Richard v Director General, Department of Justice and the Attorney General (Corrective Services NSW)

The applicant, Richard, initiated proceedings against the Director General of the Department of Justice and the Attorney General, with Corrective Services NSW also involved. The dispute centred around allegations of race discrimination in the provision of goods and services. The case was heard and determined by the Australian Human Rights Commission, acting as the Australian Human Rights Commission Tribunal. The Tribunal was tasked with deciding whether the respondent had contravened the Anti-Discrimination Act by engaging in direct discrimination based on race.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the respondent had discriminated against the applicant on the grounds of race. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine whether the conduct alleged in the complaint constituted direct discrimination under the Act. The Tribunal needed to consider whether the respondent's actions were discriminatory and whether they were based on race. Additionally, the Tribunal needed to consider the timeline of the alleged discriminatory conduct and whether it fell within the scope of the complaint.

The Tribunal found that the complaint did not sufficiently detail the conduct occurring after 10 May 2010 and the ground of complaint concerning the traineeship flyer. The Tribunal concluded that the complaint was inadequately framed to include these aspects. Consequently, the Tribunal ordered the complaint to be amended to include these elements. However, the Tribunal also determined that the complaint was otherwise without merit and dismissed it in its entirety. The Tribunal found that the respondent had not engaged in discriminatory conduct based on race and that the complaint failed to establish a contravention of the Anti-Discrimination Act.