What is an exception?
Exceptions are 'defences' to complaints of discrimination. If a person makes a complaint of discrimination, the person or organisation against whom the complaint is made can argue that the discrimination was not unlawful discrimination, if an exception covers it. The person or organisation must show, on the balance of probabilities, that the exception applies.
Example: A club restricts their membership to elderly people only. A person under, say, 35 seeking to join will have their membership application rejected. They make a complaint to Equal Opportunity Tasmania. The club then argues it caters only for elderly people, so it comes within an exception in the Act. To claim an exception applies, the club must prove its case.
