The Commission provides a dispute resolution service focused on
mediating between parties under sections 76 and 77 of the Human
Rights Act for complaints alleging unlawful discrimination.17 The
Commission also provides information to the public about discrimination
and broader human rights issues. The dispute-resolution service is central
to the Commission’s role in protecting and promoting human rights.
It is not just about resolving complaints, it is also an opportunity to
educate and enable outcomes that address systemic causes (beyond the
individual circumstances of a complaint) of discrimination. The disputeresolution service is also an important source of information to help
understand trends that may exist, which can inform education, policy
and broader research work.18
All enquiries and complaints received
In 2018/19, the Commission received 5,66619 new human rights enquiries
and complaints. This is a decrease from the previous year’s number of
6,304 but is still the second highest recorded by the Commission. The
enquiries and complaints were made up of:
4,387
1,191
195
88
Requests to intervene in a complaint about a human
rights issue
• 1,282 complaints alleging unlawful discrimination
• 3,105 complaints on broader human rights matters20
Requests for other assistance, such as human rights
training, advice or resources, legal intervention and
advocacy
Requests for Commission’s publications
Registrations of concern about a human rights issue21
17 Unlawful discrimination includes other forms of discrimination such as sexual
and racial harassment, racial disharmony, victimisation, where an employer treats
an employee adversely because the employee experienced family violence, and
complaints about advertisements.
18 Information used is anonymised and generally of a statistical nature, such as the
data in this annual report.
19 Excludes publications.
20 Other than unlawful discrimination – broader human rights issues.
21 When a person wants to alert the Commission to an issue and does not necessarily
expect the Commission to act directly on it.
Annual Report 2019
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