Introduction
How can I tell if I’ve been victimised?
Examples of victimisation complaints

Introduction

The law in New South Wales can protect you if you have made, intend to make or have helped someone else make a complaint of discrimination, harassment or vilification covered under the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977. This includes people who have agreed to be witnesses in relation to your complaint.

This means that you must not be punished or receive further unfair treatment for:

• complaining about treatment that you believe is covered under the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977, or
• because someone thinks you are about to complain, or
• because you have helped someone with a complaint.

• age
• carer’s responsibilities
• disability
• homosexuality
• marital or domestic status
• race
• sex
• pregnancy
• transgender

• told someone you shouldn't be discriminated against,
• made a complaint about the discrimination to the person or organisation who has treated you unfairly,
• sent a complaint about discrimination to the Board,
• given advice or information about discrimination to someone else, or acted as a witness for someone who has been discriminated against.

• harassed,
• demoted,
• dismissed,
• banned from a store or registered club,
• evicted from your accommodation,
• expelled from school or university

1. Mr Shaikh, a Muslim born in Pakistan, alleged that he was racially harassed by his colleagues at the New South Wales Fire Brigade and given tasks unrelated to his job description. After complaining to management, he was dismissed without notice. The Administrative Decisions Tribunal decided that Mr Shaikh's complaint of race discrimination was not substantiated, but found that his employer had victimised him and ordered it to pay him $40,000.
2. Ms Denmeade worked as an outdoor worker with Kempsey Shire Council. She alleged that her male colleagues treated her unfairly because she was female. Her supervisor decided to call a meeting of all the staff and read out her letter of complaint to everyone assembled ‘to get to the bottom of things.’ The Administrative Decisions Tribunal found that she didn’t have enough evidence to support her original complaint of sex discrimination. However, the Tribunal did find that the act of reading out her complaint to all the other staff was an act of victimisation and awarded her $4,000.