Sally had the good fortune to grow up in Launceston, in a large family. She moved to Hobart and studied Arts/Law.
Sally played hockey for Tasmania in Darwin in her last year of university and following this moved to the NT the next year for her articles of clerkship as a lawyer.
Sally practiced as a lawyer in the NT for over 30 years, including ten years as the NT Anti-Discrimination Commissioner & Principal Community Visitor, and acted as the Children’s Commissioner for 18 months.
Before returning to Hobart Sally was the CEO of NTCOSS for two years.
In 2025 Sally was awarded an Order of Australia (AO) in the General Division for distinguished service to the law, to social justice and human rights, and to the community of the Northern Territory.
Sally looks forward to working with the team at the office of the Anti-Discrimination Commission, to serve the people of Tasmania, to ensure people are aware of their rights and obligations under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1988, that the services that are provided are inclusive and we use the Act to build belonging.
Sally Sievers, the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, has an independent statutory role to administer the Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (Tas).
Under the Act, the Commissioner has the following functions:
- to advise and make recommendations to the Minister of Justice on matters relating to discrimination and prohibited conduct;
- to promote the recognition and approval of acceptable attitudes, acts and practices relating to discrimination and prohibited conduct;
- to consult and inquire into discrimination and prohibited conduct and the effects of discrimination and prohibited conduct;
- to disseminate information about discrimination and prohibited conduct and the effects of discrimination and prohibited conduct;
- to undertake research and educational programs to promote attitudes, acts and practices against discrimination and prohibited conduct;
- to prepare and publish guidelines for the avoidance of attitudes, acts and practices relating to discrimination and prohibited conduct;
- to examine any legislation and report to the Minister as to whether it is discriminatory or not; and
- to investigate and seek to conciliate complaints of discrimination and prohibited conduct.
The Office of the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner staff assist the Commissioner in fulfilling her roles under the Act. There are four areas of expertise within the office:
- Investigation and Conciliation
- Training, Education and Development
- Policy and Project Development
- Administration
Investigation and Conciliation
The role of the Investigation and Conciliation Officers includes answering enquiries; investigating complaints of discrimination and other prohibited conduct and helping parties try to resolve complaints through conciliation.
If you want to know if you may have a basis to make a complaint, or you wish to talk to someone about an incident of discrimination you may be referred to one of our Investigation and Conciliation Officers for information.
Training, Education and Development
The Training, Education and Development team is responsible for the development and delivery of training and education for public and private sector organisations, and for contributing to community education and development of programs to promote attitudes, and practices that reduce or eliminate discrimination and prohibited conduct.
If you are granted an exemption you will generally be required to have training from the Office of the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner.
Policy and Project Development
The focus of this work is on responding to relevant inquiries, undertaking research into issues relevant to coverage under the Act, and developing and implementing policy strategies to encourage greater compliance with the Act.
Administration
Your first point of contact with our office is usually the administration staff. Administration staff provide high-level customer focused clerical and administrative support, ensuring the provision of efficient and effective support to the administrative, complaint handling and training/community education teams.
Additional responsibilities include the coordination of conciliation conferences for the complaint team and high-level case management support.
The Executive Officer is responsible for managing the business needs of the office and acting as personal assistant to the Commissioner. If you wish to schedule an appointment to meet with the Commissioner, you should contact the Executive Officer.
