On Wednesday the 1st of April, the Victorian Parliament will debate our Bill 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.
This 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.
It’s 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 enhances 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
