Under Wraps: Secrecy, Confidentiality and the Enforcement of Equality Law in Australia and the UK

Abstract

Confidentiality has become an integral part of the individual enforcement model for equality law in Australia and the UK. Contrary to the focus on openness and transparency in the courts generally, confidentiality is embedded in the enforcement, process, and outcomes of equality law. In this article, we consider the role and utility of confidentiality in equality law in Australia and the UK. We scrutinise the ways confidentiality is embedded in the enforcement, process, and outcomes of equality law, including via an examination of statutory provisions in each jurisdiction, the processes adopted by statutory equality agencies and the available information about claims in each jurisdiction. We argue that the enforcement of equality law requires a more nuanced balance between confidentiality and transparency to support the individual and systemic aims of equality law and the imperatives of the rule of law.

Keywords: confidentiality, discrimination, equality, Australia, United Kingdom