To raise a workplace discrimination concern, describe the employment decision or conduct, the characteristic or issue you believe is relevant and the connection you are asking someone to examine. Keep the dates and supporting records clear, then check the appropriate workplace or external process.
Unfair treatment and unlawful discrimination are not interchangeable labels. A concern may still deserve attention even where the legal category is uncertain. An appropriate adviser or authority can help assess the framework that applies.
Identify the decision and the possible connection
Start with what happened: an application decision, changed duties, an employment condition or another work-related action. Then state why you believe a protected characteristic or other legally relevant issue may have influenced it. Separate what someone actually said from your interpretation.
Queensland’s discrimination complaint information explains state complaint pathways. Federal workplace and discrimination laws can also be relevant. Check jurisdiction, eligibility, dates and the type of outcome you seek before choosing a process.
Do not assume every employment dispute belongs with the same commission. A pay calculation, bullying concern, adjustment request and dismissal can raise different or overlapping questions.
Build an original decision chronology
Use this worksheet to organise the facts:
- Decision or conduct: what changed or what happened.
- Date and decision-maker: what you know and how you know it.
- Relevant issue: the characteristic or circumstance you believe is connected.
- Stated reason: the explanation actually given by the employer or recruiter.
- Evidence: documents, messages or direct observations supporting the concern.
- Comparison: relevant treatment you observed, without assuming you know another person’s private circumstances.
- Response sought: information, correction, an adjustment discussion or another outcome.
- Advice needed: jurisdiction, legal test, deadline or appropriate complaint route.
Keep uncertain points labelled. A chronology is more useful when it does not turn an inference into an alleged quotation.
A fictional clarification message
The following original example is invented and is not a discrimination finding:
“I would like to understand the decision to change my duties after our discussion about my circumstances. Could you provide the reason for the change and the criteria used? I am concerned there may be a connection that needs to be reviewed, and I would like information about the appropriate complaint process.”
Use the actual event and concern. Do not send another employee’s private documents to make a comparison you cannot properly support.
Check privacy and submission requirements
The Queensland Human Rights Commission’s complaint guide explains what to include and how its process handles a complaint. Read the current format, contact and transparency requirements rather than assuming an anonymous message or a shared-drive link will be accepted.
Ask for assistance with an inaccessible form or an unclear instruction. Keep a copy of what you lodge, including attachments, and the acknowledgement or reference provided.
Seek timely advice about the right pathway
Deadlines differ between processes. An internal enquiry does not automatically extend an external time limit, and a dismissal concern may require particularly prompt attention. Obtain current information about your actual circumstances rather than relying on a general article to calculate a deadline.
Keep workplace communications factual and retain subsequent decisions or explanations. The goal is a traceable account that allows the relevant person or authority to assess the concern and the process that can address it.
