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If you have (or once had) hepatitis B or C, it does not mean that you should be treated differently from anyone else.

 

What is discrimination?

Discrimination happens when someone is treated unfairly or unequally to other people, because of a characteristic, such as having hep C or hep B.

 

What is the anti-discrimination act?

The NSW Anti-Discrimination Act relates covers the laws that are supposed to stop discrimination from happening.

The Act says that it is against the law to harass or treat someone with hep B or hep C unfairly because:

  • A person has hep B or hep C or someone thinks they have it.
  • A person had hep B or hep C in the past, or someone thinks they had it in the past.
  • Someone thinks a person might get hep B or hep C in the future.
  • A person has a relative, friend or work colleague who has or is thought to have hep B or hep C.

If you are worried about being discriminated against because you have hep B or hep C, call the Hepatitis Infoline, download our Discrimination factsheet or contact HALC for more information.

 

What are your rights?

You shouldn’t be treated differently from other people when you:

  • want to keep something private (about your health or anything else)
  • are buying, or renting goods, services or accommodation
  • are applying for a job, or getting a promotion at work.
  • seek health care or treatment. Doctors can’t choose who they treat with the new DAA treatments (based on injecting drug use etc.).
  • Access education.
  • Want to visit, join or get services from a registered club.

 

How to deal with hepatitis-related discrimination

If someone is treating you differently because you have or have had hep B or C, we understand you might not know how best to handle the situation.

Firstly you need to work out if what has happened to you is against the law. If the discrimination does seem to be against the law, you should first approach the person or organisation involved. They may have anti-discrimination policies or a process to address the problem. If this doesn’t work, or no process exists, you can also get help from other sources. 

If you don’t feel able to talk to the person or organisation, or you talk to them but it doesn’t solve the problem, you can make a complaint to the Anti-Discrimination Board. It won’t cost anything to make a complaint, and you don’t need a lawyer.

 

Speak to someone who can help

Want to speak to someone about discrimination? Phone the Hepatitis Infoline,  call HALC for legal advice or call the Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW enquiry service for info about the Anti-Discrimination Act.

Also, click here to see our Detailed hep C information page >> 

This page last updated 10 Jan 2018

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