February 2026
Charles*, a proud Aboriginal man, worked as a stockman on a livestock farm. He took his work very seriously and, according to the farm owners, was a very good and dependable employee.
Charles made a race discrimination complaint to Anti-Discrimination NSW (ADNSW) after receiving a voicemail from the husband-and-wife owners of the farm. In the voicemail, the owners could he heard talking to each other and making derogatory comments about Aboriginal people, including use of the word “coon”.
ADNSW investigated the matter. The owners said that the recording happened accidentally after a phone call had ended and the phone being properly hung up. They said the conversation was private and was never meant for Charles to hear.
They said that they had apologised to Charles directly when he had first raised the matter with them. They said that Charles was a trusted and valued employee and tried to encourage him to remain employed. However, he did not return following the incident and found work elsewhere.
The matter was settled at a conciliation conference held via MS Teams. The owners expressed genuine regret about the incident and again apologised to Charles for any hurt caused. Charles expressed extreme disappointment and feelings of betrayal. Charles said that prior to this incident, the owners were the best bosses he’d worked for. The parties agreed without admission of liability on a payment of general damages to Charles to settle the matter.
*Name has been changed to protect the privacy of the individual.
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