Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act (1975)

The Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) gives effect to Australia’s obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). The RDA is a law which applies throughout Australia, to all people regardless of their age or where they live.

The RDA aims to ensure that everyone is treated equally, regardless of their race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin. The RDA makes racial discrimination unlawful. Discrimination under the RDA means any preference, distinction or exclusion based on race which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of any human right or fundamental freedom in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.  The human rights and fundamental freedoms are set out in Article 5 of CERD and include the following rights:

Civil and political rights in particular:
•	equal treatment before the courts; 
•	protection by the Government against violence or bodily harm;
•	right to participation in elections and to take part in the Government as well as in the conduct of public affairs at any level and to have equal access to public service; 
•	freedom of movement and residence; 
•	right to own property alone as well as in association with others; 
•	right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion opinion and expression and of peaceful assembly and association. 

Economic, social and cultural rights, in particular rights to: 
•	work 
•	housing
•	public health, medical care, social security and social services 
•	education and training; 
•	equal participation in cultural activities; 
•	access to any place or service intended for use by the general public.
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In addition to the rights listed in Article 5, the RDA has specific provisions making it unlawful to discriminate in such areas as: employment, land, housing and accommodation, provision of goods and services, access to places and facilities for use by the public, advertising and joining a trade union. 

It is also unlawful to discriminate against a person because of the race of that person’s relative or an associate. An associate could be a friend, a business partner, fellow student or flat mate.

The RDA also makes indirect discrimination on the ground of race in these areas unlawful. Indirect discrimination occurs where a person cannot comply with a term, condition or requirement imposed on them by another person, where complying with the condition or requirement has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing human rights or fundamental freedoms and the term. If the condition or requirement is not reasonable in all the circumstances, then being forced to comply with such a condition is unlawful. 

In some cases, the RDA will permit distinctions based on race where there might be more favourable treatment for one racial group over another. This is called a special measure. It permits a form of affirmative action, so that a group which has been traditionally denied human rights and access to rights, can receive special treatment to redress the situation and to allow that group to enjoy human rights on an equal footing with the rest of the community.  This form of favourable treatment is not unlawful discrimination and the special measure will be removed when equality has been achieved.

The RDA is administered by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC).  The Race Discrimination Commissioner has the responsibility for investigating complaints. The Race Discrimination Commissioner endeavours to resolve complaints by conciliation, that is getting the relevant people together to talk through the complaint. If the complaint cannot be resolved by conciliation, then it will be resolved by a formal hearing in the HREOC.