Enquiries about race discrimination have risen alarmingly since the recent events in Sydney’s southern beaches, according to the President of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board, Stepan Kerkyasharian.

“These incidents are not just in the beach area,” Mr Kerkyasharian said. “People who are thought to be of Middle Eastern background are being harassed in the workplace and abused in shops and restaurants.”

Mr Kerkyasharian said that NSW anti-discrimination law provides a very effective mechanism for dealing with this kind of treatment.

“It is unlawful to treat someone differently because of their racial background, and employers and service providers must make sure that people are not harassed or discriminated against on their premises,” he said.

“It is also unlawful to publicly incite racial hatred, contempt or ridicule – this is called racial vilification.”

Generally, the Anti-Discrimination Board can only take action about specific cases of discrimination or vilification if it receives a written complaint. In the case of vilification, the complaint must be from a person or people from the racial group that is being vilified.

“Most complaints that are covered by anti-discrimination law can be resolved quickly and confidentially through our conciliation process,” Mr Kerkyasharian said.

“Solutions may include an apology, financial compensation, gaining access to a service or benefit that you were denied, getting the employer or service in question to run training programs on discrimination, and so on.

“The law also allows for urgent action to be taken in special cases, for example if someone is about to lose their job or accommodation.

“Anti-discrimination law protects everyone in NSW from unfair treatment, no matter what background they come from. I would encourage anyone experiencing race discrimination to contact the Board’s Enquiry Service on (02) 9268 5544, or 1800 670 812 if you are ringing from outside Sydney, or (02) 9268 5522 for our TTY.”