Under the Act race includes skin colour, descent, ethnic or national origin, or nationality and may comprise two or more distinct races.
Racial harassment does not need to be repeated or continuous, it can involve a single incident.
Racial harassment may take many forms including threats, abuse, insults and taunts based on a person’s race or a characteristic belonging to, or generally believed to belong to, a particular race.
Where does the protection apply?
The Act makes it unlawful to racially harass a person in certain areas of public life, including:
- Employment – it is unlawful to racially harass an employee, a co-worker, a potential employee or a potential employer, commission agent or contract worker.
- Education – it is unlawful for an employee of an educational institution to racially harass a student or potential student of that institution.
- Accommodation – it is unlawful for a person who, as principal or agent, has control over accommodation or the letting of that accommodation, to racially harass a person.
Responsibilities
Organisations must ensure they provide a working and educational environment and accommodation that is free from racial harassment and they must take all reasonable steps to prevent it from happening or they may be held responsible for their employees’ actions.
A person causing, instructing, inducing, helping or permitting another person to do something unlawful is the same as doing it, for the purpose of the Act.
Making a complaint
A person who believes they have been subjected to racial harassment can lodge a complaint with the Commissioner. The onus of proof lies with the person making the complaint.
The incident or incidents you are including in your complaint must have occurred within the 12 months previous to the date you lodge your Complaint Form.
In some circumstances the Commissioner may decide there is good reason, or good cause, to include incidents that occurred more than 12 months before the Complaint Form is lodged.
Examples of racial harassment
A courier of Italian descent claimed his employer repeatedly called him a ‘wog’ and would only let him deliver goods to his ‘wog mates’.
An Asian woman who managed a housing complex was racially abused by an owner/occupier within the complex when she approached him on behalf of other tenants who had complained about his loud music.
An employee resigned after arriving at work to find a note written on her desk pad stating ‘Golly Wog leaves work early’ and ‘Black bitch’.. . .
A Samoan woman and her partner attended an appointment with a consultant. When the consultant saw her Samoan name he called her a ‘coconut vendor’.. . .
A student claimed his teacher picked on him because of his ethnic background. He said the teacher ridiculed his lunch, told him to ‘go back to his hole’ and if he wanted to be a ‘dirty Lebanese kid’ he was not to come back to the school.
