Discrimination
You can make a discrimination complaint if:
- you have been treated unfairly in a way that relates to a personal characteristic (e.g. gender, skin colour) covered in section 7 of the Anti-Discrimination Act
and
- the behaviour happened in an area of public life covered by the law.
Not all treatment which seems unfair is against the law.
Additional complaint types
Sexual harassment
Under Queensland law, sexual harassment is unlawful anywhere it happens. You can make a complaint to us if you experienced sexual harassment covered under the Act.
Public hate or abuse (vilification)
You can make a complaint if someone publicly incited hatred, serious contempt, or severe ridicule against you because of your:
- race
- religion
- sexuality
- gender identity
- sex characteristics.
Learn more about vilification and exceptions.
Reprisal for whistleblowing
Public officers may be able to make a complaint if someone treats you badly because they:
- believe you reported, or plan to report, a serious wrongdoing in the public sector (whistleblowing)
or
- believe you are involved in or plan to be involved in relevant proceedings.
This is known as reprisal for public interest disclosure and falls under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010. It is also a criminal offence.
Complaints of reprisal for ‘whistleblowing’ under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010 are covered by the Anti-Discrimination Act.
You can either:
- submit your complaint to us
or
- report it to the police and/or seek damages for the reprisal in court.
Members of the public may be able to make a complaint of reprisal for whistleblowing under very limited circumstances. Contact us for more information.
If we agree to deal with your complaint, you cannot also seek damages for reprisal through the courts. If you have already started court proceedings, you cannot also make a complaint to us.
Victimisation
Victimisation is when someone treats you badly or threatens to do so because:
- you refused to breach the Anti-Discrimination Act
- you complained to anyone about anything unlawful that’s covered by the Anti-Discrimination Act, or because you intend to complain
- you helped with a complaint
- they believe you, or someone associated with you, did or intend to do one of the above things.
If you believe you have experienced victimisation and another type of unlawful behaviour covered by the Anti-Discrimination Act, you can make a complaint about both issues in one complaint.
Even if your discrimination complaint doesn’t succeed, we may still be able to assist with your victimisation complaint.
Other behaviour
You can complain about other behaviours that are covered by the Anti-Discrimination Act, such as:
- asking for information that can be used to discriminate
- advertising that indicates someone intends to discriminate
- asking or encouraging someone to breach the Anti-Discrimination Act
- being treated unfairly in a large local resource project recruitment process or at work because you’re a local resident.
Human rights
You can make a complaint about a breach to your rights under the Human Rights Act if:
- a public entity did not properly consider your human rights before making a decision that limited your rights
or
- a public entity acted in a way or made a decision that was not compatible with your human rights. This means their act or decision limited your rights in a way that was not reasonable and justified.
and
- you have already complained directly to the public entity.
A public entity is a government department or other organisation or body performing a public function for the government. They include:
- state government agencies
- public schools
- hospitals
- local councils
- organisations providing services on behalf of the State.
We cannot accept a human rights complaint if a public entity is not involved. If you agree, we can consider whether your complaint falls under the Anti-Discrimination Act and proceed under that law if appropriate.
Complaints from prison or youth detention
If you believe your rights have been violated or you have experienced unfair treatment in prison or youth detention, it is important to understand your rights and the available complaint options. This will help ensure you are following the most relevant pathway for your situation.