• The Australian Human Rights Commission resolves complaints through a form of alternative dispute resolution known as conciliation.
• The parties are brought together to talk through the issues with the assistance of an impartial conciliator. This is similar to mediation.
• The goal of conciliation is to come up with a resolution that all parties can agree to.

• It is up to the parties to decide what outcomes they agree to.
• The conciliator can provide guidance and identify key issues but he or she is not a judge and does not make a decision for the parties.
• Potential outcomes include:
  • an apology;
  • compensation for lost wages;
  • letting the person resume their old job; and
  • changes to the workplace policies or developing anti-discrimination policies if none are in place.
• You can use our Phone a Lawyer service for a preliminary legal consultation if you think you may need legal advice.

• Yes. You must provide authorisation in writing allowing another person to act on your behalf.
• You should complete an authority form that is available at https://www.humanrights.gov.au/complaints/make-complaint.
• The authority form should be submitted with the complaint form.

• You will need to describe in detail what has happened including:
  • dates and times of key events;
  • names of individuals involved;
  • details about your employment such as:
    • when you commenced employment;
    • your job title;
    • whether you are still employed;
    • what your job involves; and
    • any meeting you have had with human resources or your manager.
• You will need to attach copies of documents that support your complaint. These may include:
  • notes you wrote about what happened;
  • letters and emails between you and the employer or other people;
  • medical reports;
  • doctors certificates; and
  • your contract if applicable.

• If you do not have the above documents you should provide information about how the documents can be obtained.
• You will have to identify how you think your complaint could be resolved. Remember to be reasonable. Think realistically about what outcome you would like and whether it is achievable. Think also about what you would be willing to accept and what you would not be willing to accept.
• If you have any concerns you can use our free and anonymous Ask a Lawyer service to get information specific to your situation.

• You have 12 months after the alleged discrimination occurred to lodge a complaint.
• After this time the Australian Human Rights Commission can decide not to investigate your complaint. This is to encourage prompt action on your behalf.
• The Australian Human Rights Commission can choose to still investigate your complaint despite its late lodgement.
• If you lodge a complaint outside the 12 month timeframe make sure you include reasons for the delay on the form.
• Reasons might include:
  • you were not aware of your rights until now;
  • you were not aware that the alleged discrimination was unlawful until now;
  • you were misinformed about your options until now;
  • you have been overseas for an extended period of time; or
  • you were dealing with other serious issues at the time which inhibited you from going through the complaint process (such as caring for a sick relative).
• There is no guarantee that these reasons will be sufficient to justify your late lodgement of a complaint. The decision is entirely up to the Australian Human Rights Commission.

• No. You must make a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission first.
• You can only take your matter to the Federal Circuit Court or Federal Court of Australia if the Australian Human Rights Commission has terminated your complaint.
• There are several reasons the complaint may be terminated including:
  • that it is unable to be resolved;
  • the complaint does not have enough substance; or
  • the complaint has already been dealt with adequately.
• You will need a copy of the termination notice to complain to the Federal Circuit Court or Federal Court of Australia.

• If the judge finds that there has not been unlawful discrimination they will dismiss the complaint.
• If the judge finds that there has been unlawful discrimination they may make orders against the respondent (the person who has allegedly discriminated against a person).
• The Federal Circuit Court and Federal Court of Australia can make any order that it sees fit including one or more of the following:
  • an order declaring that the respondent (the person responding to the claim) has committed unlawful discrimination and directing the respondent not to repeat or continue such unlawful discrimination;
  • an order requiring a respondent to perform any reasonable act or course of conduct to make up for any loss or damage suffered by an applicant (the person who applied to have their discrimination claim heard in court);
  • an order requiring a respondent to employ or re-employ an applicant;
  • an order requiring a respondent to pay damages to an applicant in the form of compensation for any loss or damage suffered because of the conduct of the respondent;
  • an order requiring a respondent to vary the termination of a contract or agreement to make up for any loss or damage suffered by an applicant; or
  • an order declaring that it would be inappropriate for any further action to be taken in the matter.

• The application fee is $55.00. If you cannot afford to pay that fee you can ask the court for an exemption or deferment of the payment.
• For fee exemption details you can visit http://www.fedcourt.gov.au/forms-and-fees/court-fees/exemptions or ask the court registry for the relevant form.
• The party that loses will generally have to pay the other party’s legal costs as well as their own.

This is the case regardless of whether you got an exemption for the application fee

• It is free to lodge a complaint to the Australia Human Rights Commission.
• You do not need legal representation however you may choose hire a lawyer at your own cost.

• The Australian Human Rights Commission will make a final decision about the complaint.
• It may first request further information from you. You must provide this information.
• If the Australian Human Rights Commission decides the complaint cannot be resolved it will be terminated (ended).
• A termination notice will be provided to both parties.
• The termination notice allows the complainant to apply to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia or the Federal Court of Australia to have the matter heard by the court.
• An application to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia or the Federal Court of Australia must be made within 60 days of the date of termination.
• If the complainant chooses to take the matter to court you will be served (given) a set of court documents informing you of the proceedings.
• Documents and information that you provided to the Australian Human Rights Commission may be given to the court.
• If you are taking a terminated complaint to a higher court our LegalPlan™ membership will allow you to ask lawyers to assist with your application for a Fixed Fee Quote.