About making a complaint

What can I do if I experience discrimination? 

If you experience discrimination, you may want to deal with the situation yourself by raising it directly with the person or people involved or with a supervisor, manager or discrimination/harassment contact officer. 

If this does not resolve the situation, or you do not feel comfortable doing this, you can make a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission. You can also have someone, such as a solicitor, advocate or trade union representative make a complaint on your behalf.  

It does not cost anything to make a complaint to the Commission.  

Your complaint needs to be put in writing. The Commission has a complaint form that you can fill in and post or fax to us. Or you can lodge a complaint online at our website. If you are not able to put your complaint in writing, we can help you with this.  

The complaint should say what happened, when and where it happened and who was involved.  

A complaint can be made in any language. If you need a translator or interpreter, the Commission can arrange this for you. 

What will happen with my complaint? 

When the Commission receives a complaint about something that is covered by the ADA, the President of the Commission can investigate the complaint and try to resolve it by conciliation. 

The Commission is not a court and cannot determine that discrimination has happened. The Commission’s role is to get both sides of the story and help those involved resolve the complaint. 

Commission staff may contact you to get further information about your complaint. 

Generally, the Commission will tell the person or organisation the complaint is against (the respondent) about your complaint and give them a copy of the complaint. The Commission may ask the respondent for specific information or a detailed response to your complaint. 

Where appropriate, the Commission will invite you to participate in conciliation. Conciliation is an informal process that allows you and the respondent to talk about the issues and try to find a way to resolve the complaint. 

If your complaint is not resolved or it is discontinued for another reason, you can take your complaint to the Federal Court of Australia or the Federal Circuit and Family Court. 

For more information about making a complaint under the Age Discrimination Act, go to: 

• Complaints under the Age Discrimination Act   
• The complaint process   
• Information for people making complaints   
• Make a complaint 

Where can I get more information? 

The Australian Human Rights Commission’s contact details are: 

Postal Address 

Australian Human Rights Commission 

GPO Box 5218 

Sydney NSW 2001 

Street address: Level 19, 175 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000 

Phone (reception): 1300 369 711 

TTY: 1800 620 241 (toll free) 
Fax: (02) 9284 9611 

Complaints 

National Information Service: 1300 656 419 (local call) 

Email: [email protected]  

You can make a complaint online by going to the Complaints page of our website. 

If you need an Auslan interpreter, the Commission can arrange this for you. 

If you are blind or have a vision impairment, the Commission can provide information in alternative formats on request. 

If you are thinking about making a complaint, you might also want to consider getting legal advice or contacting your trade union. 

There are community legal services that can provide free advice about discrimination. Contact details for your closest community legal centre can be found at the Community Legal Centres Australia website.