About discrimination
You can experience discrimination because of parts of who you are.
For example, your:
- age
- background
- disability.
You can also experience discrimination because of your
Your gender is what you feel and understand about who you are as a person.
You might think of yourself as a man or woman or something different.
You can choose the words that are right for you.
You can experience discrimination because of your
Your sexuality includes:
- who you are attracted to
- the sexual feelings and thoughts you have
- the sexual activities you want to do.
Discrimination can also happen anywhere.
For example:
- at home
- at work
- in public places
- online.
Discrimination is:
- always unfair
- against the law.
But we know that many people still experience discrimination.
You can find out more about discrimination laws on the Australian Human Rights Commission website.
Types of discrimination
There are 2 types of discrimination.
‘Direct discrimination’ is when someone treats you badly because of something that you cannot change about yourself, like your disability.
‘Indirect discrimination’ is when something stops you from taking part in your community.
For example:
- a building you cannot enter with a wheelchair
- a rule that is unfair to some people.
What an advocate is
An can:
An advocate is someone who can:
- support people with disability
- help people with disability have their say
- give information and advice.
- help you understand the laws about discrimination
- support you to write a letter about what happened to you
- talk to someone for you.
An advocate can also support you to make a if you have experienced discrimination.
When you make a complaint, you tell someone that something:
- has gone wrong
- is not working well.
You can find out more about how to contact an advocate on the Ask Izzy website.
We have more information on this website about how to speak up for yourself.
You can find out more on our page about speaking up for yourself.
Reporting discrimination
The governments in Australia have their own laws about discrimination.
This includes:
- the Australian Government
- state and territory governments.
You can report discrimination on the Australian Human Rights Commission website.
Each state and territory also has its own organisations that you can report discrimination to.
We wrote the contact details of an organisation for each state and territory below.
National Relay Service
You can call the National Relay Service if you:
- are deaf or hard of hearing
- find it hard to speak using the phone.
TTY (Type and Listen)
1800 555 677
Speak and listen
1300 555 727
You can ask them to connect you to one of the phone numbers below.
Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
If you live in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), you can contact the ACT Human Rights Commission.
You can find out more on the ACT Human Rights Commission website.
New South Wales (NSW)
If you live in New South Wales (NSW), you can contact the NSW Ageing and Disability Commission.
You can find out more on the NSW Ageing and Disability Commission website.
Northern Territory (NT)
If you live in the Northern Territory (NT), you can contact the NT Anti-Discrimination Commission.
You can find out more on the NT Anti‑Discrimination Commission website.
Queensland (QLD)
If you live in Queensland (QLD), you can contact the QLD Human Rights Commission.
You can find out more on the QLD Human Rights Commission website.
South Australia (SA)
If you live in South Australia (SA), you can contact Equal Opportunity SA.
You can find out more on the Equal Opportunity SA website.
Tasmania (TAS)
If you live in Tasmania (TAS), you can contact Equal Opportunity TAS.
You can find out more on the Equal Opportunity TAS website.
Victoria (VIC)
If you live in Victoria (VIC), you can contact the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.
You can find out more on the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission website.
Western Australia (WA)
If you live in Western Australia (WA), you can contact the Equal Opportunity Commission WA.
You can find out more on the Equal Opportunity Commission WA website.
Example story
We wrote a story to show an example of discrimination.
The story we wrote is about a person called Neha.
The story and the people in it are not real.
We made them up to explain discrimination.
Neha’s story
Neha is about to start a new job as a teacher.
She uses a wheelchair and needs a ramp to get to her classroom.
But the school does not have a ramp for her to use.
Neha tells the school principal that they need to build a ramp for her.
But the school principal says the ramp might cost too much money.
Neha explains that the law says the school must change some things so she can do her job.
The school agrees to build a ramp for her to get to her classroom.
