One of the most significant cases of age discrimination in Australia was the case of Qantas Airways Ltd v Christie [1998] HCA 18; 193 CLR 280; 72 ALJR 634; 79 IR 120; 152 ALR 365 (19 March 1998). This matter was heard before the high court. This case highlighted the way in which Australian jurisprudence in this area had lagged in development behind that of the United States because of the early adoption into federal law in the United States of a statute which prohibited age discrimination, namely, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act 1967 , 29 USC §§621-634.

The case was about a restriction which Qantas had over its commercial pilots that they could not fly long distance journeys once they were over the age of 60. The airline claimed that this was because of the levels of alertness, fitness and concentration which are required in order that a person can fly a plane for such long distances. However, Mr Christie argued and it was agreed from medical evidence that he was at an appropriate level of fitness to fly these long distance journeys. He then argued that the effect of the imposition of this rule purely on an age based criteria was discriminatory. The court was divided in its assessment of the matter. Some judges chose to allow the appeal and others denied it.

Some other key age Discrimination Cases:

Bostick Australia Proprietary Ltd v Gorgevski (1992) 36 FLR 20
Byrne v Australian Airlines Ltd (1994) 47 FCR 300
Gilshenan v P.D. Mulligan P/L [1995] NSWEOT
Yaxley v Trust Bank of Tasmania (1996) AIRC 960095 TI-1245
Blatchford v Qantas Airways Limited [1997] NSWEOT
Ivory v Grifith University [1997] QADT 4 (30 January 1997)
Qantas Airways Limited v Christie [1998] HCA 18 (19 March 1998), 193 CLR 280
Re McIntyre & Anor [1999] QSC 121 (7 June 1999)
Commonwealth of Australia v HREOC and Bradley [1999] FCA 1524 (4 November 1999)
Hopper & Others v Virgin Blue Airlines Pty Ltd [2004] QADT 13 (12 May 2004)
Thompson v Big Bert Pty Ltd t/as Charles Hotel [2007] FCA 1978
O’Brien v Crouch [2007] FMCA 1976