METHODS

6.1 In consultation with the LRC and the ADB, the researchers developed a questionnaire (C3 - see Appendix D) to be sent to Complainants in the relatively small number of cases which were finalised at the Equal Opportunity Tribunal (EOT) between July 1994 and June 1995. This questionnaire was based on the ADB Complainants' questionnaire discussed in Chapter 3 of this Report, but included a number of modifications and additions to take account of issues that may have arisen in relation to the EOT.

6.2 The EOT prepared a list of parties to cases that had been finalised in the year to 30 June 1995. The ADB agreed to search its own records for the last contact address which it held for each relevant party, and the President of the Board agreed to write to all these Complainants and Respondents seeking their co-operation.

RESPONSES

6.3 In total, 60 questionnaires were sent to Complainants with experience of the EOT and responses were received from 27 of these (representing a response rate of 45%). Four of these 27 Complainants stated that English was not their first language; one was of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background. Twelve of the Complainants were male and 15 were female.

TYPE OF COMPLAINT

6.4 As with the complaints finalised at the ADB and discussed in Chapter 3 of this Report, the largest numbers of these complaints had been about discrimination relating to sex, race, age and disability. In 23 instances there had been a complaint about an employment situation.

THESE COMPLAINANTS' EXPERIENCE AND OPINIONS OF THE ADB

6.5 The Complainants who had gone to the EOT ("the EOT Complainants") were asked most of the questions about the ADB which had been put to the larger group of Complainants discussed in Chapter 3. The following paragraphs discuss their responses to these ADB questions.

General statements about the ADB

6.6 When the EOT Complainants were asked a series of questions about the ADB:

• 70% agreed that their complaint had been handled fairly by the ADB;
• 63% denied that the ADB was biased against them (though 30% agreed);
• 81% said that ADB staff had been generally courteous and helpful;
• 67% thought that ADB staff had clearly understood their complaint;
• 59% said they had been kept clearly informed about what was happening;
• 67% believed that the ADB had given their complaint enough time and attention;
• 56% thought that it had taken the ADB too long to deal with the matter; and
• 30% had found the ADB's procedures quite difficult to follow.

6.7 Comparing these 27 EOT Complainants with the three groupings of ADB Complainants whose responses are summarised in Table 5.1:

• A relatively high percentage of the EOT Complainants (70% as compared with 53% of all ADB Complainants) agreed that the matter was handled fairly by the Board - but it was also the case that a relatively high percentage (30% as compared with 16% of all ADB complainants) agreed that the Board was biased against them.

• Compared with ADB Complainants, a relatively high percentage of EOT Complainants agreed they had found the ADB's procedures quite difficult to follow. A relatively high percentage agreed, also, that the Board had given enough time and attention to their complaint.

Conciliation conferences

6.8 Seventeen of these 27 Complainants had taken part in an ADB conciliation conference; four had had a lawyer present. Fourteen (82%) said that the Board had clearly explained to them the purpose of the conference.

6.9 Fourteen of the EOT Complainants (82%) agreed that they had had a reasonable chance at the conference to say what they wanted to say. Thirteen (76%) said they had clearly understood what was happening during the conference. Only seven (41%), however, agreed that the conference "helped to clarify the issues between me and the other side". Six people (35%) agreed that after the conference they had had a better understanding of how anti-discrimination laws related to their situation. Only one of these Complainants had felt pressured by the conciliator to agree to a settlement.

Other issues relating to the ADB

6.10 Of these 27 Complainants, 11 said that they were dissatisfied with the outcome of their complaint at the ADB. The reasons for this included:

• simply reaching no agreement;
• being referred to the EOT;
• having been "forced by my employer" to withdraw;
• feeling that the Board regarded the Complainant as "a time waster";
• believing there had been a lack of support - "no guidance or encouragement"; and/or
• "my out of pocket expenses and wage loss were twenty times the amount awarded".

6.11 When asked whether they would in future recommend the ADB to a friend or relative who had a discrimination or vilification problem, 17 of these Complainants (63%) said they would; five (19%) said they would not; and four (15%) were not sure. These responses were similar to those of the ADB Complainants reported at paragraph 3.44.

EXPERIENCE AND OPINIONS RELATING TO THE EOT

6.12 The Complainants were next asked a series of questions about their experience at the EOT.

Legal representation

6.13 Fifteen of these 27 Complainants (56%) said that they had been represented by a lawyer in proceedings at the EOT (another had been accompanied by a union representative). Those who were not represented by a lawyer were asked whether it would have been better to have a lawyer; the responses to this question were mixed, with most people saying no or saying that the extra cost would not have been justified.

How the complaint was finalised

6.14 The EOT Complainants were asked how the complaint had been finalised; their replies are summarised in Table 6.1. The table shows that six of these Complainants reported that the case was decided after an EOT hearing, and one that the complaint was dismissed without a full hearing. Eight said that a settlement was reached between the parties, and four that the Complainant withdrew the matter. Five described other outcomes, including the case being resolved as the result of a change in the law or a precedent set in another EOT decision.

Table 6.1: Outcome of EOT cases as perceived by EOT Complainants

[Link to text only version of table]

6.15 When asked to characterise the final outcome in terms of success or otherwise, twelve Complainants (44%) described themselves as the successful party, while two (7%) described the other party as successful. Four (15%) said that there had been a compromise between the parties. Five people said there had been no clear outcome and four responded in various other ways.

Views about aspects of the EOT process

6.16 These Complainants were asked to say how strongly they agreed or disagreed with a series of propositions about the EOT and its processes. Their replies are summarised in Table 6.2.

• Overall, 59% agreed with the proposition that it had been worthwhile from their point of view for the complaint to go to the EOT.

• Over half the Complainants said that the EOT had kept them well informed about what was happening (63% agreed with a statement to this effect), and over half said that the process at the EOT was simple and easy to understand (56% agreed). Almost half, on the other hand, said that it had taken too long for the EOT to deal with the matter.

• Almost half (48%) agreed that the complaint had been fairly handled by the EOT; 18% disagreed, while 33% were not sure or did not respond.

• Almost half (49%) said that the EOT had provided opportunities for the matter to be settled without going to a full hearing.

• Opinion was equally divided on whether "it cost me too much money to go to the Tribunal"; 26% were not sure or did not respond.

• Nearly half of these Complainants agreed that the $40,000 limit on damages at the Tribunal is too low; few disagreed but 44% were not sure or failed to answer.

Table 6.2: Complainants' views of the EOT

	Strongly Agree	Agree	Not Sure/ No Response	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
The process at the Equal Opportunity Tribunal was simple and easy to understand	15%	41%	19%	11%	15%
From the time my complaint went to the Tribunal until it was finalised, the staff of the Tribunal kept me clearly informed about what was happening	11%	52%	22%	7%	7%
It cost me too much money to go to the Tribunal	22%	15%	26%	30%	7%
The Tribunal provided opportunities for this matter to be settled without going to a full hearing	19%	30%	37%	7%	7%
My complaint was handled fairly by the Equal Opportunity Tribunal	37%	11%	33%	7%	11%
The $40,000 limit on damages at the Tribunal is too low	41%	7%	44%	7%	-
It took too long for this matter to be dealt with at the Tribunal	30%	19%	30%	19%	4%
It was worthwhile from my point of view that my complaint went to the Tribunal	52%	7%	19%	15%	7%

[Link to text only version of table]

Satisfaction with the final outcome

6.17 Nine of the Complainants (33%) were very satisfied and a further eight (30%) were fairly satisfied with the final outcome of their complaint (representing a total of 63%). On the other hand two were fairly dissatisfied (7%) and seven (26%) were very dissatisfied (a total of 33%).

6.18 Among the twelve EOT Complainants who saw themselves as the successful party, all expressed satisfaction with the outcome; among the four Complainants who described the outcome as a compromise, three were "fairly satisfied" and one "fairly dissatisfied"; of the two Complainants who described the other party as successful, both were "very dissatisfied".

6.19 Reasons given for the Complainant being dissatisfied with the final outcome included:

• Feeling pressured to settle by inability to pay the legal fees required to pursue the case.
• Feeling unjustly treated by the EOT and /or the ADB.
• Absence of any clear outcome.
• No costs were awarded after the case had taken years to finalise.

OTHER COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS

Suggested changes relating to the Anti-Discrimination Board

6.20 The Complainants were invited to suggest any changes which they would like to see in the way the ADB operates. The suggestions made or issues raised included the following:

• The ADB is under-resourced and its processes are too slow and drawn out.
• The ADB needs more power to deal with uncooperative or recalcitrant Respondents; the Complainant should not be left to do all the work.

Suggested changes relating to the Equal Opportunity Tribunal

6.21 The suggestions made or issues raised in relation to the EOT included:

• Procedures should be simplified ("very legal", said one Complainant) and the EOT should give more assistance to unrepresented parties.
• Costs should be awarded automatically to a successful party.
• The Complainant should have "more anonymity" at the EOT.

Other comments

6.22 The other comments which the EOT Complainants added at the end of the questionnaire were very diverse and reflected widely contrasting experiences of the ADB and the EOT. On the one hand there were highly satisfied Complainants who had received a "very favourable impression", who had found both the ADB and the EOT "excellent", who said that their case had been handled in a "very efficient" way and with the "utmost sensitivity", or that the ADB is "there for the little people". At the other extreme there were those who described the ADB and EOT as "another piece of bureaucratic legalistic window-dressing" or who referred to "a total waste of time - it cost both my wife and myself two years of misery as I felt no-one really listened". One Complainant said that bodies like the ADB simply gave people a false sense of security and should be abolished.

6.23 A number of people described the process of pursuing a complaint as taking far too long, and some spoke of their experience as stressful, costly and gruelling. One said that the process had not been worthwhile for the level of compensation finally received.

SUMMARY

• Replies were received from 27 of the 60 EOT Complainants to whom survey questionnaires were sent - a response rate of 45% (satisfactory given the numbers of Complainants eligible for this survey were small).
• In general these Complainants' assessments of the ADB and its handling of their complaint were not greatly different from those of the larger group of Complainants reported on in Chapter 3.
• These Complainants' comments on their experience of conciliation conferences at the ADB were generally positive. Less than half, however, thought that the conference had helped to clarify the issues between the parties or had given them a clear understanding of how anti-discrimination law related to their case.
• Sixty-three per cent of these Complainants said they would recommend the ADB to a friend or relative who faced a discrimination problem - a response similar to that of the larger group of ADB Complainants reported on in Chapter 3.
• Just over half these Complainants were represented by a lawyer in proceedings at the EOT. Those who had been unrepresented were for the most part satisfied with this arrangement.
• Only six of the 27 Complainants said that their case had gone to a Tribunal hearing. Eight reported reaching a settlement with the other party. Four of the complaints had been withdrawn, and one dismissed without a full hearing.
• Around 60% of these Complainants agreed that it had been worthwhile for their case to go to the EOT. About half agreed that the matter had been handled fairly by the EOT; 18% disagreed while 33% were not sure or failed to answer.
• Some 63% said that the EOT had kept them well-informed about what was happening; 56% said the EOT processes were simple to understand; almost half thought the EOT had taken too long to deal with the matter.
• Twelve of the 27 Complainants described themselves as the successful party, four said that there had been a compromise, and two said that the other party had succeeded.
• In total 63% of the Complainants expressed satisfaction with the final outcome, while 33% were dissatisfied.
• Comments which these Complainants made about the ADB included claims that it is under-resourced and that its processes are too slow, and that the ADB leaves the Complainant to do too much of the work.
• A small number of Complainants said that the EOT's procedures should be simplified or that it should give more help to unrepresented parties.
• General assessments of the Complainants' experience with the ADB and the EOT varied from the extremely negative to the extremely positive.