Racial discrimination and vilification

Race discrimination is when someone treats you unfairly, including bullying you, because of your race, skin colour, ancestry, nationality or ethnic background. 

Under the Equal Opportunity Act 2010, race means a person’s: 

• colour 

• descent or ancestry 

• nationality 

• ethnic background 

• any characteristics associated with a particular race. 

Discrimination is against the law if it happens in an area of public life such as: 

• work 

• school, TAFE or university 

• a club or sporting organisation 

• shops and restaurants 

• aged care, hotels or rental properties. 

Under the Equal Opportunity Act, duty holders (such as employers, schools, and goods and service providers) have a positive duty to eliminate discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation in these areas, as far as possible. 

It is also against the law to victimise a person, which means treat them badly, because they have made complaint about discrimination or helped someone else make a complaint. 

Get help from us. 

You can make a complaint to us if you think you have experienced: 

• discrimination 

• sexual harassment 

• victimisation 

• vilification. 

If you wish, someone else can make a complaint for you. Find out how we help people resolve complaints. 

We can also give you information about your rights. 

While a person is responsible for their own unlawful behaviour, employers can also be held responsible. 

Under the Equal Opportunity Act, employers have a positive duty to eliminate discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation as far as possible. 

Victoria is unique in having a positive duty, which creates an opportunity to prevent unlawful behaviour. It helps organisations put a healthy workplace culture in place, just as occupational health and safety laws require employers to take appropriate steps to ensure injuries don’t occur. 

To ensure they are complying with the positive duty, organisations should also put measures in place to ensure that complaints are responded to swiftly and appropriately when they do arise. 

The positive duty applies to employers of all sizes, regardless of whether they are a major company or a small cafe, and covers all types of workers: 

• full-time, part-time and casual employees 

• agents and contract workers 

• trainees and apprentices. 

It applies to all stages of employment, including: 

• advertising jobs and recruitment 

• returning to work after injury, illness or pregnancy 

• dismissal and retrenchment. 

Vilification (hate speech and hateful behaviour) is also against the law. It is against the law for you to be vilified because of your race, or because of other attributes you might hold. Vilification is:   

1. encouraging hatred in others (incitement) – behaviour likely to incite hatred in others because of a person or group’s protected attribute.  
2. hate speech or hateful behaviour that a reasonable person from the target group is likely to consider to be hateful. The basis for the hateful behaviour must be because of a person’s protected attributes.  

For either type of vilification, the behaviour must be public, whether online, in person, verbal or written.  

If comments, jokes or other acts related to race don’t meet the definitions of vilification, they could still be the basis for a complaint of discrimination if they take place in one of the areas of public life covered by the Equal Opportunity Act. 

You may complain about vilification based on more than one attribute  

People can often be vilified because of more than one attribute they hold. For example, a Muslim woman who is vilified because of her gender and her religion.   

There are some exceptions in the Equal Opportunity Act that mean it’s not against the law to discriminate in particular circumstances. For example, discrimination is not against the law if there is a real risk to someone’s health, safety or property. 

There are also exceptions in the Equal Opportunity Act that that permit vilifying conduct in certain circumstances. For example, vilification may not be against the law when it is reasonable and done in good faith in the course of a performance. 

Find out more about exceptions. 

Every Victorian has the right to equal and effective protection against discrimination, and to enjoy their human rights without discrimination. 

Victoria’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities contains 20 basic rights that promote and protect the values of freedom, respect, equality, and dignity. 

The Victorian Government, local councils and other public authorities must always consider Charter rights, including the right to equality, when they create laws, develop policies and deliver their services. 

Find out more about your human rights under the Charter and what to do if you think they have been breached.