Information Sheet
Complaints under the Racial Discrimination Act
What is the Racial Discrimination Act?
The Racial Discrimination Act
1975 (the RDA) makes racial discrimination against the law.
It aims to ensure that everyone is
treated equally, regardless of their race, colour, descent, or national or
ethnic origin. The RDA covers all of
Australia.
Further provisions against
offensive behaviour based on racial hatred were added to the RDA in October
1995.
When can the law be used?
You can use the RDA to get fair treatment in:
- Employment - when seeking employment, training, promotion, equal pay or conditions of employment
- Land, housing and accommodation - buying a house or land, or renting a flat or a house
- Provision of goods and services - when buying something, applying for credit, using banks, seeking assistance from government departments, lawyers, doctors and hospitals, or attending restaurants, pubs, entertainment venues, and so on
- Access to places and facilities for public use - when trying to get into parks, libraries, government offices, hotels, places of worship or entertainment centres.
- Advertising - an advertisement for a job which states that people from a certain ethnic group cannot apply.
What Is Racial Discrimination?
Discrimination can
be direct and indirect.
Direct racial
discrimination happens when someone is treated less fairly than someone else in
a similar situation because of their race, colour, descent or national or ethnic
origin. For example, it would be discrimination if a real estate agent would not
rent you a house because you are Aboriginal.
Racial discrimination can also happen
when a policy or rule appears to treat everyone in the same way, but actually
has an unfair effect on people of a particular race, colour, descent or national
or ethnic origin. For example, it a policy that says you must be a particular
height to be employed in the defence forces may discriminate against people from
some ethnic
backgrounds.
What is Racial Hatred?
It is against the law to
do something in public based on the race, colour, national or ethnic origin of a
person or group of people which is likely to offend, insult, humiliate or
intimidate.
Unlawful offensive
behaviour might include:
- writing racist graffiti in a public place
- making racist speeches at a public rally
- placing racist posters or stickers in a public place
- making a racially abusive comment in a public place, such as a shop, workplace or park
- offensive racist comments in a newspaper or other publication.
If you feel that
you have been insulted or abused because of your race, it is important to check
the following before making a complaint:Did it happen publicly?
The act must have occurred within
sight and hearing of other people (although other people do not have to be
present) or in a place to which the general public is invited or has access. If
the act happened in a private telephone conversation or in a private place, such
as someone’s home, it is not unlawful.How serious was
it?
The act must have caused you
or a group of people to feel offended, insulted, humiliated or intimidated. If
the act was relatively trivial, it is probably not
unlawful.
Is it acceptable free speech?
The racial hatred provisions state that the following things are not unlawful if they are “done reasonably and in good faith”:
- an artistic work or performance - for example, a play in which racist attitudes are expressed by a character.
- an academic publication, discussion or debate - for example, discussing and debating public policy such as immigration, multiculturalism or special measures for particular groups
- a fair and accurate report on a matter of public interest - for example, a fair report in a newspaper about an act of racial incitement or racially offensive conduct.
- a fair comment, if the comment is an expression of a person’s genuine belief.
Taking action against racial hatred
If you have been the target of racially offensive behaviour there are a number of things you can do about it:
- talk directly to the person or organisation responsible for the behaviour
- seek the assistance of an organisation which represents your racial, ethnic or national group, such as a Migrant Resource Centre or an Aboriginal Legal Centre
- for complaints about media stories or broadcasts, complain to the Australian Broadcasting Authority; the Advertising Standards Council for advertisements; or the Press Council for newspaper stories. You can also complain to the Editor or Manager of the media organisation.
- for complaints about neighbours you can approach a Community Justice Centre to help resolve the problem, or the Department of Housing if you live in public housing
- if threatened with violence or violently attacked you should go to the police.
What can I do if someone discriminates against me or vilifies me because of my race?
If you can’t resolve
the complaint another way, you or someone else on your behalf – such as a
solicitor or trade union – can make a complaint to the Human Rights and
Equal Opportunity Commission.
A
complaint must generally be made by a person who has been personally
affected by the alleged
discrimination.
It does not cost
anything to make a complaint to the Commission.
Your complaint needs to be put in writing. If
you are not able to put your complaint in writing, we can help you with this.
HREOC also has a complaint form to help you make a complaint, or you can lodge a
complaint through our website.
The complaint
should say what happened, when and where it happened and who was
involved.
A complaint can be made in any
language. HREOC can arrange an interpreter in your language if this is
needed.
What will happen to your complaint?
HREOC has to decide if your
complaint is covered by the RDA. If it is, we will investigate the complaint. If
we can not deal with your complaint we will write to you and explain why.
Investigating your complaint may include
phoning or writing to the other people involved to get their side of the story.
HREOC does not take sides. We work with all the parties to try and find a
solution that everyone can agree with. This is called
conciliation.
If conciliation does not work,
you can choose to take your complaint to the Federal Court or the Federal
Magistrates Service.
Where can I find out more?
If you want more information about the Racial Discrimination Act 1992 or the complaint handling process you can contact the Commission.
HREOC's contact details:
Post:
Human Rights
and Equal Opportunity Commission
GPO
Box 5218
Sydney NSW 2001
Telephone:
Complaints Info
line: 1300 656 419 (local call)
TTY: 1800 620 241 (toll free)
Fax: (02) 9284 9611
Online:
E-mail: complaintsinfo@humanrights.gov.au
Web site: www.humanrights.gov.au
If you are deaf or hearing impaired, the Commission can arrange for an Auslan interpreter if this is needed. You can also communicate with us by TTY by calling 1800 620 241.
If you are blind or visually impaired the Commission can provide information in alternative formats on request.
If you are thinking about making a complaint, you might also want to consider obtaining legal advice or contacting your trade union. There are community legal services that can provide free advice about discrimination and harassment.
Disclaimer: The information on this
fact sheet is intended only as a guide. It is not a substitute for legal
advice.
