8. The Committee notes that the Equal Treatment Act, the Employment of Disabled Persons Act and the Equality of Disabled Persons Act provide protection against discrimination on grounds of ethnic origin and disability at work and in other areas such as social security, housing, education and health. However, it notes with concern that protection against gender discrimination is less comprehensive and that protection against discrimination on grounds of age, religion and sexual orientation is limited to ‘work’ only under the Equal Treatment Act. It is also concerned that such hierarchisation of discrimination grounds can also be found in Provincial laws, and that in cases covered by the Acts concerning disabled persons, victims must seek an out-of-court settlement prior to filing a court action. (arts. 2 (1), 14 (1), 26)

The State party should consider amending the Equal Treatment Act, the Employment of Disabled Persons Act, the Equality of Disabled Persons Act and relevant Provincial laws, with a view to levelling up and ensuring equal substantive and procedural protection against discrimination with regard to all prohibited grounds of discrimination.

Link to full text of the report: Concluding Observations-HRC-Austria-2007-eng