulfil a requirement in the standard way,

• Not making reasonable adjustments to the course delivery or assessment for someone with a disability,

• Excluding a pregnant woman from a course because of assumptions about whether they will complete the course

• Requiring all students to attend a selection test on a Saturday when the course is normally run during the week, effectively
  excluding students who have carer responsibilities that they can't change.

So if you experience discrimination at Albrighton it could affect your ability to participate in or succeed in your learning environment.

The management of Albrighton Consulting are responsible for ensuring a non -discriminatory working and learning environment. Albrighton Consulting management must take all reasonable steps to prevent discrimination. All staff have a responsibility to ensure their behaviour is non-discriminatory. If students request adjustments to be made to their study or assessment because of a disability staff must negotiate with the student to accommodate their needs wherever possible. If facilitators become aware that a requirement of their course is indirectly discriminating against a student or group of students they have a responsibility to negotiate changes to that requirement that will allow those students to participate effectively.

Albrighton is also responsible for making sure there are policies and procedures to resolve all complaints.

If the discrimination is occurring in your course and you feel comfortable to speak to your facilitator then this should be your first port of call. Otherwise talk to a National Training Coordinator. They can offer you information about the complaint resolution procedure and your options for dealing with the complaint. The National Training Coordinator can also assist you with lodging a complaint if this is needed. Your complaint will be treated seriously - we want to make sure you aren't discriminated against at Albrighton Consulting .

You can also, at any time, contact the Equal Opportunity Commission for advice and lodge a complaint if you feel that the Institute is not dealing satisfactorily with your complaint.

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