ChineseAustralian Forum has been inspired by the courage and determination of aChinese Australian father (ZG) who took the Department of Education andTraining to the NSW Administrative Decision Tribunal over the racial bullyingof his 3 young children age 9, 10 and 11 in 1999 at the Excelsior Public Schoolat Castle Hill.

The 3 youngchildren suffered repeated racial harassment with taunts of Ching ChongChinaman, Asian Go Home, We’re Going to Burn Down Your Restaurants. Theteachers view the complaints made by the father as little more than childhoodbanters. When the oldest of his children were attack with a pair of scissors bya fellow student, the father made a complaint to the Police but the harassmentcontinued. The student who made the attack with the scissors was even made avice captain of the school while a Sydney University psychology found theeffect on the children is consistent with post traumatic syndrome.

The fathercomplained to the Anti-Discrimination Board who referred the matter to theAdministrative Decision Tribunal. In 2006, the tribunal ruled that while Antiracial discrimination policies and procedures exist, the implementation at Excelsior School was inadequate. The children hadsuffered detriments and ordered the Department of Education to apologise to ZGand pay a damage of $6,000.

The Departmentof Education and Training appealed, and the Administrative Appeals Tribunalfound in favour of the Department on the grounds that ZG had to prove not onlythat detriments had been suffered, but that the school would have acteddifferently if the victims were not Chinese (the so called comparability test).

Chinese Australian Forum wrote to thePremier and the Minister of Education and Training alerting the fact that thecurrent Anti-Discrimination Act provided little protection against racialharassment, and that the Act be amended to make racial harassment illegal asrecommended by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal magistrate and as is alreadythe case in WA, US, UK, Canada and NZ.

Chinese Australian Forum also hasdiscovered that the Law Reform Commission had recommended that the“comparability test” be replaced by a simple “detriment test”.

Chinese Australian Forum wrote to theAttorney General and have received advice that the harmonisation of Australianand States Anti-Discrimination laws is being given priority by the StandingCommittee of Attorneys General.

Chinese Australian Forum will monitorprogress with interest, and is planning to work with Chinese Australianorganisations in other States in support of the harmonisation ofAnti-Discrimination laws to provide protection against racial harassment.

Related Links

 NSW Administrative Tribunal Decision 344- 12 May 2006

NSW Administrative Tibunal Appeal Decision 50- 13 Sep 2007