2018-11-20
The complainant’s son is 16 years of age and attended the respondent public high school. The complainant and her son are Aboriginal. The complainant alleged her son was required to complete a comprehension test with statements such as ‘universities started accepting all women in 1875’ and ‘all women were granted suffrage in 1902’. She said her son would be required to treat such statements as accurate to pass the test despite the statements not being accurate in the case of Aboriginal women. She alleged the test did not treat Aboriginal women as Australian women and was therefore discriminatory.
On being advised of the complaint, the school indicated a willingness to participate in conciliation to try and resolve the complaint.
The complaint was resolved. The school acknowledged not all statements on the test were accurate and undertook to correct this. The school expressed regret for hurting the complainant’s son’s feelings and agreed to pay him $2,800.
Year
Discrimination type
Racial Discrimination Act
Grounds
Descent
Race
Areas
Education
Policy change/Change in practice
Compensation
Statement of regret
Amount
$2,800