A/HRC/45/14/Add.2 breaches of privacy, runs education programmes and examines proposed legislation and its impact on people’s right to privacy. 20. The Office of the Ombudsman is an independent body with the mandate to examine complaints about administrative acts and decisions of central and local government agencies. The Ombudsman also has jurisdiction to inspect health and disability places of detention, including secure aged care facilities, as well as prisons, immigration detention centres and court cells. 21. The New Zealand Human Rights Commission was established in September 1978. It is an independent national human rights institution with A status accreditation, with offices in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch. Its mandate includes the settlement of disputes relating to unlawful discrimination, and human rights training and education. IV. Independent Expert’s main findings A. Age discrimination 22. Age discrimination is explicitly prohibited under the 1993 Human Rights Act, which was significantly changed by the Human Rights Amendment Act 2001, including with regard to government activity within the normative scope. Ageist rhetoric, portraying older persons as a burden, nevertheless remains pervasive and contributes to negative attitudes towards ageing and older persons. This demonstrates that normative action, which is an important signal to society that age discrimination is not tolerated, is not sufficient to overcome stereotypes based on age. 23. Whereas discrimination in employment is listed in the Act among the unlawful practices, including prior to employment and in advertising, age discrimination is common in the workplace. Legislation prohibiting age discrimination is not sufficient to change employers’ behaviour, but may lead to more subtle and covert ways of discriminating. 9 Older persons, in particular, experience discrimination when seeking employment and in accessing training opportunities, and they lack equal employment opportunities, which affects their length of time in work and their ability to save for retirement. 10 There are also reports of older persons being denied access to mortgage loans on the basis of age, and of discriminatory practices related to insurance for older persons. Moreover, certain communities and ethnic groups, such as Māori and Pasifika peoples and refugees and migrants, continue to face structural inequalities and discrimination, which are exacerbated in old age. 24. Older victims can submit complaints about age discrimination to the Human Rights Commission. While the number of older workers making a complaint about age discrimination remains steady at around 60 a year, it is believed to be widely underreported. 11 Stereotypical expectations surrounding age and retirement may inhibit older workers from challenging ageism. 12 Complaints are mostly resolved through informal methods. If the dispute resolution process fails or is inappropriate, complainants may take their case to the Human Rights Review Tribunal for adjudication. The Tribunal can order relevant remedies for age discrimination. 9 10 11 12 6 Judith A. Davey, “Policy responses to workforce ageing – existing, potential and a report card for New Zealand”, Labour, Employment and Work in New Zealand (2015). New Zealand Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 2018/19, p. 19. See http://superseniors.msd.govt.nz/finance-planning/paid-work/age-discrimination.html; and New Zealand Human Rights Commission, “Submission on strategy for an ageing population”, submission to the Office for Seniors, 2018. Davey, “Policy responses to workforce ageing – existing, potential and a report card for New Zealand”.