Australian Human Rights Commission
The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) can investigate complaints of discrimination, bullying, harassment and victimisation based on a person’s:
There are a number of ways that you can lodge your complaint with the AHRC:
Your complaint should include the following information.
Complaints to the AHRC are supposed to be resolved through a process known as conciliation. This is where the parties involved in a complaint talk through the issues with the help of an AHRC officer and settle the matter on their own terms. It can be a face-to-face conciliation or you can request a shuttle conciliation where the parties stay in separate rooms with the conciliator going between the rooms.
The AHRC is supposed to be an impartial third party during the conciliation process. Part of its role in being impartial should be the creation of a balance of power between an individual complainant and a large, well-resourced respondent organisation. Its role is to assist the parties to consider different options to resolve the complaint and provide information about possible terms of settlement. The AHRC can also help write up the conciliation agreement.
The conciliation conference is not a public hearing, a court of law or a tribunal. This means that parties do not have to prove or disprove the complaint. Instead conciliation allows people to state their point of view, discuss the issues in dispute and settle the matter on their own terms. However, the AHRC technically has powers to compel a respondent to attend a conciliation under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986. More information about understanding and preparing for a conciliation conference is at the AHRC's website.
If your complaint is not resolved or is discontinued for some other reason, you can take the matter to court. The court can decide if unlawful discrimination, harassment or victimisation has occurred. You have 60 days from when the AHRC finalises the complaint to make an application to the Federal Magistrates Court or the Federal Court.
Relevant human rights legislation is set out below. The AHRC has written some excellent information documents about each piece of discrimination legislation (which also discusses vicarious liability), practice and procedure, damages and remedies, and costs awards at the AHRC website. There are also some general booklets about discrimination at the AHRC website. It is a good idea to read through this material before making a complaint. Be aware that a time limit of 12 months usually applies for making a complaint to the AHRC.
In order to minimise any angst and frustration in consuming the services of the AHRC, it is probably beneficial not to have high expectations of the AHRC's usefulness. Whilst there is a mix of positive and negative feedback about the AHRC, be mindful that there is a chance that the AHRC will:
In some cases, the AHRC can unfortunately do more harm than good. Sometimes this is due to limited legislative powers or under-resourcing. Other times it can be due to a lack of appropriate selection of candidates to fill AHRC positions or inadequate training of AHRC officers. For more information about Commonwealth External Investigation/Review Agencies, such as the AHRC, see The Reality page.
- sex, including: pregnancy; marital status; family responsibilities; and sexual harassment;
- disability, including: temporary and permanent disabilities; physical, intellectual, sensory or psychiatric disabilities; diseases or illnesses; medical conditions; work related injuries; past, present and future disabilities; imputed disabilities; and association with a person with a disability;
- race, including: colour; descent; national or ethnic origin; immigrant status; and racial hatred;
- age covering young people and older people;
- sexual preference, criminal record, trade union activity, political opinion, religion or social origin.
There are a number of ways that you can lodge your complaint with the AHRC:
- in writing;
- hard copy complaint form;
- online complaint form;
- by email.
Your complaint should include the following information.
- your name, address and telephone number;
- who you are complaining about and their contact details;
- what happened to you, when it happened and who was involved;
- what law you think has been breached and how;
- whether you have made a complaint anywhere else and, if so, what happened.
Complaints to the AHRC are supposed to be resolved through a process known as conciliation. This is where the parties involved in a complaint talk through the issues with the help of an AHRC officer and settle the matter on their own terms. It can be a face-to-face conciliation or you can request a shuttle conciliation where the parties stay in separate rooms with the conciliator going between the rooms.
The AHRC is supposed to be an impartial third party during the conciliation process. Part of its role in being impartial should be the creation of a balance of power between an individual complainant and a large, well-resourced respondent organisation. Its role is to assist the parties to consider different options to resolve the complaint and provide information about possible terms of settlement. The AHRC can also help write up the conciliation agreement.
The conciliation conference is not a public hearing, a court of law or a tribunal. This means that parties do not have to prove or disprove the complaint. Instead conciliation allows people to state their point of view, discuss the issues in dispute and settle the matter on their own terms. However, the AHRC technically has powers to compel a respondent to attend a conciliation under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986. More information about understanding and preparing for a conciliation conference is at the AHRC's website.
If your complaint is not resolved or is discontinued for some other reason, you can take the matter to court. The court can decide if unlawful discrimination, harassment or victimisation has occurred. You have 60 days from when the AHRC finalises the complaint to make an application to the Federal Magistrates Court or the Federal Court.
Relevant human rights legislation is set out below. The AHRC has written some excellent information documents about each piece of discrimination legislation (which also discusses vicarious liability), practice and procedure, damages and remedies, and costs awards at the AHRC website. There are also some general booklets about discrimination at the AHRC website. It is a good idea to read through this material before making a complaint. Be aware that a time limit of 12 months usually applies for making a complaint to the AHRC.
In order to minimise any angst and frustration in consuming the services of the AHRC, it is probably beneficial not to have high expectations of the AHRC's usefulness. Whilst there is a mix of positive and negative feedback about the AHRC, be mindful that there is a chance that the AHRC will:
- drag out the process between 3 to 12 months;
- not provide enough assistance in helping you understand how to make a complaint and other processes involved so that your interests are fully protected;
- not engage in adequate or effective communication;
- give wrong advice;
- refuse to deal with complainants' advocates if they are not paid lawyers;
- not adequately understand the stresses involved when complainants seek formal redress for workplace mistreatment against a powerful opponent - which can lead AHRC officers to make unfair negative judgments of you and even treat you in a disrespectful manner;
- not adequately address the power imbalance between you and the respondent APS agency in order to strive for true impartiality on the AHRC's part;
- favour the respondent APS agency's preferred method in dealing with a complaint over your preferred method, such as refusing a request for a shuttle conciliation conference.
In some cases, the AHRC can unfortunately do more harm than good. Sometimes this is due to limited legislative powers or under-resourcing. Other times it can be due to a lack of appropriate selection of candidates to fill AHRC positions or inadequate training of AHRC officers. For more information about Commonwealth External Investigation/Review Agencies, such as the AHRC, see The Reality page.