Hon Giz Watson asks about discrimination complaints against Homeswest settled by conciliation, specifically regarding secrecy clauses. The Attorney General confirms 5 out of 132 complaints resulted in conciliation agreements with a standard confidentiality clause.

AnsweredQoN 245Legislative Council
Asked
6 November 2002
Portfolio
Attorney General

QuestionView source ↗

Regarding complaints made against Homeswest concerning discrimination against tenants, I ask the Minister -
(1) How many discrimination complaints against Homeswest have been settled by conciliation in the last five years?
(2) How many of those settled have secrecy clauses written in to the settled agreement?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
3 December 2002
Responded by
Minister for Racing and Gaming representing the Attorney General
Response time
27 days
(2) Of the 132 discrimination complaints, 5 resulted in Conciliation Agreements, which contained the following generic confidentiality clause recommended by the Equal Opportunity Commission. "Both parties agree not to further disclose either the details of this complaint, or the terms of settlement, unless otherwise required to do so by law". Conciliation in the Equal Opportunity Commission is designed to encourage admittance of facts in working towards a final resolution of complaints. In seeking an open and honest resolution of a dispute, the parties can make disclosures confidentially without fear of litigation, or humiliation. Confidentiality is a common element of Alternative Dispute Resolution and the practice is similar in other states.
"Both parties agree not to further disclose either the details of this complaint, or the terms of settlement, unless otherwise required to do so by law". Conciliation in the Equal Opportunity Commission is designed to encourage admittance of facts in working towards a final resolution of complaints. In seeking an open and honest resolution of a dispute, the parties can make disclosures confidentially without fear of litigation, or humiliation. Confidentiality is a common element of Alternative Dispute Resolution and the practice is similar in other states.
Conciliation in the Equal Opportunity Commission is designed to encourage admittance of facts in working towards a final resolution of complaints. In seeking an open and honest resolution of a dispute, the parties can make disclosures confidentially without fear of litigation, or humiliation. Confidentiality is a common element of Alternative Dispute Resolution and the practice is similar in other states.

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