Complaints under the Racial Discrimination Act
You can make a
complaint under the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) if you have been treated unfairly
because of your race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin, or your
immigrant status.
Racial discrimination
is covered in many areas of public life, including:
- employment – seeking employment, training, promotion, equal pay, employment conditions or dismissal
- education – at school, TAFE, university or a private training provider
- provision of goods, services or facilities – such as buying something, applying for a loan, seeking assistance from a service provider or going to shops or entertainment venues
- land, accommodation and housing – renting or buying a house or flat
- access to places and facilities for use by the public – such as parks, libraries, government offices, hotels, places of worship or entertainment centres.
The RDA also protects you if
you have been treated unfairly because of your association with a person of a
particular race, colour or national or ethnic
origin.
Under the RDA, acts of racial
hatred are against the law. Racial hatred is defined as offensive behaviour that occurs
in public and is based on the race, colour, or national or ethnic origin of a
person or group of people. The behaviour must make you feel offended, insulted,
humiliated or intimidated. There are exceptions, however, for acts that are done
‘reasonably and in good
faith’.
Here are some examples of
complaints we receive under the RDA.
Hussein says his boss has called him a ‘Lebanese terrorist’ at work on a couple of occasions. His boss thinks it is funny but Hussein feels his work colleagues have started to treat him differently and don’t talk to him as much since these comments started.
Michael, who is Aboriginal, was researching information on the Internet for his University course and found an internet site which allowed people to publish offensive comments about Aboriginal people.
Peter is from Nigeria. He claims whenever he
goes to the local pub the security staff will follow him around, warn people
about drinking with him and tell female patrons not to talk to him. Peter thinks
this is because he is
black.
Information about making a
complaint under the RDA is available in our plain
language Complaints Guide to the Racial Discrimination Act.
Find
out more:
- Information about cyber racism
- Information for people making a complaint
- Information for people responding to a complaint
- Conciliation – how it works describes how we attempt to resolve complaints
- Case studies of conciliated complaints of racial discrimination
- Frequently asked questions about making a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission.
- The Commission’s current work to address racial discrimination.
Contact us
For more information, contact the Complaints Infoline on 1300 656 419 (local call) or 02 9284 9888. You can also send us an email at complaintsinfo@humanrights.gov.au.
