Why does Clause 12 (Discrimination) apply only to named individuals rather than groups of people?
The Code was specifically designed to protect individuals, and any equivalent protection for groups of people would place serious restrictions on freedom of expression. Clause 12 (Discrimination) is designed to prevent named individuals from being subjected to discriminatory reference, and was changed in 2004 to refer to ‘an individual’s race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation or to any physical or mental illness or disability’ in order to make this especially clear.
