Fighting for an Australia free from racial and religious discrimination.
ABOUT
OUR VISION
An Australia free from racial and religious discrimination
OUR OBJECTIVE
To provide free legal education, information, advice, case work and systemic advocacy services for people experiencing racial or religious discrimination in Australia.
OUR VALUES
Respectful
We are non-judgemental and respect all people, no matter who they are, where they are from or what they believe.
Ethical
We always act ethically and in line with the Legal Profession (Solicitors) Conduct Rules
2015.
Professional
We communicate accurately, courteously and promptly. Where we cannot help, as far as
possible, we will refer to a service that can.
We help
individuals (citizens & non-citizens)
groups of people
organisations
in Australia who are experiencing discrimination because of their race or religion (including non-religious beliefs).
We assist with
referral
information
legal advice
In limited circumstances, we provide casework and representation based on
the merit of your case
our capacity to assist you
We cannot provide legal assistance if your issue involves one racial or religious group against another, however, we may be able to refer you to another legal service or a private lawyer.
We are unable to assist people where there is a conflict of interest. A conflict of interest can mean that you have been listed as the other party in a current or previous legal matter. For confidentiality reasons, we cannot give you details about a specific conflict of interest.
CLIENT SERVICE CHARTER
We reserve the right to refuse to provide assistance to any client who does not comply with this Charter.
RESPECT
We respect all people and will act ethically and with professionalism. Our clients must mutually be respectful to our staff and volunteers at all times.
COMMUNICATION
We will give you clear, accurate and timely information or, where possible, refer you to a service that can assist you.
You will:
provide us information on time
give us details of any changes as soon as they happen
tell us if you have any special needs
PRIVACY
All information you provide to us is strictly confidential. Staff and volunteers are bound by law not to divulge any information provided by you without your permission.
Personal information is only collected as is necessary for a function or activity to enable us to carry out our work and deliver services to the community. It is not possible for us to provide legal assistance without your personal details being provided to us.
Individuals have a right to request access to the personal information that we hold about them. An administrative fee may be payable for the provision of personal information. In certain circumstances we may refuse to provide details of personal information that we hold to the extent permitted by the Privacy Act.
If an individual believes that any personal information we hold about them is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading, they can contact our office and we will respond to the request within a reasonable time after the request is made. We will endeavour to promptly correct any information found to be inaccurate, incomplete or out of date.
DISBURSEMENTS
While our legal assistance is free, if third party fees are required to be paid in relation to your case, we may ask you to make full payment directly to the third party.
Common third party fees include court filing fees, expert reports and copies of your medical records.
We will confirm your agreement to paying a third party fee before obtaining a service/item from a third party on your behalf.
FACT SHEETS
EXISTING LEGAL PROTECTIONS AGAINST RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION IN AUSTRALIA
Commonwealth Protections
-
Racial discrimination: Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth)
-
Religious discrimination: none
State and Territory Protections
More information about Australia’s international obligations
INCIDENCE OF RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION IN AUSTRALIA
78% of Australians believe in freedom of religion and culture.[1]
Racial discrimination
76% of Australians from non-European backgrounds have experienced racial discrimination.[2]
People who experienced racial discrimination in the last 12 months because of their skin colour, ethnic origin or religion identified as follows:
-
11% born in Australia
-
12% born overseas in an English speaking country
-
34% born overseas in a non-English speaking country
-
40% born in Asia[3]
97% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Victoria had experienced racism within the last year, and 2/3 had experienced 8 or more incidences a year.[4]
1/3 Australians have experienced racism in the workplace and/or educational facilities.[5]
Religious Discrimination
70% of religious Australians experience intolerance at least occasionally.[6]
In Australia, the proportion of people belonging to faith communities who experienced religious discrimination were:
-
54% of non-Christian religious people
-
27% of Christian Protestants
-
32% of Catholics[7]
Younger religious Australians are 4 times more likely than their older counterparts to experience religious discrimination.[8]
PLEASE DOWNLOAD OUR FACT SHEETS FOR THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY BELOW
INTERPRETERS
Can I talk in my language?
If you require a telephone interpreter, please contact our office and we will organise one for you.
Can I use the National Relay Service?
If you are deaf and/or find it hard hearing or speaking with people, you can utilise the National Relay Service (NRS):
Voice Relay number: 1300 555 727
TTY number: 133 677
SMS relay number: 0423 677 767
CONTACT
EMAIL admin@racialreligiousdls.org.au
TELEPHONE 02 6100 1875
OFFICE HOURS (AEST):
Monday 9am – 5pm
Tuesday 10am – 6pm
Wednesday 9am – 5pm
Thursday 10am – 6pm
Friday 8am – 4pm
Our office is unattended on public holidays.
COMPLAINTS & COMPLIMENTS
If you are not happy about the service you have received, please speak to the person you dealt with and see if your concerns can be resolved. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, please speak to the Principal Lawyer. Alternatively, you can submit a written complaint via email to admin@racialreligiousdls.org.au
We also welcome any suggestions on how we can improve our service or compliments about a positive experience.