Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission
Field of Law
Equal Opportunity and Human Rights
Stage of career
Secondary School; Graduates; Practising Lawyers
Contact Details
Address: Level 3, 204 Lygon Street, Carlton 3053
Phone: 1300 292 153
Visit the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission website
Contact person: Skye Buckle
Email: skye.buckle@veohrc.vic.gov.au
Description of Organisation
The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission is an independent statutory body with responsibilities under three laws:
- Equal Opportunity Act 2010
- Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001
- Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006
Services provided by the Commission include:
- a free telephone Enquiry Line
- a free, fair and timely dispute resolution service
- information and education about equal opportunity, racial and religious vilification and the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities
- education, training and consultancy services.
The Commission conducts research and strategic projects to:
- address systemic causes of discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation under the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 and racial and religious vilification under the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001, and
- promote and protect human rights under the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities.
Projects undertaken by VEOHRC include:
- Discrimination in the private rental market
- Children with disability and relinquishment
- Held Back: the experiences of students with disability in schools
- Women in the law: the experiences of women working in the legal profession across Victoria
- Fair go, sport!: tackling homophobia and discrimination in sport
- Discrimination against older drivers
- Rights of older people: the key human rights issues affecting older Victorians
- Volunteering and the Equal Opportunity Act: how the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 applies to volunteers.
- Mature age workers and the Equal Opportunity Act: educating mature-age workers about age discrimination
- Everyday People, Everyday Rights: establishing human rights awareness and advocacy among everyday Victorians
- Rights of Passage: reducing racism and discrimination experienced by young Australian-Sudanese people
- Deadly People: collection of stories from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Time to Respond: improving access to taxi services for people with a disability.
Number of legal positions within organisation Approximately 6 legal positions, although many other positions in our organisation benefit from have legal background
Does your organisation have a human rights officer?
No
Information for Secondary Schools
Do you host school trips or send speakers to schools?
Yes, we may send speakers if approached by schools
Contact person for school trip and/or speakers:
Skye Buckle
Information for university students/graduates
Do you have a graduate clerkship program? (involving practical legal training and admission to practise)
No. But the Commission will sometimes take students for their work placement while they are doing practical legal training.
What electives/areas of study are viewed favourably?
Equal Opportunity and/or Human Rights
How does one apply
Any opportunities available at the Commission are advertised on the Victorian Government Jobs website (careers.vic.gov.au)
How many law graduates do you employ outside your graduate program, and what sort of roles do they fill?
Roles at the Commission are open to the public and filled on the basis of merit. Generally, people need a few years' experience in the workplace to be competitive for roles at the Commission.
Do you require your applicants to be recent law graduates? If so, how recent?
No
Interview process:
Refer to our website for details
How many law graduates do you employ outside your graduate program, and what sort of roles do they fill?
None
Do you have a minimum Grade Point Average standard for an applicant’s academic record?
No
What sort of volunteer/internship opportunities are available?
We have an internship program. We host four placements per year. Applicants need to apply via our website.
Please note, internships are only open to tertiary students who can claim course credit for the work they do with us.
Contact person for volunteers:
We do not accept volunteers. Contact person for internships is Alfred Chengeta.
Information for practising lawyers
What are you looking for in a permanent employee?
Detailed substantive and procedural knowledge of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic), the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) and/or comparable instruments and/or international human rights law
What prior work is viewed favourably?
Prior working experience in Equal Opportunity or Human Rights
On average, how many positions become available per year?
1-2
How many applications do you receive for these?
Depends if it is an ongoing vacancy or fixed term.
Where do you advertise your positions?
In the first instance all VPS jobs must be advertised on the Jobs, Skills Exchange site which is limited to internal VPS applicants only. If no suitable applicants are found it will be advertised on careers.vic.gov.au
Do you use a recruitment agency?
No
Advice for applicants:
Ensure before applying that you have researched the Commission and it’s responsibilities under three Victorian laws - the Equal Opportunity Act 2010, Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001, and Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006