Can I make a complaint to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission about my employer?
Yes, you can make a complaint to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) about your employer if you believe you've experienced discrimination, sexual harassment, vilification, or a breach of human rights in the workplace.
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How it works in practice
VEOHRC's Role
The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) is an independent body that handles complaints of discrimination, sexual harassment, vilification, and human rights breaches in Victoria. Their role is to help resolve these complaints through a free, fair, and impartial conciliation process. This aims to facilitate a mutual agreement between you and your employer, avoiding the need for formal court proceedings.
Types of Complaints Handled
VEOHRC can investigate complaints related to employment where you believe you have been discriminated against based on protected attributes like age, disability, race, sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation. They also address complaints of sexual harassment, which includes unwelcome sexual advances or other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature. Vilification (incitement of hatred) and human rights breaches by public authorities are also within their scope. The Commission offers advice, information, and a formal complaint mechanism to address these issues effectively.
Important exceptions
VEOHRC primarily deals with complaints of discrimination, sexual harassment, vilification, or human rights breaches. They do not handle general workplace grievances, unfair dismissal claims, wage disputes, or workplace health and safety issues. These types of complaints fall under other bodies such as Fair Work Australia or WorkSafe Victoria.
Additionally, complaints must generally relate to an incident that occurred in Victoria. There are also time limits for making a complaint, typically within 12 months of the alleged act, though the Commission may consider complaints outside this period in exceptional circumstances.
What you should do now
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Understand the nature of your complaint to confirm it falls within VEOHRC's jurisdiction (discrimination, sexual harassment, vilification, or human rights breach).
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Gather all relevant evidence, including dates, times, specific incidents, names of individuals involved, and any supporting documentation.
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Contact VEOHRC for initial advice or to use their online complaint form; they can help clarify if your issue is within their scope.
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Be prepared to participate in a conciliation process, where VEOHRC will attempt to mediate a resolution between you and your employer.
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If conciliation is unsuccessful, you may have the option to take your complaint to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
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