What we do easy read

Easy Read icon.

 

Who are we?

The Anti-Discrimination New South Wales icon.

Anti-Discrimination NSW (ADNSW) is a government body.

A man holding his hand out to stop something and a map of NSW. On the map, there are two people with a cross next to them and another person who looks sad.

We help stop discrimination in NSW.

A group of people pointing and talking about a woman in a wheelchair.

Discrimination is when you treat someone badly because of something about them they can’t change.
 

We have services that:

Two women shaking hands and a dollar sign and a cross.

  • are free

A man holding his hand out to stop something and a map of NSW. On the map, there are two people with a cross next to them and another person who looks sad.
  • help stop discrimination in NSW.

A woman in a wheelchair reading a document with another woman and a question mark above them.

We answer questions about discrimination.

A woman writing on a clipboard and the problem icon.

We fix problems people have with discrimination.

A group of people taking part in a meeting.

We talk to the community about discrimination.

A woman writing on a clipboard and a map of NSW with the law icon on it.

We deal with the laws in NSW aboutdiscrimination.

Who might experience discrimination?

 

People might experience discrimination becauseof their:

A man in a wheelchair outside a building.

  • disability

A group of people from different backgrounds.

  • race

An icon of a child, adult and older person with an arrow going from the child to the older person.

  • age

A woman pointing at the female icon. The male and transgender icons are above and below the female icon.

  • gender identity

Two women holding pride flags.

  • sexuality.

A group of people with different gender identities.

Your gender identity is not about your bodybeing male or female.

It is about who you feel you are as a person.

A group of diverse people standing in a line.

Your gender identity can be:

  • male
  • female
  • a combination of these
  • none of these.

A woman and her partner smiling and laughing.

Your sexuality is who you:

  • love
  • are attracted to.
 

People might experience discrimination if they:

A couple and a married icon with a tick.
  • are married

A woman in a wheelchair and her partner and a married icon with a cross.
  • aren’t married.

A pregnant woman.

People might experience discrimination if they

are pregnant.

A woman feeding a man.

People might experience discrimination if theyare someone’s carer.

Where is discrimination against the law?

A law icon with a cross.

Discrimination is against the law in a workplace.

Montage of two images. The first is an office worker and the second is a woman talking into a headset.

A workplace is any place you might work, such as:

  • an office
  • a customer service centre.
 

Discrimination is against the law in places you go to learn like:

A group of high school students.

  • school

A group of university students studying together.

  • university.

A doctor helping a person.

Discrimination is against the law in places yougo to for day-to-day services.

Montage of three images. The first is a bank, the second is a woman and a man at a shop, the third is a doctor helping a young girl.

This can be a:

  • bank
  • shop
  • doctor.

A man pointing at himself. He is in a bedroom.

Discrimination is against the law when you rent a home to live in.
 

Discrimination is against the law in clubs that:

A man buying a beer at a bar.
  • sell alcohol

Gambling machines.

  • have gambling machines.

A law icon with a cross.

Discrimination against a carer is only againstthe law in their workplace.

Other problems we deal with

A woman in a wheelchair crying.

We sometimes help people with other problems.

We talk more about these problems on the following pages.

Sexual harassment

 

Sexual harassment is when someone:

A man trying to touch a woman's knee. She is pushing his hand away.
  • makes you do sexual things you don’twant to do

A man trying to kiss a woman, who doesn't want to be kissed.

  • does something sexual to you that youdon’t want them to do

A woman pointing at a man who is covering his private body parts. There is a speech bubble and sex icon above the woman.

  • asks you to do something sexual thatyou don’t want to do

A woman looking away while a group of men are talking about her. One of the men has a speech bubble and sex icon above the them.

  • says sexual things to you when youdon’t want to hear them.
 

Some people who have experienced sexual harassment might feel:

An upset man.

  • upset

A woman with her head in her hands.

  • embarrassed

A woman looking scared.

  • scared.

Law icon and a cross.

Sexual harassment is against the law.

Vilification

A woman looking upset as people talk about her.

Vilification is when someone shows hatred towards certain people in a public area.
 

They can show this hatred by:

A man yelling at a woman, who looks upset and has her ears covered with her hands.
  • yelling or shouting mean things

A woman giving two thumbs down and a board with notices and signs on it.
  • putting up mean notices or signs

A group of people pointing and laughing at a young boy.

  • making fun of someone.

A woman giving a thumbs down and a problem icon.

Vilification is a serious type of discrimination.
 

Vilification laws protect people:

A group of people from different backgrounds.

  • of different races

A group of diverse people standing in a line.
  • who are gay or lesbian

A transgender person.

  • who are transgender

The HIV and AIDS icons.

  • who have:
    • HIV
    • AIDS.

A transgenders person. Above them is a female icon with a cross and an arrow pointing to a male icon with a tick.

If you are transgender, your gender identity is different now to what you were given when you were born.

The virus icon with an arrow pointing to a cells icon.

HIV is a virus that attacks cells in your body that keep it healthy.

A virus icon with an arrow pointing to a person.

AIDS is an illness you get when your body has been badly damaged by HIV.

A person talking on a phone and a police icon.

If you experience vilification that might cause violence, then you should talk to the police.

Victimisation

An angry woman pointing at another woman.

Victimisation is when you’re treated unfairly because you:

A man raising his hand to say something and a complaint form with a sad face on it.

  • made a complaint about your experience

of discrimination

Two women using a laptop together.

  • helped someone else who experienced discrimination.

A law icon and a cross.

Victimisation is against the law.

If you experience discrimination

 

There are things you can do if you experience:

A group of people pointing and talking about a woman in a wheelchair.

  • discrimination

A person touching a woman's breast.
  • sexual harassment

A woman looking upset as people talk about her.

  • vilification

An angry woman pointing at another woman.

  • victimisation.
 

If you have experienced any of these issues, you can contact us by:

Phone icon.
  • phone – (02) 9268 5544 or 1800 670 812

Email address icon.

A man talking to a woman. The man has a speech bubble with a thumbs up and thumbs down that are separated by a slash.

You can contact us if you’re not sure if whathas happened to you is against the law.

A woman showing a young woman information on an iPad.

You can contact us if you want more information about the laws for discrimination.

Complaints

Montage of four images. The first is a group of people pointing and talking about a woman in a wheelchair, the second is a man touching a woman's chest, the third is a woman looking sad as people talk about her, the fourth is an angry woman pointing at another woman.

You can make a complaint if you’ve experienced:

  • discrimination
  • sexual harassment
  • vilification
  • victimisation.

Montage of two images. The first is a man with his arms crossed looking upset and the second is a man giving a thumbs down.

When you make a complaint, you tell someone that something:

  • has gone wrong
  • isn’t working well.
 

You can make a complaint about:

A man pointing at himself and an icon of a person.

  • a person

A man raising his hand and the organisation icon.

  • an organisation.
 

You can make a complaint by:

A girl writing on a clipboard.
  • writing to us

A complaint form.

A man writing on a clipboard and a thought bubble with Mandarin in it.

You can write your complaint in any language.

Email icon.

You can email your complaint to us.

complaintsadb@justice.nsw.gov.au

A woman helping a man write a complaint.

If you need support to make a complaint, you can contact us.

What happens when you make a complaint?

A man reading a document as he talks on the phone.

When you make a complaint, we will contact you.
 

We might:

Phone icon.

  • call you

Email icon.

  • email you

A man writing on a clipboard and a letter icon.

  • write you a letter.

A calendar with 2 weeks on it.

We will contact you within 2 weeks from when you made a complaint.

A woman showing a young woman information on an iPad.

We might ask you for more information.

A woman explaining something to a person.

We will explain how we will handle the complaint.
 

We will also contact the:

An organisation icon.

  • organisation you made a complaint about

A person icon.
  • person you made a complaint about.
 

We will:

A complaint document with the word copy on it.
  • send a copy of your complaint to them

A woman explaining something to a man. The law icon is above them.

  • explain parts of the law to them.

A man pointing at himself with a speech bubble. There is a complaint form with a sad face next to him.

We will ask the person or organisation you madea complaint about to answer your complaint.
 

We might have a meeting with:

A woman in a wheelchair shaking hands with another woman.
  • you

A group of people in a meeting. Two of the people are shaking hands.

  • the person or organisation you made a complaint about.

A woman making her choice between two people and a cross.

We don’t take sides in the meeting.

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal icon.

If we can’t solve the problem, you might take your complaint to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).

A group of people having a meeting.

NCAT is like a court.They can make a decision about your complaint.

A man reading a document and a judge's scale icon and gavel icon.

NCAT will:

  • decide what is fair
  • follow the law.

Other support

 

If you need an interpreter to use our services:

Translator icon.

  • call 131 450

Phone icon.
  • ask the interpreter to call Anti-Discrimination NSW on (02) 9628 5544.

Three men talking to each other. Two have speech bubbles, one with hello in it and the other with Mandarin in it.

An interpreter is someone who:

  • speaks your language
  • helps you understand what someone is saying.

National Relay Service icon.

If you are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment, you can call the National RelayService.

133 677

Phone icon.

If you need legal help, you can call Law Access.

1300 888 529

A man talking on the phone.

If you need to connect with disability services, you can call Disability Gateway.

1800 643 787

 

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Contact us
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Images used in this Easy Read document are subject to copyright and must not be reused without explicit approval. For more information, please visit www.dcj.nsw.gov.au/copyright-and-disclaimer.

Last updated:

04 Mar 2024

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We acknowledge Aboriginal people as the First Nations Peoples of NSW and pay our respects to Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the ongoing connection Aboriginal people have to this land and recognise Aboriginal people as the original custodians of this land.

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