Resolved complaint (288) about racial discrimination in education

The complainant is Aboriginal and attended the respondent faith-based high school. She alleged there was a general lack of recognition and respect within the school environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history. She alleged teachers made inappropriate and disrespectful comments, including that Aboriginal people had received sufficient acknowledgment for past mistreatments and that there were positive aspects to the Stolen Generation. She alleged a teacher used the phrase ‘your people’ when talking about First Nations people and expressed negative views about the practice of acknowledging Country. The complainant said the school disciplined her when she raised concerns about this conduct.

The school denied some of the alleged comments. The school indicated a willingness to participate in conciliation to try to resolve the complaint.

The complaint was resolved by conciliation with an agreement that the school pay the complainant $8,000. The school also undertook to commemorate three events per year of cultural significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and to form a committee of families of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.