Victoria Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 s78A: s 78A and 78B Civil prohibition on discriminatory conduct for a prohibited reason

Separately from the criminal offence, s 78A bars employers and prospective employers from discriminatory conduct where the reason is a prohibited one. Discriminatory conduct means dismissing, injuring in employment or detrimentally altering an employee's position (or threatening to), or refusing or failing to employ an applicant or offering worse terms. A reason is prohibited if the person is or was an HSR or committee member, uses or used those powers, helps or helped or informed the Authority, an inspector, a union authorised representative, an HSR or committee member, or raises or raised a health and safety concern with any of them, the employer or another employee. Here the reason need only be a substantial reason, not the dominant one (s 78B(2)).