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The Australian Human Rights Commission ('AHRC') helps Australians with discrimination and human rights issues. It investigates complaints related to age, disability, race, or sex but cannot make legal decisions. The AHRC also promotes human rights and advises the government on laws and policies. If you face discrimination, you can file a complaint with the AHRC for help.
Warning: If you’re thinking about lodging a discrimination complaint, you can usually choose between the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and Anti-Discrimination NSW. However, you can’t make the same complaint to both at the same time. You’ll need to pick the one that best suits your situation. Each body handles specific types of complaints and offers different processes and remedies. Always consider seeking legal advice to understand the best option for your case.
What types of complaints can you make?
Age Discrimination
Overview: The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) accepts complaints about age discrimination, which happens when someone is treated unfairly due to their age.
Where Age Discrimination is Prohibited:
- Employment: Jobs, conditions, training, promotions, and dismissals.
- Education: Enrolling and studying in schools, colleges, or universities.
- Accommodation: Renting or buying a home.
- Services: Banking, insurance, government services, transport, telecommunication, and services from professionals and businesses.
Types of Age Discrimination:
- Direct Discrimination: When you're treated unfairly directly because of your age.
- Indirect Discrimination: When rules or conditions that apply to everyone unfairly disadvantage you because of your age.
Exclusions:
- Actions according to Commonwealth or State laws.
- Specific health and employment programs.
- Youth wages and actions in compliance with industrial agreements.
- Providing benefits to specific age groups or addressing their needs is not considered discrimination.
Disability Discrimination
Overview: The AHRC handles complaints when a person is treated unfairly due to their disability.
Where Disability Discrimination is Prohibited:
- Employment: Jobs, conditions, training, promotions, and dismissals.
- Education: Enrolling and studying in schools, colleges, or universities.
- Accommodation: Renting or buying a home.
- Services: Banking, insurance, government services, transport, telecommunication, and services from professionals and businesses.
- Public Places: Using parks, government buildings, restaurants, hotels, and shopping centres.
- Harassment: If you're harassed because of your disability.
Types of Disability Discrimination:
- Direct Discrimination: When you're treated unfairly directly because of your disability.
- Indirect Discrimination: When rules or conditions that apply to everyone unfairly disadvantage you because of your disability.
Exclusions:
- Job requirements that cannot be adjusted without significant difficulty or expense.
- Situations where making a place accessible is too hard or expensive.
Race Discrimination
Overview: The AHRC handles complaints about racial discrimination, which occurs when someone is treated unfairly due to their race, descent, national or ethnic origin, or immigrant status.
Where Race Discrimination is Prohibited:
- Employment: Jobs, conditions, training, promotions, and dismissals.
- Education: Enrolling and studying in schools, colleges, or universities.
- Accommodation: Renting or buying a home.
- Services: Banking, insurance, government services, transport, telecommunication, and services from professionals and businesses.
- Public Places: Using parks, government buildings, restaurants, hotels, and shopping centres.
Types of Race Discrimination:
- Direct Discrimination: When you're treated unfairly directly because of your race.
- Indirect Discrimination: When rules or conditions that apply to everyone unfairly disadvantage you because of your race.
- Racial Hatred: Public acts that offend, insult, humiliate, or intimidate you due to your race.
Exclusions:
Actions reasonably and in good faith for artistic works, academic discussion, public interest reporting, and fair comment.
Sex Discrimination
Overview: The AHRC accepts complaints about sex discrimination, which occurs when someone is treated unfairly due to their gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, or potential pregnancy.
Where Sex Discrimination is Prohibited:
- Employment: Jobs, conditions, training, promotions, and dismissals.
- Education: Enrolling and studying in schools, colleges, or universities.
- Accommodation: Renting or buying a home.
- Services: Banking, insurance, government services, transport, telecommunication, and services from professionals and businesses.
Types of Sex Discrimination:
- Direct Discrimination: When you're treated unfairly directly because of your gender.
- Indirect Discrimination: When rules or conditions that apply to everyone unfairly disadvantage you because of your gender.
Other Forms of Discrimination:
- Gender Identity Discrimination: Treated unfairly due to gender identity.
- Intersex Status Discrimination: Treated unfairly due to intersex status.
- Sexual Orientation Discrimination: Treated unfairly due to who you're attracted to.
- Marital or Relationship Status Discrimination: Treated unfairly due to your relationship status.
- Pregnancy Discrimination: Treated unfairly because you are pregnant.
- Breastfeeding Discrimination: Treated unfairly because you are breastfeeding.
- Family Responsibilities Discrimination: Treated unfairly due to your family responsibilities.
Harassment:
- Sexual Harassment: Unwanted sexual behaviour that offends, humiliates, or intimidates you.
- Sex-based Harassment: Unwelcome behaviour that demeans you because of your sex.
Additional Complaints:The AHRC can also handle complaints related to discrimination, harassment, and bullying in employment based on criminal record, trade union activity, political opinion, religion, or social origin. Complaints about victimisation for bringing forward a complaint are also accepted.
Jurisdiction:
The AHRC can hear complaints from any member of the Australian public if the organisation or individual they are complaining about is also in Australia.
Time Limitations:
- The President of the AHRC may decide not to investigate a complaint if:
- It is lodged more than 24 months after the alleged discrimination.
- It involves breaches of human rights and discrimination in employment under an International Labour Organisation Convention and is lodged more than 12 months after the event.
- You can explain any delay in lodging your complaint, but acceptance of your reasons is at the discretion of the President of the AHRC.
Exclusions:
- The AHRC can investigate and attempt to resolve complaints about matters covered by Federal anti-discrimination legislation or breaches of human rights under international covenants.
- Complaints about other alleged breaches of law will be transferred to the relevant agency if not related to Federal anti-discrimination law (e.g., complaints under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) will be transferred to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner).
Exercise of Discretion:
- The President of the AHRC can terminate a complaint if:
- The alleged discrimination is not unlawful.
- The complaint is lodged more than 24 months after the event.
- The complaint has been adequately dealt with by another remedy or authority.
- The complaint involves a public issue that should be considered by the Federal Court or Federal Circuit Court.
- There is no reasonable prospect of the matter being settled by conciliation.
- If you have brought your complaint to another Commission or organisation, such as Anti-Discrimination NSW, the AHRC may terminate your complaint.
Mandatory Termination of Complaint:
The President of the AHRC must terminate your complaint if:
- It is trivial, vexatious, misconceived, or lacking in substance.
- There is no reasonable prospect of the matter being settled by conciliation.
Who can you make a complaint against?
You can make a complaint against:
- Individuals: You can make a complaint about any individual who resides in Australia.
- A body or organisation: You can make your complaint about any body or organisation in Australia that may have breached any of the Federal anti-discrimination laws. In particular, the AHRC Act gives powers to the AHRC to investigate discrimination or human rights breaches you may experience in your employment and occupation byCommonwealth, state or territory public sector employers, private sector employers, employment agencies, and licensing and registration organisations.
Are you eligible to make a complaint?
Who Can Make a Complaint?
You can make a complaint as long as you live in Australia, no matter where in Australia you reside.
Pre-requisite Steps:
- You do not need to do anything before making your complaint to the AHRC.
- If you have tried to resolve the issue with the individual or organisation you are complaining about, you can include those details in your complaint.
- Ensure that:
- Your complaint is in writing.
- You are complaining as a person aggrieved or on behalf of another person aggrieved.
- Your complaint alleges unlawful discrimination.
Can Complaints Be Made on Behalf of Someone?
- Yes, you can make a complaint on behalf of another person aggrieved.
- The person on whose behalf you are complaining needs to provide authorisation.
- They must complete an Authority to Act form, either by hand or electronically, and submit it with the completed complaint form.
Exclusions:
The AHRC will not investigate complaints about an organisation or individual who is not in Australia, or if you are not in Australia.
Fees:
Filing a complaint with the AHRC is free.
What can this body do to help?
The AHRC may provide:
- Conciliation: Conciliation is an informal process where a neutral conciliator from the AHRC helps both parties discuss and resolve their differences. This can occur through letters, calls, or meetings. Lawyers are optional, with prior approval.
If conciliation fails, parties can escalate the case to the Federal Court of Australia or the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. This process offers a chance for a collaborative resolution before considering formal legal action.
- Apology: A resolution might include a formal or informal apology from the respondent to you.
- Re-instatement or Re-offer: The respondent may offer you your old job back or a similar one. They might also provide the goods, services, or housing you were denied due to discrimination.
- Compensation: The respondent may agree to pay you compensation for lost wages or other losses resulting from the discrimination.
- Changes to Policy: If the respondent is an organisation, they may agree to amend or develop their anti-discrimination, complaints, or grievances policies to prevent future discrimination and create better processes for others.
- Report to Parliament: If conciliation is unsuccessful or inappropriate but the AHRC finds a breach of human rights or workplace discrimination, they can prepare a report of the complaint with recommendations for action. This report is sent to the Attorney-General and may be tabled in Parliament.
Additional Information:
A resolution may combine several remedies, such as an apology with compensation or an apology with the re-instatement of your job.
What should your complaint include?
Format:
- Your complaint must be in writing.
- You can fill in and submit an online form, download the Word or PDF version to email to the AHRC, or print and complete the form by hand to post it to the AHRC.
- You can make a complaint in your preferred language, and the AHRC can help you write it down if necessary.
Personal Details:
- Provide your full name and contact details, including address and at least one contact number. Without these, the AHRC may not be able to process your complaint.
- Your personal details will be used and stored in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
Respondent’s Details:
- Include as much information as possible about the individual or organisation you are complaining about so the AHRC can contact them.
- For an organisation:
- Organisation name
- ABN (if relevant)
- Address
- Contact number
- Relationship to you or the aggrieved person (e.g., landlord, employer)
- For an individual:
- Full name
- Address
- Contact number
- Relationship to you or the aggrieved person (e.g., landlord, employer)
- You can include more than one respondent in your complaint.
Relevant Facts:
- Details of the Incident:
- Date and time
- Location
- Witnesses
- Impact on you
- Actions you’ve taken to resolve the issue
- Employment Information (if work-related):
- Start date of employment
- Job title
- Current employment status
- Supporting Documents:
- Attach documents like emails, letters, medical certificates, or photos.
- If you don’t have these documents but know they exist, list them and explain how they can be obtained.
- Desired Outcome:
- Specify how you want the issue resolved (e.g., apology, policy changes, compensation, job reinstatement).
- Previous Complaints:
- Include details of any previous complaints to other organisations, their names, dates, current status, and copies of the complaints and responses.
What NOT to Include:
- Do not include false or misleading statements as it may be an offence resulting in a penalty of six months imprisonment.
Additional Information:
- The AHRC will usually contact the respondent about your complaint and provide them with a copy.
- The AHRC may also contact other persons named in your complaint, such as witnesses, and provide them with information about your complaint.
Lodging your complaint and next steps:
Where to Lodge Your Complaint:
- Online form: AHRC Complaint Form
- Email: complaints@humanrights.gov.au
- Post: Australian Human Rights Commission, GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
- Telephone: 1300 369 711 (9:00 AM – 5:00 PM AEST/AEDT)
- Fax: 02 9284 9611
- In person: The AHRC physical offices are closed until further notice. In-person visits are not accepted.
Receipt/Acknowledgement of Complaint:
- The AHRC will contact you after receiving your complaint to discuss it and may request more information.
- The respondent will be notified of the complaint and given a copy unless it could cause you harm.
- The AHRC will also notify any other relevant persons likely to provide information about your complaint.
- The AHRC will inform you of the respondent's response to your complaint.
Assessment/Investigation:
- The respondent may provide information and documents in response to your complaint.
- The AHRC can compel the respondent to provide information within a specific timeframe.
- The AHRC usually shares any information and documents provided by the respondent with you.
Conciliation Process:
- The AHRC will invite all parties to participate in conciliation if appropriate and can compel attendance.
- Conciliation helps both sides talk and try to reach an agreement. It is not like a court hearing; the conciliator does not decide the outcome.
- Conciliation can be face-to-face or via telephone (conciliation conference).
- The process is confidential, and information shared cannot be used in legal proceedings.
- If a resolution is agreed upon, it is usually documented in a 'conciliation agreement,' with assistance from the AHRC conciliator.
Other Methods of Resolving Complaints:
- Complaints can also be resolved through an exchange of letters or emails, discussions with the conciliator, or information passed through the conciliator.
Additional Information:
- Keep a copy of your complaint and provide all relevant information from the start to avoid delays.
- You can withdraw your complaint at any time with the President of the AHRC's approval, provided all parties agree to the withdrawal.
More information:
Refer to the factsheet provided below for more information.
