Annual Report 2006 - 2007
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Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW
ANNUAL REPORT 2006-07
CONTENTS
About the Board
Discrimination law and the Anti-Discrimination Board
Statutory Board 2006-07
Ethnic Affairs Priority Statement Report
Anti-Discrimination Act 30th Anniversary
Structure of the Board
President’s report
Review of operations
Enquiry service
Conciliation service
Education service
Consultations
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service
Newcastle office
Wollongong office
Legal Officer
Liaison and support
Financial statement
List of publications
Statistics
Enquires by ground 2006-2007
Enquires by area 2006-2007
Complaints received by ground and area 2006-2007
Type of employer 2006-2007
Types of employment complaints 2006-2007
Outcome of complaints finalised 2006-2007
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander complaints 2006-2007
ABOUT THE BOARD
The Anti-Discrimination Board was set up under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) to administer that Act. Our role is to promote anti-discrimination and EEO (equal employment opportunity) principles and policies throughout NSW. We are a business centre within the NSW Attorney General’s Department.
Functions of the Board
We try to prevent discrimination from occurring. We inform the people of NSW about their rights and responsibilities under anti-discrimination law, and explain how they can prevent and deal with discrimination.
We do this through consultations, education programs, seminars, talks, participation in community functions, the production and distribution of written information and our website.
We handle complaints of discrimination. We provide an enquiry service for people who want to know about their rights or responsibilities under anti-discrimination law. We also accept complaints of discrimination, investigate complaints and conciliate complaints when appropriate.
We advise the Government on discrimination matters, and may make recommendations to the Attorney General about applications for exemption from the Anti-Discrimination Act.
The President and the Board
Stepan Kerkyasharian AM became the President of the Anti-Discrimination Board on 15 September 2003. Mr Kerkyasharian also continues as the CEO and Chair of the Community Relations Commission.
The members of the Board are the President as Chair, and four members appointed by the Governor of NSW. The members in 2006-07 were Suzanne Jamieson, Phillipa McDermott, Cameron Murphy and Peter Wertheim. (See page x for more information.)
 Branches
The Board has three branches:
- Enquiries and Conciliation Branch – responsible for handling initial enquiries and calls for advice about discrimination, and for investigating and conciliating discrimination complaints received by the Board. The Manager in 2006-07 was Elizabeth Wing.
- Education Services Branch – oversees the Board’s provision of training, community education, information, publication and website services. The Manager in 2006-07 was Sharmalee Elkerbout.
- Liaison and Support Branch – provides support services to assist in achieving the primary goals of the Board, particularly financial control and information technology. The Manager in 2006-07 was Darryl Brown.
The Board’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team contains complaint handling and education staff who provide culturally specific services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The team leaders in 2006-07 were Felicity Huntington (acting to November 2006) and Donald Jenner (from November 2006).
The Board has regional offices in Newcastle and Wollongong that handle complaints and provide education services for those areas. The Newcastle Manager in 2006-07 was Paul Santone, and the Wollongong Manager was Gerardo De Liseo.
The Board also employs a Legal Officer who advises the President, Board and staff on legal matters.
Staff
The Board has 37.7 (full-time equivalent) salaried positions, plus the President employed on a fee-for-service basis from the Community Relations Commission. There are 31 full-time and 13 part-time positions. Of these 33 are located in Sydney and 11 in the two regional offices.
At 30 June 2007 the Board was employing an additional 0.2 FTE trainer on a temporary basis to cover demand for the Board’s training services. Four temporary staff were employed in positions that were funded internally from savings in other vacancies through the year (see page 8 for details).
Nine staff left the Board during the year, including four permanent and five temporary staff. Of the four permanent staff, two left for positions outside the NSW public service, one left for a promotion within the service, and one for a development opportunity within the Attorney General’s Department. Twenty recruitment processes were undertaken during the year, plus 11 internally managed development opportunities arising from short-term vacancies, or from staff on leave.
11 (24%) of staff are male, and 32 (76%) are female. Three have been with the Board for more than 20 years, 10 for 10-15 years, 12 for 5-10 years, 7 for 2-5 years, and 11 for less than 2 years. Of the 43 employees at the Board on 30 June 2007, 35 (81%) were permanent employees and 8 (19%) were temporary.
Training and development
The Board encouraged a high level of participation in training and development, in accordance with a new initiative of the Attorney-General’s Department.
All staff engaged in some form of training or development during the year. New members of the Occupational Health and Safety Committee undertook mandatory training and many staff undertook training in the use of TTY equipment.
Staff undertook training in areas including leadership, communication skills, workplace ethical standards, conciliation skills, handling difficult complainants, recruitment and selection, and accounting. Some of these courses were hosted by the Attorney-General’s Department and others were with private training suppliers
Successsful conciliation - Sex discrimination (pregnancy)
The complainant worked as a cook for a club. She alleged that when she told her manager that she was pregnant, the manager said she had to decide between keeping her baby or keeping her job, and she felt she had no alternative but to resign.
The employer said that the complainant had misconstrued the manager, who had merely been expressing concern about how she was going to cope as a single mother. They said this was in a context where the complainant had previously confided to the manager about her personal problems.
The complaint was settled when the employer agreed to amend its staff manual to include information about rights relating to pregnancy and maternity leave, and to pay the complainant $3,500.DISCRIMINATION LAW AND THE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION BOARD
Under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) (ADA), certain types of discrimination and harassment are against the law.
Discrimination occurs when a person with a particular personal characteristic is treated less favourably than a person who does not have that characteristic. Discrimination may include harassment because of the relevant personal characteristic.
Behaviour that is against the law includes the following:
- sex discrimination, including pregnancy and breastfeeding;
- race discrimination;
- age discrimination, including complusory retirement;
- marital status discrimination;
- homosexual discrimination;
- disability discrimination, including physical, intellectual and psychiatric disabilities, learning and emotional disorders and infectious diseases;
- transgender (transsexual) discrimination;
- carers’ responsibilities discrimination (in employment only, and only covering the care of certain people);
- harassment that targets a person because of any of these characteristics;
- discrimination or harassment because a person’s relatives, friends or associates have any of these characteristics; and sexual harassment (sexually related behaviour that a person does not want, and a reasonable person would have expected them to be offended, humiliated or intimidated by it).
These types of discrimination and harassment are only against the law in certain areas. These are:
employment;
- the provision of goods and/or services;
- government education, including universities, TAFEs and schools (sexual harassment and race discrimination are also unlawful in private education);
- the provision of accommodation; and
- registered clubs (any club that sells alcohol or has gaming machines).
Direct and indirect discrimination
Discrimination can be direct or indirect. Direct discrimination means treating someone unfairly compared to someone else in the same or similar circumstances, because of their sex, race, marital status, disability, homosexuality, age, transgender status or carers’ responsibilities – for example, refusing to hire a woman because she may become pregnant.
Indirect discrimination means a requirement that is the same for everyone, but has an effect or result that is unequal and unreasonable having regard to the circumstances – for example, an employer who says they need a person over a certain height might be discriminating against women and some ethnic groups.
Vilification
Vilification because of a person’s racial background, homosexuality, HIV/AIDS status or transgender status is also against the law. The ADA defines vilification as any public act that incites others to hate, have serious contempt for, or severely ridicule a person or group of people on the basis of the relevant characteristic.
Vilification laws can cover behaviour that occurs outside the usual areas of employment, goods and services etc, for example in the media or in public places.
Victimisation
It is also against the law to victimise a person because they have complained within an organisation about discrimination, made an enquiry or complained to the Anti-Discrimination Board, or assisted another person with or acted as a witness in a discrimination case. A victimisation case may be proven even if the original discrimination case is not.Making a complaint
If a person thinks they have been discriminated against, the first stage is to contact our enquiry service to see whether their situation is covered under NSW anti-discrimination law. If it is not covered, our Enquiry Officers will suggest other avenues where the person may find help.
If the problem appears to be covered by NSW anti-discrimination law, and the person is unable to resolve the problem by other means such as using an internal grievance process in the workplace, they may decide to lodge a formal complaint with the Anti-Discrimination Board.
This involves completing one of our complaint forms or sending a letter to the President of the Board describing the type of discrimination, harassment, vilification or victimisation that has occurred, and why the person thinks it was unlawful.
If the person is unable to write a letter because they have a disability or because they are a child, someone else can write it on their behalf, or an officer of the Board can help them. Letters of complaint can be lodged in any language, and the Board will cover the cost of having them translated into English. Complaints can also be lodged in Braille.
If a complaint is clearly not covered by anti- discrimination law or is outside the Board’s 12-month time limit, it may be immediately declined by the President. If it is accepted, the next stage is to investigate the complaint more thoroughly to see if it may involve a breach of anti-discrimination law. All complaints are handled impartially, confidentially and free of charge, and there is no need for a lawyer.
Conciliation
If the complaint appears to involve a breach of anti-discrimination law, the Board then tries to conciliate the complaint. This means we try to help all the parties to the complaint to come to an agreement or settlement that will resolve it. The parties are known as the complainant (the person alleging that they have been discriminated against or harassed) and the respondent (the person allegedly responsible for the discrimination or harassment).
Many complaints are resolved through conciliation, but this can only occur if both parties to the complaint agree on a settlement. The Board has no power to impose a settlement if the parties do not agree.
Settlements may involve the following:
- the complainant accepting the respondent’s explanation of why the events occurred;
- an apology from the respondent to the complainant;
- reinstatement of the complainant, if they have been moved to another position, suspended or dismissed;
- the complainant being provided with training, a transfer or altered working conditions;
- training for staff in the respondent organisation about discrimination and harassment, and/or the development of or improvements to Equal Employment Opportunity policies;
- the complainant being provided with facilities, services or accommodation that they were denied;
- the respondent paying compensation to the complainant;
- the respondent giving the complainant some other form of compensation, such as a donation to charity.
In some cases, the complainant may abandon their complaint or decide to withdraw it.The Administrative Decisions Tribunal
If a complaint cannot be conciliated, the President may decide to decline the complaint or refer the complaint to the Equal Opportunity Division of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal. The Tribunal provides a legal judgement that must be followed.
Successsful conciliation - Sexual harassment
The complainant worked as a bar attendant for the respondent, and alleged that a number of club patrons continually made unwelcome comments to her about the size of her breasts. She said that when she complained to a director of the club about the conduct, he made similar comments.
The complaint was settled following a conciliation conference when the respondent agreed to provide the complainant with a statement of regret, to review its policies on discrimination and harassment, to train all staff on the issue and to provide the complainant with a payment of $5,000.
STATUTORY BOARD 2006-07
Stepan Kerkysharian AM
Stepan became President of the Anti-Discrimination Board in September 2003, and continues as CEO and Chair of the Community Relations Commission For a Multicultural NSW. He became a Member of the Order of Australia in 1992, and received the Olympic Order in 2000. In June 2007 he was conferred with the degree of Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) by the University of Sydney.
Phillipa McDermott
Phillipa works for the Employment Solutions Branch with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. Her main interests are Indigenous media and arts and Indigenous and human rights, and she has represented Indigenous media interests at the United Nations. She is on the Board of the Gadigal Information Service, the Lloyd McDermott Rugby Development Team and the Tullagulla Aboriginal Cultural Centre.
Suzanne Jamieson
Suzanne is a Senior Lecturer in work and organisational studies at the University of Sydney. She has completed a doctorate in women and occupational health and safety, and has done extensive research in gender and discrimination issues in the workplace.
Cameron Murphy
Cameron is a full-time member of the Consumer Trader and Tenancy Tribunal and President of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties. He has been extensively involved in working to eliminate discrimination, particularly in the areas of gender discrimination, HIV/AIDS and ethnicity.
Peter Wertheim AM
Peter is a solicitor. He is also Honorary Solicitor and Board Member of the Australian International Fund for Disadvantaged Children in Vietnam; the Honorary Secretary of the Joint Jewish Communal Appeal; the President and Chair of the Joint Committee for Jewish Higher Education and a Member of the Board of Management of the Great Synagogue, Sydney.
Successsful conciliation - Carers’ responsibilities discrimination
A woman worked as an assistant manager of one of a company’s retail outlets. She asked for part-time work when she returned from maternity leave to enable her to care for her baby. The employer refused on the basis that the role at the outlet where she worked could not function on a part-time basis.
The complaint was resolved at conciliation when the employer offered the woman a job-share position as a manager at one of its other outlets, which represented a promotion for the woman. She has since started work in the position and reports being very happy
with the outcome.ETHNIC AFFAIRS PRIORITY STATEMENT REPORT
Planning and evaluation
The Board is committed to inclusive processes such as:
- Providing an accessible, reliable and accurate enquiry service, including the use of interpreters.
- Providing quality service delivery, including the production of publications in plain English.
- Program and service delivery
- Clients can submit complaints in their own language and we have this translated into English.
- Training sessions were delivered to over 500 participants from a range of culturally and linguistically diverse groups.
- The Education Branch consulted with and delivered workshops to members of African communities in Sydney.
Staffing
- 21% of staff at the Board identify English as their second language.
Communication
- The Board provides an extensive enquiries and conciliation service and frequently uses interpreters and translators to improve access for its clients.
- The Enquiries and Conciliation Branch uses standard letters written in plain English when writing to the parties to a complaint.
- The Board’s complaint form is currently being revised and will include a new attachment with a message in around 24 languages explaining that people can make a complaint in their own language. The attachment can also be handed out separately when the Board runs stalls at community events.
- The reverse of the Board’s letterhead features an explanatory message in 21 languages and the number for the Telephone Interpreter Service. The languages used were revised in 2006-07 in line with current census data on people who speak little or no English.
- The Board’s website features discrimination factsheets in 24 languages. We also have specific factsheets on race discrimination and vilification, and an easy to read factsheet using pictures to communicate the message.
- The Board continues to publish a community poster Say no to discrimination featuring 12 languages, which has achieved excellent sales over the last two years.
ANTI-DISCRIMINATION ACT 30TH ANNIVERSARY
2007 marks the 30th anniversary of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act, which came into force in 1977. The Board will mark this milestone in a range of ways, with much of the groundwork done in 2006-07 and a number of events occurring in the latter half of 2007.
The original act made discrimination on the grounds of sex, race and marital status unlawful in the areas of employment, goods and services and accommodation.
Amendments over the years added further grounds and areas including physical disability in 1981, homosexual discrimination in 1982, racial vilification in 1989, compulsory retirement in 1991, age and HIV/AIDS discrimination in 1994, transgender discrimination in 1996, sexual harassment in 1997, and carers’ responsibilities discrimination in 2001 (see pages 4-5 for more information on current discrimination law).
In 2006-07 the Project Officer for the anniversary developed a dedicated website and planned activities including:
- the issue of three postcards through the Avant Card distribution network (one pictured left);
- a photography competition and subsequent travelling exhibition celebrating equal rights;
- a commemorative issue of the Board’s newsletter Equal Time published in September 2007;
- three events in Ocober 2007: a community event in Martin Place; a forum discussion at Sydney University; and a commemoration at Parliament House.
STRUCTURE OF THE BOARD
President |
Enquiries and conciliationEducation ServicesIndigenous TeamNewcastle
OfficeWollongong OfficeLiaison and SupportLegal Officer |
ManagerManagerTeam Leader/
Conciliation OfficerManagerManagerManager |
| Conciliation Officers (4)Senior Workplace Relations Consultants (2.6)Education OfficerConciliation Officers (1.5)Senior Workplace Relations Consultant (.7)IT Support Officer |
Assistant Conciliation Officers (3)Senior Workplace Relations Consultant (Newcastle) (.8)Enquiry/
Complaints Liaison OfficerAssistant Conciliation Officer (.6)Conciliation Officers (2)Coordinator Office Services |
Enquiries and Liaison Officers (3)Education Officer (.5)Enquiry/
Administration OfficerEnquiry/
Administration Officer |
| Administrative Assistants (2)Publications Officer |
| Administrative Assistant |
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
2007 marks the 30th anniversary of the Anti-Discrimination Act, which came into force on June 1 1977. The Act pioneered anti-discrimination legislation in Australia, and remains a powerful tool for addressing discrimination, harassment and vilification in NSW.
The Anti-Discrimination Board is the organisation established by the Act to educate the community about their rights and responsibilities under anti-discrimination law, handle complaints of discrimination, and where appropriate, advise the government on discrimination matters. The Board has continued to do this effectively in 2006-07.
The Board’s education service has maintained its excellent work, with a variety of services and events targeted at a very wide range of sectors in the community.
Our self-funding training service for employers and service providers continues successfully due to the excellent reputation of our training staff for providing interactive sessions tailored to the needs of specific employers. Along with our regular seminars and in-house training services, we also provided an information session on the relationship between discrimination law and the federal government’s Work Choices legislation to ensure that employers understood their continuing obligations under anti-discrimination law in NSW.
Our community education service continued to work with groups that have been identified as being particularly vulnerable to discrimination. As well as our usual networking, community training and displays, this year we ran further training for members of the African community, provided education for people with brain injury, and ran a highly successful art competition which culminated in an award ceremony at Parliament House in April. It was very heartening to see the spirit of community harmony that the children demonstrated in their entries, and the creative ways they expressed their vision.
Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team provide an important and accessible service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, in answering enquiries, providing strategies for addressing discrimination, handling complaints and educating their community.
The team has been particularly effective in partnering with other agencies to provide clear and comprehensive information covering a range of jurisdictions. As accommodation continues to be a major area of discrimination for Aboriginal people, the residential tenancy seminars the team conducted for real estate agents with the Office of Fair Trading are of particular significance.
The formal complaints we received were of a similar number and breakdown to last year, apart from a rise in complaints of race discrimination. This may reflect an increase in race discrimination, and/or an increase in willingness to report discrimination, which in turn may reflect our efforts to educate vulnerable communities about their rights. The Board will continue to monitor developments in this area.
Complaint handling staff have continued to achieve excellent results in finalising complaints, with no backlog and this year’s files finalised within an average of 5.5 months. There was another significant increase in the number of complaints resolved at or after a conciliation conference, which we believe may result from the improved time taken to deal with complaints – the parties are more responsive to resolution when the issues are still immediate, and there is a better opportunity to make changes.
The Board has achieved a great deal in since 1977, and there is far greater awareness about discrimination and harassment than there was 30 years ago. However, the Board’s enquiry staff still hear stories daily which make it clear that not everyone in NSW respects the right of all people to live free of discrimination. I therefore look forward to achieving still more in the future.
My thanks to all Board staff for their professionalism and commitment, including the invaluable support staff who facilitate our work. Thanks also to the Statutory Board members for their usual wise guidance throughout the year.
Stepan Kerkyasharian AM
PresidentREVIEW OF OPERATIONS
Enquiry and conciliation service
Objectives
- Inform potential complainants and respondents about their rights and responsibilities under anti-discrimination law.
- Resolve complaints of discrimination, vilification and harassment.
- Improve complaint-handling processes to increase efficiency and timeliness.
Outcomes
- Responded to 7,194 enquiries.
- Dealt with all enquiries immediately or within 24 hours.
- Dealt with 85% of enquiries in 14 minutes or less.
- Received 1,098 new complaints (0.8% increase from 2005-06).
- Finalised 1,113 complaints (3.4% increase from 2005-06).
- Exceeded the time target for finalising complaints in 4 out of 6 target categories.
Future directions
- Continue to provide an accurate and efficient information service, and an effective complaint handling service.
- In conjunction with other branches of the Board, increase awareness about the right to make complaints under the Anti-Discrimination Act.
- Further increase the number of complaints resolved within timeframe targets.
- Further implement and refine procedural changes to increase efficiency.
Education service
Objectives
- Educate employers, employees and service providers about their rights and responsibilities under anti-discrimination law.
- Educate the community of NSW about their rights under anti-discrimination law.
- Provide information to increase awareness of the law and the Board’s role.
- Develop networks with community and employer groups.
Outcomes
- Delivered 505 on-site training sessions for employers and service providers and ran 18 employer seminars in three programs, reaching a total of 7,624 participants and earning $608,258.
- Ran an art competition for public primary and secondary schools.
- Networked with other services and government agencies and gave presentations to target groups such as Muslim and Arabic, Liberian, Ethiopian, and Vietnamese community groups, students and people with brain injury.
- Participated in community festivals and expos such as the Anuak Community Awareness Festival, Auburn Jobs Expo and International Day for People with Disabilities.
- Continued project to revise and update publications, and published new, re-designed editions of guidelines for hoteliers (on CD-Rom), advertisers guidelines and a number of factsheets.
- Re-designed Board stationery including new notepads for seminar participants, and produced promotional materials including fridge magnets, pens, rulers and balloons.
- Continued publication of email newsletter Equal Time (three issues), production of seminar calendars and annual report, sale of publications and updating of website.
Future directions
- Continue to provide in-house training sessions and seminar programs for employers and service providers;
- Develop new markets for Board products and services, and new and improved training packages.
- Identify community groups at particular risk of discrimination and develop appropriate education campaigns.
- Continue to run community training, participate in community events and develop community networks.
- Continue to update and review publications and website, and identify potential for new products and publications.
- Continue to develop contacts with employer and industry networks.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service
Objectives
Provide a culturally appropriate enquiry and complaint handling service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Educate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people about their rights and responsibilities under anti-discrimination law.
Provide advice on the impact of government policy and legislation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Outcomes
- 59 complaints lodged by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
- Ran information stalls at 14 events in Sydney and rural NSW.
- Presented in-house information sessions to 6 organisations.
- Participated in 9 education forums for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community workers and other community members, run jointly with other government and non-government agencies.
- Participated in 12 education sessions for real estate agents and landlords, working in partnership with the NSW Office of Fair Trading.
- Liaised with government and community organisations through interagency meetings in the Sydney metropolitan area.
Future Directions
- Continue to advise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities about their rights and responsibilities under anti-discrimination law.
- Monitor issues with the assistance of the Board’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee.
- Continue to work in partnership with other government and non-government agencies.
- Continue to develop contacts and networks in Sydney and rural NSW.
- Continue to monitor policy issues.
Newcastle office
Objectives
- Inform potential complainants and respondents in the region about their rights and responsibilities under anti-discrimination law.
- Resolve complaints of discrimination, vilification and harassment lodged at the Newcastle office.
- Educate employers, employees and service providers about their rights and responsibilities under anti-discrimination law.
Outcomes
- Improved monitoring of enquiries statistics.
- Received 188 new complaints (3.8% increase from 2005-06).
- Finalised 179 complaints (6.5% increase from 2005-06).
- Increased number of complaints settled (54 compared with 45 in 2005-06).
- Met time targets for finalising complaints in the 2, 3, 12 and 18 month target categories.
- Increased number of conciliation conferences held in regional areas.
- Provided 60 on-site training sessions to 23 organisations, reaching 781 participants.
- Held two Hunter EEO Network meetings attracting participants from a wide range of industries.
Future directions
- Identify and adopt initiatives provided by new technology.
- Continue to develop networks with local agencies to ensure quality referral service.
- Continue to monitor and improve complaint handling processes.
- Explore options for running a seminar program in Northern NSW.
- Develop a network for people who have completed the Board’s Contact Officer training.
Wollongong office
Objectives
- Inform potential complainants and respondents in the region about their rights and responsibilities under anti-discrimination law.
- Resolve complaints of discrimination, vilification and harassment lodged at the Wollongong office.
- Educate employers, employees and service providers about their rights and responsibilities under anti-discrimination law.
Outcomes
- Handled all enquiries immediately or within 24 hours.
- Received 206 new complaints (10.1% increase from 2005-06).
- Finalised 175 complaints (6.4% decrease from 2005-06).
- Finalised 86% of complaints within six months and 97% within twelve months.
- Implemented changes to facilitate faster complaint handling processes, including increased delegations.
- Provided on-site training sessions for 10 employers, reaching 350 participants.
- Reviewed EEO policies and procedures for 11 organisations.
- Held EEO Network meeting attracting 30 participants.
Future directions
- Continue to provide an accurate and efficient information service.
- Maintain current levels of complaints throughput.
- Continue to monitor factors that may create barriers to lodging complaints.
- Prioritise responding to employer requests for on-site training.
- Continue to explore potential for regional seminar program.
- Seek new markets for education service.
Legal Officer
Objectives
- Ensure that the Anti-Discrimination Act is correctly understood by all stakeholders.
- Provide legal advice to the President, Statutory Board, Board staff and the Crown Solicitor’s Office.
- Deal with other legal matters including applications for exemption from the Anti-Discrimination Act, Alcohol Free Zones, Freedom of Information applications and subpoenas.
Outcomes
- Advised President on issues arising during the year.
- Advised Enquiries and Conciliation Branch in relation to enquiries and complaints.
- Advised Education Services Branch on review and update of publications and website.
- Prepared summaries of discrimination cases for Board staff.
- Answered queries and advised the Statutory Board on exemptions from the ADA.
Future directions
- Continue to provide legal advice and support.
- Continue to process exemptions.
Liaison and support
Objective
Enable the Board’s core business of complaint handling and education to operate with maximum efficiency.
Outcomes
- Continued to provide support service including finance, human resources, information technology, asset management and administration.
- Continued to liaise with business centres in Attorney General’s Department to coordinate support services.
- Maintained separate server for business-specific software that is not compatible with departmental computer network.
- Further enhanced information management system for local support service functions.
Future Directions
- Continue to review internal procedures.
- Continue to liaise with Attorney General’s Department regarding corporate services reform and implement appropriate changes.
- Continue to refine in-house database.
Successsful conciliation - Race and sex discrimination
A woman who began work with a company in the finance industry made a complaint of race and sex discrimination after she was abused for coming from a particular area and subjected to other critical banter at the office Christmas Party. She also said that the work environment was hostile and demeaning to women.
After complaining to the employer, she was dismissed without being given a reason. The complaint was settled when the company gave her a statement of regret and paid her financial compensation.
Successsful conciliation - Disability discrimination
The complainant was a young man with an intellectual disability who was ejected from a store by a security guard. He said he was told he had been harassing the staff and there had been complaints about him. A relative who wrote the complaint said that when she contacted the store she received conflicting accounts of the incident which were not very convincing.
The store’s management said that the man had been asked to leave because he was swearing at a security guard. They said the store had an EEO and harassment policy and did not tolerate discrimination towards customers.
The complaint was resolved when the store apologised to the complainant and said he was welcome in the store. They agreed to send the staff involved in the complaint to training about discrimination.ENQUIRY SERVICE
The Board’s Enquiries and Conciliation Branch provides three specialised advisory services – one for general calls, one to advise employers and one to advise service providers. We receive enquiries from a wide range of people including individual members of the public, employers, service providers, managers, employees, advocates, community workers, public servants and trade unions.
In dealing with enquiries, the Board’s Enquiry and Liaison Officers do the following:
- determine if the caller’s situation is covered by the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) (ADA);
- give advice about how to deal with discriminatory situations;
- provide information about where further assistance can be obtained, including referrals to other agencies in situations where the caller’s problem is not covered by the ADA;
- provide assistance in following obligations under anti-discrimination law;
- provide general information about what is covered by anti-discrimination law;
- take and transfer requests for publications and other Board services as required.
Many complaints about discrimination are resolved at the initial enquiry stage, as the Enquiry and Liaison Officers inform callers about their legal rights and give them suggestions and strategies on how to resolve their situation. In many instances this means that a formal complaint is not lodged, which reduces the number of complaints the Board receives.
During 2006-07 we answered 7,194 enquiries, which is an average of approximately 28 calls per day. This is 23% less than 2005-06, which is likely to reflect the increasing importance and use of our website as a source of basic information about discrimination.
As in the past, women continued to use our general enquiry service more than men – 3,452 calls from women (47.9%) and 2,553 from men (35.4%). Individuals contacting us on behalf of another person or organisation, employers, students and teachers made up the remainder of the calls.
The majority of enquiries (6,970 or 96.9%) were made by phone; the remainder were made by letter, TTY, email or a visit to one of our offices. The majority of calls (4,384 or 60.9%) took between 5 and 14minutes, but some enquiries were very complex and took between 30-59 minutes to deal with (143 calls or 1.9%).
The majority of callers (5,685 or 79.02%) wanted to discuss a situation where discrimination was occurring, of which 1,071 (14.88%) were advised to lodge a formal complaint of discrimination.
Employers, personnel officers, human resources managers, service providers and legal advisers all used our Employers and Service Providers Advisory Service. This service provides specialised advice and assistance to employers and service providers on anti-discrimination issues.
The number of people using the Employers and Service Providers Advisory Service in 2006-2007 was 600 (8.34% of total calls). Awareness about this service in part follows from our successful training programs: when organisations we have trained need help they turn to our advisory line.
Similar to previous years, the most common types of discrimination people enquired about in 2006-2007 were sex discrimination (1,404 enquiries or 19.51%), disability discrimination (1,190 enquiries or 16.54%) and race discrimination, including racial vilification (1,054 enquiries or 14.65%).
Of the sex discrimination enquiries, 627 (8.71% of total enquiries) were about sex discrimination, 448 (6.22%) were about sexual harassment and the remainder were about pregnancy-related discrimination.
The majority of enquiries continued to be employment-related – 4,102 enquiries (57%). The second largest area of discrimination callers enquired about was the provision of goods and services (1,138 callers or 15.81%).
Problems that were not covered under anti-discrimination law accounted for 2.903 (40.35%) of calls, with a quarter of these relating specifically to employment. We generally refer these enquiries to trade unions or to the NSW Office of Industrial Relations, or we give advice about how to resolve the problem within the workplace.Enquiries by ground 2006-07
| Ground | No | % |
Sex - including pregnancy
and sexual harassment | 1,404 | 19.5 |
| Disability | 1,190 | 16.5 |
| Race | 940 | 13.1 |
| Age | 393 | 5.5 |
| Carers’ responsibilities | 354 | 4.9 |
| Homosexuality | 160 | 2.2 |
| Racial vilification | 114 | 1.6 |
| Victimisation | 84 | 1.2 |
| Marital status | 83 | 1.2 |
| Transgender | 45 | <1 |
| Homosexual vilification | 26 | <1 |
| HIV/AIDS | 24 | <1 |
| HIV/AIDS vilification | 19 | <1 |
| Compulsory retirement | 12 | <1 |
| Transgender vilification | 6 | <1 |
| All grounds | 345 | 4.8 |
Not covered by ADA -
work not harassment | 356 | 4.9 |
| Not covered by ADA - other problems | 2,547 | 35.4 |
| Total | 8,102* | 100 |
* The total number of enquiries by ground is greater than the total enquiries received because some enquiries covered multiple grounds.
Enquiries by area 2006-07
| Area | No | % |
| Employment | 4,102 | 57.0 |
| Goods and services | 1,138 | 15.81 |
| Accommodation | 281 | 3.9 |
| Education | 219 | 3.0 |
| Registered clubs | 116 | 1.6 |
| Vilification | 113 | 1.6 |
| All areas | 134 | 1.9 |
| Other | 1,326 | 18.4 |
| Total | 7,429* | 100 |
* The total number of enquiries by area is greater than the total enquiries received because some enquiries covered multiple areas.
Successsful conciliation - Carers’ responsibilities discrimination
The complainant requested five weeks of accrued annual leave to enable him to care for his preschool-aged daughter whilst his partner was overseas. The request was refused by his employer on the basis of operational requirements. After the Board wrote to the employer, they reconsidered the complainant’s request and granted him approval to take leave.CONCILIATION SERVICE
The conciliation service is provided by the Board’s Enquiries and Conciliation Branch, and operates from the Board’s three offices in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.
The Board provides a confidential, neutral and free service to the community. We investigate complaints of alleged breaches of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977(NSW) and where appropriate we conduct a conciliation conference to assist the parties to come to a mutually acceptable resolution (see pages 4-5 for more information about the complaint process).
In 2006-07 the branch has again been waiting for implementation of a new database for recording complaints, but this has still not been finalised. The database is designed to be both a file registration system and a case management tool.
The case management functions will increase efficiency, for example by linking the database to standard documents and letters, giving workload management reports to staff and managers and allowing greater monitoring of trends.
Complaints received
This year the Board received 1,098 formal complaints of discrimination, with a profile similar to previous years. As the table shows, the most common complaints are still on the grounds of sex, disability and race.
On a percentage basis, the proportion of complaints under each ground is very consistent with previous years. Sex discrimination complaints (including sexual harassment) numbered 240 (22%) in 2006-07 compared with 251 (23%) in 2005-06. Disability discrimination complaints fell slightly to 213 (19.4%) compared with 229 (21.%) in 2005-06.
Race discrimination complaints rose to 225 (20.5%) in 2006-07, compared with 181 (16.6%) in 2005-06. Racial vilification complaints fell from 39, or 3.6% complaints in 2005-06 to 25 or 2.2% in 2006-07.
It is noted that the number of race discrimination complaints rose by 44 this year, a significant increase of 24.3%. It is not possible to ascertain whether the increase indicates a greater prevalence of racist behaviour, or that complainants are showing a greater willingness to report discrimination. The Board will monitor complaints in the coming year to see if there are any trends developing.
Also consistent with previous years, employment-related complaints continue to be the single largest area of complaint at 633 (57.7%), compared to 641 (58.9%) in 2005-06. It is noteworthy that complaints relating to the work environment or harassment increased significantly from 349 (54.4%) in 2006-07 to 408 (64.5%) in 2006-07.
Complaints relating to the provision of goods and services (284 or 25.9%) also increased in 2006-07 relative to last year’s total of 250 (23%).
A larger proportion of complainants this year did not identify their ethnicity or national origin: 925 (84.2%). Of those that did, the largest group identified as Aboriginal (59 or 5.4%). The second largest group identified Lebanon as the country of origin (16 or 1.5%) followed by Vietnam (12 or 1.1%) and India (11 or 1%).
Complaints received by ground and area 2006-07
 | Emp | Goods +servs | Acc | Educ | Clubs | Qual bodies | Racial vil | Homo vil | HIV vil | Trans vil | Other | Total | % |
| Sex | 197 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 240 | 21.8 |
| Race | 83 | 107 | 6 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 225 | 20.5 |
| Disability | 100 | 66 | 7 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 213 | 19.4 |
| Victimisation | 115 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 135 | 12.2 |
| Age | 26 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 4.0 |
| Carers’ responsibilities | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 2.6 |
| Homosexuality | 19 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 28 | 2.5 |
| Racial vilification | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 2.7 |
| Aiding unlawful act | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1.8 |
| Transgender | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 1.7 |
| Marital status | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1.1 |
| Homosexual vilification | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1.0 |
| HIV/AIDS vilification | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Transgender vilification | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Advertisement | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 21 | 1.9 |
| Unknown | 26 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 75 | 6.8 |
| Total | 633 | 284 | 27 | 37 | 25 | 5 | 25 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 1098 | 100 |
Type of employer 2006-07
| No | % |
| Private enterprise | 321 | 50.7 |
| Individual male | 104 | 16.4 |
| State govt department | 54 | 8.5 |
| State statutory body | 49 | 7.7 |
| Hospital | 26 | 4.1 |
| Local government | 15 | 2.4 |
| Education (public) | 14 | 2.2 |
| Individual female | 13 | 2.1 |
| Education (private) | 11 | 1.7 |
| Registered clubs | 8 | 1.3 |
| Non-profit association | 5 | <1 |
| Cwlth statutory authority | 4 | <1 |
| Not known | 2 | <1 |
| Other | 2 | <1 |
| Trade union | 2 | <1 |
| Commonwealth dept | 1 | <1 |
| Media organisation | 1 | <1 |
| Govt business enterprise | 1 | <1 |
| Total | 633 | 100 |
Types of employment complaints 2006-07
| No | % |
Work environment
and harassment | 408 | 64.5 |
| Dismissal | 96 | 15.2 |
| Recruitment/selection | 54 | 8.5 |
| Classification/benefits | 40 | 6.3 |
| Resignation | 9 | 1.4 |
| Retrenchment/redundancy | 7 | 1.1 |
| Demotion | 7 | 1.1 |
| Promotion | 5 | <1 |
| Transfer | 4 | <1 |
| Retirement | 3 | <1 |
| Total | 633 | 100 |
Complaint processing
The Board continues to provide an efficient complaint handling process. There is no backlog of complaints and the Board allocates every complaint to a complaint handler as soon as it is received.
The staff have continued to achieve excellent results in meeting the target timeframes in nearly all of the key milestones. We finalised 90% of files within 12 months of receipt, again exceeding the target of 85%. The average time taken to finalise this year’s files was 5.5 months. Following are the targets and their rate of achievement:
| Complaint to be finalised within | Target | Actual |
| 2 months | 20% | 26% |
| 3 months | 30% | 39% |
| 12 months | 80% | 66% |
| 18 months | 85% | 90% |
| 2 months | 97% | 97% |
As always, the Board is committed to providing an accessible service to rural and remote areas. This year we conducted 12 conciliation conferences in regional or country NSW.
Outcomes
The Board finalised 1,113 written complaints of discrimination this year. This means that we closed more files than we received, which is possible because some complaints are carried over from the previous year. This continues the trend that has occurred in recent years.
There was again a significant increase in the number of complaints resolved at or after a conciliation conference – 284 (25.5%) in 2006-07 compared with 221 (21%) in 2005-06. A further 115 complaints (10.3%) were settled by negotiation without the need to call a formal conciliation conference, similar to 125 or 11.6% in 2005-06.
The Board believes that the increase in the rate of conciliations is due to the elimination of the backlog and the more efficient handling of complaints, including the improved time taken to deal with complaints. The parties are more responsive to the conciliation process and resolution when the issues are still immediate and within recent memory, and there is a better opportunity to make changes that may deal with the complaint.
Referrals to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal for matters that were not conciliable increased to 143 (12.8%) in 2006-07 compared to 115 or 10.7% in 2005-06.
The number of complaints declined under s92 of the Anti-Discrimination Act (for reasons such as lacking in substance, being misconceived or not being a contravention of the ADA) was also at similar levels – 57 (5.1%) in 2006-07 compared with 51 or 4.7% in 2005-06.
There were an additional 34 (3.1%) declined complaints in which the complainants exercised their right to ask the President to refer the complaint to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal. Under the amendments to the Act which came into force in May 2005, these complainants are now required to seek leave of the Tribunal before their matter can be heard. The number of declined/referred complaints in 2006-07 was similar to the 30 (2.8%) in 2005-06.
Complainants withdraw complaints for a number of reasons, including lack of evidence to support the complaint, inability to provide information requested by the Board, or lack of confidence that the respondent will provide a satisfactory response.
Section 92B of the ADA requires a complainant wishing to withdraw their complaint to do so in writing to the President. The number of complaints formally withdrawn in 2006-07 was 130 (11.7%), which was slightly less than last year.
Complaints can be regarded as abandoned when we lose contact with a complainant, the complainant fails to respond to requests for information, or there is no indication of the complainant’s intention to proceed with the complaint. The number of complaints abandoned in 2006-07 was 168 (15.1%), compared to 151 (14%) in 2005-06. However, the abandonment process allows the complainant 12 months to request the file to be reopened in certain circumstances.
Outcome of finalised complaints 2006-07
| No | % |
| Settled at or after conciliation | 284 | 25.5 |
| Settled before conciliation | 115 | 10.4 |
| Referred to ADT – conciliation unsuccessful or not suitable | 143 | 12.9 |
| Referred to ADT - material not provided | 1 | <1 |
| Referred to ADT after 18 months | 1 | <1 |
| Declined before investigation – not a contravention | 162 | 14.6 |
| Declined before investigation – not of vilified group | 1 | <1 |
| Declined before investigation – out of time | 16 | 1.4 |
| Declined before investigation – not on behalf of complainant | 1 | <1 |
| Declined after investigation – s92 | 57 | 5.1 |
| Declined after investigation and referred to ADT | 34 | 3.1 |
| Withdrawn s92B | 130 | 11.7 |
| Abandoned | 168 | 15.1 |
| Total | 1113 | 100 |
Successful conciliation - Age discrimination
An 18-year-old woman applied for a position a |
