Rachel spoke on a bill presented by her Legalise Cannabis Victoria colleague, David Ettershank MP. The Equal Opportunity Amendment (Medical Treatment) Bill 2026 amends the Equal Opportunity Act to prevent discrimination on the grounds of treatment for a medical condition. While this would encapsulate discrimination against medicinal cannabis patients, it is inclusive of all types of medication prescribed to treat a medical condition. If passed, this bill would include lawful protections against treatment-based discrimination in a variety of settings including employment, education, community clubs, accommodation and more.
Wednesday the 1st of April 2026,
Victorian Legislative Council
Rachel Payne (South-Eastern Metropolitan):
I rise to speak on the Equal Opportunity Amendment (Medical Treatment) Bill 2026, introduced by my colleague David Ettershank in relation to medical treatment for disabilities and for other purposes.
Amending the charter for clarification
I think I might just start today by acknowledging some of the contributions in the chamber, because it seems as though not many people who are contributing on this bill have actually read the bill, because we are not talking about adding further attributes to the charter. What we are actually talking about is amending part of the charter, which is already there and already provides coverage for disability, and adding a part to that for clarification purposes. So the conversations that I have heard across both sides of the chamber around attributes and adding further attributes to the human rights charter are not correct. This is actually a referral that has come from the human rights commissioner themselves, and what it states is that we need clarification around that definition of what disability is, and that would include access to your medication as part of that attribute.
Includes all doctor-prescribed medications
The intent behind the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 is simple: to make public life free from discrimination. The act recognises that discrimination causes real harm. It affects all aspects of public life, from employment to education, transport and commerce. It erodes real-life opportunities and has a terrible impact on the mental and physical health of individuals and entire groups. Worse, the greatest burden is borne by those with the least power and opportunity. Ending discrimination remains an important human rights issue. The Equal Opportunity Act is about reducing that burden and enshrining the ‘fair go’ for all Victorians. Further, it is proactive. In fact, the Equal Opportunity Act includes a positive duty to eliminate discrimination, and we have that opportunity today to end discrimination against Victorians for simply taking medicine prescribed by their doctors. I make reference to that term: ‘medicine prescribed by their doctors’. This bill is not explicitly about medicinal cannabis, although obviously as a prescribed medication that would be covered. But again, contributions today allude to the fact that this is a protection based on medicinal cannabis, which is not the intent of the bill. The intent of the bill is to provide protection based on medication you take in support of your disability.
To be honest, it beggars belief that we are even having this discussion in 2026. I think it is fair to say that almost all Victorians take some form of medication for something. If they do not currently, they are likely to have to at some point of their lives. Advances in medical science mean that we have access to incredible and life-changing medications and treatments. These range from over-the-counter paracetamol for headaches to prescription statins for cholesterol, to antibiotics for flus and to chemotherapy for cancer. It was not too long ago in human history that dentistry was performed without anaesthetic – can you imagine – painkillers consisted of alcohol and hope and people died well before necessary in acute pain from diseases we can now prevent and/or manage.
Medicinal cannabis stigma needs to end
Advances in medical science are good, but we all know that some medications are more socially acceptable than others. As Legalise Cannabis MPs for Legalise Cannabis Victoria, we can assure you that not all drugs are treated equally or without prejudice by the law. Medications associated with lesser understood or even taboo conditions – things like mental health, sexual health, pain, addiction and so on – are still heavily stigmatised. Victoria proudly led the way as the first state to legalise medicinal cannabis in Australia, but there is still stigma due to misinformation and the prohibition of cannabis more generally. This stigma exists in the media, in the law and to some extent in medicine. It is immature and outdated; at times people even joke about it. I can assure you that being fired from your job for taking medicine that helps you is no laughing matter. Being denied housing, goods and services, access to clubs, volunteering and education and the like is similarly serious and life-changing. We have case studies and numerous real-world stories from people who have experienced discrimination for taking prescribed medicine. Many of you will know elite athletes like Lauren Jackson, Damien Oliver and AFL coaches Damien Hardwick and Alastair Clarkson, who have all spoken out about discrimination they have faced as medicinal cannabis patients. And for what – taking medications recommended to them by and prescribed to them by their doctor, that helped them? But this is not about well-known personalities or celebrities. This issue affects everyday Victorians and it destroys lives.
Dream job denied due to medication discrimination
I would like to draw your attention to a couple of examples in a bit more detail. Angelina is a woman in her late 30s. She was offered her dream job through a national disability employment program that placed her with a major Australian organisation. Disability is one minority that can be acquired at any point. We all can, and likely will, be part of a disability community at some point, whether by injury, illness or age. Angelina became a person with a disability in 2019 when her right arm was injured at work. This led her to develop complex regional pain syndrome, or CRPS, which has been described as one of the most painful conditions in the world. The pain is unpredictable and debilitating. At first Angelina managed the pain with opiates, which caused significant side effects. Then she was prescribed medicinal cannabis to replace them. Angelina worked full-time until she was injured, but after that went back to university to retrain. She is now a high-achieving masters student. After some time, she found a new job that aligned perfectly with her studies and previous work experience. Angelina disclosed her disability during the interview process and formally accepted an internship. At this point she let the company know that she was taking legally prescribed medicinal cannabis to manage her pain. She asked whether this would be an issue and what their policies were. The job did not require any driving, she completed every check required by the company doctor and she showed them her prescription. Then she never heard from them ever again. Communication did not just slow down, it completely stopped. Angelina reached out multiple times and sought an explanation. Only much later was it confirmed, through indirect communication she pursued via the disability employment program, that the outcome related to internal policies about drugs and alcohol. This is blatant discrimination.
Rosemary has a similar story for a different medication. Rosemary lives with severe chronic conditions that require medication. She is a co-leader of an arthritis support group and works for a patient organisation. Many people with various forms of arthritis rely on opiates for pain relief, with or without other medications and interventions. Most of these do so under the regular supervision of their treating doctor. However, many report discrimination from health professionals such as emergency staff because of their need for opiates. Many feel like they are treated like drug addicts. The fastest growing group of medicinal cannabis consumers is older people living with chronic pain. Women in general are the second-largest group and are using it for anything from endometriosis to menopause to insomnia.
Systemic discrimination means not all patients are equal
Medical discrimination crosses all barriers, but the people most likely to suffer often face multiple layers of compounding discrimination. To be frank, if you are a white, middle-class, able-bodied mum from the suburbs, you are far less likely to show up to emergency and be denied pain relief on the basis that you might look like a drug addict or to be drug tested at work, for instance. From people with disabilities, First Nations people, trans and gender-diverse people and younger men we hear many and varied stories about not being believed in healthcare settings, at work and elsewhere, simply because they fit an outdated stereotype about drugs. I could cite many more examples, and I am sure all of us know someone with or who has experienced chronic illness and/or a disability. These are real people with real lives, and the best possible outcome for them and for society is that they remain vibrant and active in work and in the community.
The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission agrees. In its submission to the workplace drug-testing inquiry, VEOHRC, a body known for its measured and fair approach, calls for medication discrimination to be rectified. It recommends that the Equal Opportunity Act be amended to add the following:
… if a person is taking prescribed medication or receiving treatment for a disability, this is taken to be a characteristic that a person with that disability generally has.
In other words, treatment for a disability cannot be separated from the disability itself.
Disability protections must include treatment
To be clear, we are currently in an absurd situation where, for example, if someone has ADHD, discriminating against them is unlawful, but if they take their medication for ADHD to allow them to function to do their job, they can be discriminated against – in effect, ‘We won’t fire you for having ADHD, but we will if we don’t like the medication you’re on,’ which, ironically, enables them to work in the first place. Similarly, a woman trying to conceive cannot be discriminated against for trying to get pregnant, but if she is undergoing IVF treatment, her employer can object to the medication. Someone with a back injury or PTSD or migraines cannot be fired for the condition, but if they use opioids and, yes, medicinal cannabis, they can. As Legalise Cannabis MPs we hear this story time and time again.
Other people are unjustifiably and unfairly discriminated against in all sorts of settings. In the submission mentioned above VEOHRC drew specific attention to the need for prescribed medications to be protected. They said the commission receives multiple complaints of the same nature every year for a range of medications. For this reason, and it is critical, they recommended that the taking of prescribed medication itself be included as a characteristic of the person with a disability. In other words, it is not enough to imply the protection. The status quo is not working. The protection must be spelled out, and the loophole must be closed. VEOHRC went on to say that:
For the avoidance of doubt the explanatory memorandum could give examples including medical marijuana to support interpretation of the provision.
The advantage of this amendment is that it would clarify that a person who takes prescribed medication or receives treatment for a disability is protected from unlawful discrimination.
The key words here are ‘protected’ and ‘unlawful discrimination’. Medicinal cannabis is lawfully prescribed in Australia to almost 700,000 patients. It provides immense relief to tens of thousands of people, many of whom have not found relief with other medications, and I repeat: it is a medication prescribed by a doctor. We are talking about veterans with PTSD, construction workers with workplace injuries, athletes with chronic pain, women going through menopause and people going through cancer treatment who cannot eat or sleep. They are medicinal cannabis patients and they deserve dignity, not discrimination.
Laws against workplace impairment already in place
One issue that MPs have raised with me in relation to this bill is impairment. I respectfully say that many people are ignorant on this issue, and they are certainly not more qualified than doctors. For starters, the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 already ensures that no-one is at work while impaired. All the necessary carve-outs are already there for operating heavy machinery or vehicles or for performing any tasks that would in any way be affected by medications. We are not talking about that. We are talking about a teacher who takes medicinal cannabis for menopause so she can sleep the night before, about a student who takes Ritalin to be able to study and about a job applicant who discloses that they use low-dose opioids for an old knee injury.
A tangible ‘fair go’ for Victorians with disability and chronic illness
I remind the chamber that the Equal Opportunity Act provides a positive duty to end discrimination, and we all have that opportunity today. The best possible outcome for all Victorians is that they can live and work without discrimination. This is doubly important for people with disabilities, including chronic illness, who have been left on the margins for too long. Inclusion is not just a buzzword; it should be practice. To deny the changes we are asking for is to support and uphold discrimination. For those of you who do that today: I beg you, as do people with disabilities, their families and their advocates, to stop talking about ‘a fair go’ and ‘Victorians doing it tough’. There are few people doing it tougher and more in need of fairness than Victorians in pain, with disabilities and who are very unwell. It is our job to protect them and their fundamental human right to access treatments that work for them without fear of discrimination.
Related:
- Employees prescribed medicinal cannabis sacked for taking legal medication – Rachel Payne
- Exploring medicinal cannabis for opioid use disorder – Rachel Payne
- Support Victorian medicinal cannabis investment – Rachel Payne
