"Acceptance of anti-discrimination law as an integral part of labour law requires acknowledgement that some longstanding employment practices may affect groups of workers differently in unfair ways. This can be disruptive to existing entitlements: anti-discrimination law can challenge the fairness of law that has been developed to suit the paradigm worker, while the individualist human rights approach challenges the collectivist assumptions on which much labour law rests. In Australia anti-discrimination law has developed from a human rights basis and has generally been treated as outside labour law. Recent legislative changes providing protection for workers against 'adverse action' by employers raise the possibility that this may be an avenue for integrating the non-discrimination principle into labour law. However, early judicial interpretations suggest that resistance to adjusting labour law may continue."

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