Resolved complaint (46) about racial hatred in the provision of goods and services

About the complaint

The complainant is of mixed Filipino and Pacific Island heritage. His father's business submitted a development application to the respondent Council to build affordable housing. The respondent member of the public provided a submission objecting to the proposal on the grounds that Pacific Islanders, who would live in this housing, have a predisposition to violent crime and this project would cause infiltration of this racial group to the locality resulting in significant poor social outcomes. The complainant alleged the author of the submission engaged in racial hatred and the council was vicariously liable for publishing the submission on its website.

On being notified of the complaint, the respondents indicated their willingness to engage in a conciliation process to try to resolve the complaint.

The complaint was resolved after the author of the submission wrote to the complainant apologising for any offence caused and retracted the submission. The council had removed the submission from its website on being notified of the issue. The council agreed to review its processes for the vetting of submissions prior to publication and wrote to the complainant apologising for the publication of the submission and the distress this caused the complainant.

Guidance on the use of these summaries

This is a summary of a selected complaint that has been resolved through our conciliation process. It's designed to help people better understand how complaints might be resolved and what outcomes are possible.

These summaries are for general guidance only and are not legal advice. If you need advice about your situation, you should seek independent legal support.

Please note:

• all complaints are de-identified
• complaints are resolved on a 'without admission of liability' basis
• some content may include confronting or offensive language.