Complaints

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    COVID-19 Update

    Our Investigation and Conciliation Service will continue to operate during this period, although we are not conducting face-to-face conciliations. We continue to offer conciliations by telephone or shuttle conciliation. If you have already lodged a complaint with us, our investigation and conciliation officers will work with you to determine an approach that suits you.

    Please note that due to a very large increase in complaints received by the Commission, there may be a significant delay in actioning complaints. The Commission will try to action complaints as soon as possible.

    If you are considering making a discrimination complaint about COVID-19 related issues, you may wish to review information the Commission has on its website about COVID-19 and Human Rights. You can find links to this information here.

    Introduction

     

    The Australian Human Rights Commission investigates and conciliates complaints about discrimination and breaches of human rights.

    We will need to contact you about the complaint, so please provide your name and contact details, including one contact number if possible. If you do not provide this information we may not be able to deal with the complaint.

    We will use the information you provide to assess, investigate and/or conciliate your complaint. We will usually provide a copy of the complaint (excluding your contact details) to the person or organisation you are complaining about, and if necessary, others who have relevant information about the complaint.

    We may ask the respondent to provide specific information or a response to the complaint. The information provided to the Commission in response to your complaint may include personal information (including sensitive information) about you.

    By completing and submitting this form you consent to the Commission using your information for these purposes. If you have any questions about this or need help to complete this form, please contact our National Information Service on 1300 656 419 or 02 9284 9600.

    Your personal information will be used and stored in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

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    • Download forms

       

      AHRC complaint form

       (PDF)

      AHRC complaint form

       (WORD)

      You can complete and submit a complaint online or you can print a hard copy and send it to us.

      If you would like the Commission to send you a hard copy complaint form or if you need assistance to write down your complaint, please call our National Information Service on 1300 656 419. 

      You can also contact us via the:

      Translating and Interpreting Service: 131 450 or  www.tisnational.gov.au or the

      National Relay Service: 1300 555 727 (Speak and Listen) or www.relayservice.gov.au

      Submitting the complaint form

      The complaint form can be submitted by:

      Post: Australian Human Rights Commission, GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001

      Fax: 02 9284 9611

      Email: complaints@humanrights.gov.au

    • Authority to Act

      If you are lodging a complaint on behalf of another person, this person will need to provide authorisation for you to act on their behalf. They can do this by completing the attached Authority to Act form, which should be submitted together with the complaint form.  

      Authority to Act.doc (to be completed electronically)

      Authority to Act.pdf (to be completed by hand)

      Post to Director, Investigation and Conciliation Service, Australian Human Rights Commission, GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001

      Fax to 02 9284 9611

      Email to infoservice@humanrights.gov.au

    Part A - Your Details (Your complaint)
    Title
    The Commission requires you to provide your name and address in order to accept your complaint. Without these details, we will be unable to effectively assess, investigate or conciliate your complaint. The other fields are optional and you may choose whether or not to provide this information.
    Mandatory field
    Mandatory field
    Mandatory field
    Would you like a copy of your complaint emailed to you?
    Do you require assistance to participate in the complaint process?
    Are you making this complaint on behalf of someone else (the aggrieved person)?
    Title
    Do you have a legal representative or advocate?
    Title
    Part B - Who is the complaint about?
    Who is the complaint about?
    (eg employer, landlord, provider of good and services)
    Title
    (eg employer, landlord, provider of good and services)
    Do you want to add another respondent?
    For?
    (eg employer, landlord, provider of good and services)
    Title
    (eg employer, landlord, provider of good and services)
    Please provide as much information as possible about the organisation or person who your complaint is about. It is not necessary to complete all of these fields, but if it is not possible for us to identify who you are complaining about, we may not be able to process your complaint.
    Part C - What are you complaining about?
    There are limits on the types of complaints the Commission can consider. The Commission can only consider complaints about unfair treatment related to the reasons listed above.
    The President of the Commission can decide not to investigate a complaint alleging unlawful discrimination where the complaint has been lodged more than twenty four (24) months after the alleged event(s) happened. If the event(s) being complained about happened more than twenty four months ago, please explain the reasons for the delay in making a complaint to the Commission.

    For complaints alleging human rights breaches and discrimination in employment under the ILO Convention, the relevant time frame is twelve (12) months.
    Describe the event(s) that you want to complain about. We need to know what you say happened, where it happened and who was involved. Please give us all the dates and other details you can remember. If you are complaining about employment, please tell us when you commenced employment, your job title and whether you are still employed.

     

    Supporting Information

    Please provide copies of any documents that support the claims in your complaint. For example – letters, separation certificate, doctors certificate. If you cannot do this, please tell us about the documents or other information and how this information can be obtained.

    If you have any supporting information to add to your complaint, please forward them to the Commission by post, fax (02 9284 9611) or by email to complaints@humanrights.gov.au

    One file only.
    100 MB limit.
    Allowed types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, jpg.
    Part D - Other information
    Have you complained about this to another organisation?
    For example, a state anti discrimination or equal opportunity agency, a workers compensation agency, an ombudsman or the Fair Work Commission. If you have complained to another agency, you must provide details of the complaint and its outcome. You should also attach copies of any letters you have received from the agency.
    Were you referred to us by another organisation?
     
    The Commission will use the information you provide to assess, investigate and/or conciliate your complaint(s).
     
    Please note that if we accept your complaint(s), we will usually provide a copy (excluding your contact details) to the person or organisation you are complaining about and, if necessary, to others who have relevant information about your complaint.
     
    Your personal information will be used and stored in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
    Tags Complaint Information Service