Legalise Cannabis Victoria have introduced legislation to protect people who use prescribed medication from discrimination.
What our Bill is About
The Equal Opportunity Amendment (Medical Treatment) Bill 2026 makes a simple but significant change. It protects people who take medication prescribed by a health professional to treat a medical condition.
Right now, the law fails to clearly protect people who rely on medical treatments and prescribed medications. These include opioids, ADHD medication, anti-anxiety medication, antidepressants, and medicinal cannabis — which is often stigmatised and unfairly treated as an illicit drug.
Our Bill fixes that.
The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission identified the need for this reform in their submission to the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Workplace Drug Testing.
Medicinal cannabis is legal — but patients still face discrimination
Medicinal cannabis was made legal in 2017, but our laws haven’t kept up. Workplaces continue to treat medicinal cannabis patients differently from people using other prescribed medications, even though medicinal cannabis has been prescribed in Victoria for almost a decade.
In many workplaces, if a medicinal cannabis patient discloses their medication — or is subject to drug testing — they can be penalised even when they are taking their medication exactly as prescribed. This can lead to:
- unfair disciplinary action
- job loss
- unnecessary stigma and shame
This Bill recognises medicinal cannabis for what it is: a lawful, prescribed treatment for a medical condition.
Angelina’s story is powerful, but it’s not unique.
It’s also not just workers who would be protected under this law.
Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act 2010 covers many situations where discrimination can occur, such as education, seeking goods and services, seeking accommodation, participation in clubs and sport, accessing public premises, volunteering and more.
| Where discrimination can occur | Examples of People Covered |
|---|---|
| Employment | Workers, job applicants, contractors, partners, trainees |
| Education | Students, applicants, trainees |
| Goods & Services | Customers, clients, service users |
| Accommodation | Tenants, rental applicants, supported housing residents |
| Clubs | Club members, membership applicants |
| Sport | Athletes, participants, officials |
| Public Premises | Anyone accessing public venues or facilities |
| Local Government | Anyone using council services or facilities |
| Volunteering | Volunteers within organisations covered by the Act |
Our Bill would enhance basic rights in these situations by:
- Supporting equal treatment for people who rely on prescribed medication
- Reducing discrimination resulting from outdated drug testing practices
- Ensuring people are not unfairly penalised for managing their health responsibly
On 1 April, the bill was debated in the Legislative Council of the Victorian Parliament. Here’s what happened.
Labor MPs acknowledged that discrimination against people with disabilities who rely on prescribed medication is a real and ongoing problem. They spoke at length about their strong record on disability rights, but made no commitment to fixing this loophole, falling back on their position that they do not support private members’ bills.
The Liberal Party opposed the bill entirely, arguing it was unnecessary and warning that explicitly protecting prescribed medication could complicate the Equal Opportunity Act. While MPs Evan Mulholland and Georgie Crozier were sympathetic to the Bill’s intent, they maintained existing laws already provide sufficient protection.
Both David Ettershank and Rachel Payne from Legalise Cannabis Victoria passionately put forward the case for change. You can watch David’s speech here, and Rachel’s speech here.
The Greens were the only other party to support the bill, backing recommendations from the parliamentary inquiry into workplace drug testing and criticising the government for delaying action.
With the Bill doomed the Government members “ran down the clock” so that we ran out of time, the matter was adjourned and they didn’t have to be seen to vote against a proposal that they had previously supported in the Committee of Inquiry! We are bitterly disappointed with this result, as are many who would have welcomed this simple protection.
Support our push for reform
We call on the government to amend the Equal Opportunity Act and do the right thing by the tens of thousands of Victorians who are simply following their doctor’s advice.
You can help our campaign by emailing the Premier, Hon. Jacinta Allan Jacinta.Allan@parliament.vic.gov.au and the Attorney General, Hon. Sonya Kilkenny Sonya.Kilkenny@parliament.vic.gov.au urging them to support this vital reform.
