What is the constitutional basis for the DDA?
Section 12 of the DDA provides a list of specific circumstances where the major provisions of the DDA which make conduct unlawful apply. These include: • acts against Commonwealth employees in their employment or against persons seeking to become Commonwealth employees; • acts in the exercise of a power under Commonwealth law; • acts by a foreign, trading or financial corporation; • acts in relation to banking or insurance; • acts in relation to interstate or international trade or commerce; or • acts involving persons, things or matters outside Australia. These applications depend on heads of Commonwealth legislative power specified under section 51 of the Constitution (and section 61 so far as application to the Commonwealth itself is concerned). They apply to some State activities, as well as some activities in the private sector. In particular, where State activities are conducted through public corporations, the decision of the High Court in the Tasmanian Dams case indicates that
