Call for national inquiry into racism in Australian workplaces

Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman, Australian Council of Trade Unions President Michele O’Neil and Professor Nareen Young from the University of Technology Sydney’s Jumbanna Institute, together with academics, community leaders and social justice advocates from across Australia, are calling for a national inquiry into racism in Australian workplaces.   

The proposed inquiry would be the first of its kind focused specifically on workplace racism, joining the ranks of other significant national inquiries such as:  

• National Inquiry into Racist Violence in Australia (1991) 

• National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces resulting in the landmark Respect@Work report (2020) and Respect@Work Act (2022) 

• The Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces review led by former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins which resulted in the Set the Standard report (2021) 

The proposed inquiry will be discussed by attendees at a roundtable at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday 5 November hosted by Commissioner Sivaraman, President O’Neil and Prof. Young.  

The roundtable will examine barriers to employment faced by First Peoples and other racialised communities as well as strategies to address growing reports of systemic discrimination, exploitation and hostility in workplaces targeting First Peoples and people from other racialised communities.  

The roundtable will also focus on:  

• Improving the experiences of First Peoples and other racialised communities 

• Mismatched skills and underemployment 

• Job advertising and recruitment practices 

• Workplace culture, cultural safety, and racism 

• Discrimination and its effects on being employed, experiences at work and premature exit from employment 

The roundtable builds on the momentum of the Australian Human Rights Commission's National Anti-Racism Framework, which sets out a shared vision for eliminating racism in all areas of Australian life.  

A national inquiry into workplace racism is a critical action aligned with the Framework’s goals of accountability, systemic reform and justice. 

Quotes from sector leaders: 

Australia’s Race Discrimination Commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman: 

‘Racism in the workplace is not just a personal injustice—it’s a national issue that undermines safety, wellbeing, fairness, opportunity, and productivity. This roundtable is a vital step toward confronting the systemic barriers that persist across industries. A national inquiry will help us uncover the scale of the problem and chart a path toward safer, more inclusive workplaces for all Australians.’