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Information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

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Discrimination: Know your rights

Information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

What is discrimination?

Discrimination is when you are treated unfairly.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people may experience discrimination in many areas of their daily life. For example, you may face discrimination:

  • in the place where you work or when you are applying for jobs
  • when renting or trying to rent accommodation
  • when you go to restaurants, cafes or hotels
  • at the school, TAFE or University where you are studying
  • when you go shopping or when you use services such as banks or clubs
  • when you use government services such as hospitals or transport
  • on the internet when people write offensive comments about Aboriginal people or show offensive videos.

What type of discrimination does the Commission help with?

Some types of discrimination are against the law. You can make a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission about discrimination that is against the law.

It can be against the law to:

  • treat you unfairly because of your race
    For example – you may be treated unfairly because of your skin colour or because you are Aboriginal
     
  • treat you unfairly because you have disability
    For example – you may be treated unfairly because you have a medical condition, a work related injury or because you use a wheelchair
     
  • treat you unfairly because of your sex or sexually harass you
    For example – you may be treated unfairly because you are a woman, because you are pregnant or because of your family responsibilities. Sexual harassment is any unwanted sexual behaviour such as unwelcome touching or sexually explicit comments
     
  • treat you unfairly because of your age
    For example – you may be treated unfairly because you are too young or too old
     
  • treat you unfairly in your job or when you are trying to get a job because you have a criminal record or because of your trade union activity, your sexual preference or your religion

What can you do about discrimination?

If you think you have been discriminated against you can:

  • talk to us at the Australian Human Rights Commission and make a complaint
  • talk to a friend or a family member about what happened
  • talk to the person or organisation causing the problem
  • talk to an Aboriginal organisation in your area

What can the Australian Human Rights Commission do?

We can give you information

If you call us on 1300 656 419, we can:

  • talk with you about whether what happened to you may be covered by the law
  • explain how you can make a complaint about what happened
  • explain how we will deal with your complaint and what might happen as a result of your complaint
  • give you information about other people that may be able to help you if we can’t

You can also get in touch with us by email. 

We can look into your complaint of discrimination and try to help you sort it out

If we can deal with your complaint we usually contact the other people involved to get their side of the story and let you know what they say.

We can also help both of you find a solution to the complaint - this is called conciliation. 

If conciliation doesn’t work out or we can't continue with the complaint for some other reason, you may be able to take your complaint to court.

  • It's OK to stop your complaint at any time
     
  • If we can’t deal with your complaint, we will tell you why
     
  • It doesn’t cost anything to make a complaint
     
  • You don’t need to have a lawyer to make a complaint

For case examples of the types of complaints the Commission looks into and how complaints are resolved. 

How do you contact the Australian Human Rights Commission?

The Australian Human Rights Commission’s contact details are:

Telephone 

National Information Service: 1300 656 419 
TTY: 1800 620 241 (toll free)
Fax: (02) 9284 9611

Post 

Australian Human Rights Commission
GPO Box 5218
Sydney NSW 2001

Online

Email: infoservice@humanrights.gov.au
Website: www.humanrights.gov.au

You can make a complaint online. 

If you are deaf or hearing impaired you can contact us by TTY on 1800 620 241. If you need an Auslan interpreter, the Commission can arrange this for you.

If you are blind or have a vision impairment, the Commission can provide information in alternative formats on request.

Legal advice

If you are thinking about making a complaint, you might also want to consider obtaining legal advice or contacting your trade union. There are legal services that can provide free advice about discrimination and harassment, such as Legal Aid or your nearest community legal service. There may also be a specialist Aboriginal Legal Service in your state or territory.