Refused housing

October 2016

Lilly* is an Aboriginal woman. She said she would not be offered a house because an Aboriginal housing corporation board member had told the real estate agent that Lilly did not associate with other Aboriginal people, that her children went to a non-Aboriginal pre-school and her husband was not Aboriginal.

Lilly lodged a complaint with ADNSW of race discrimination and marital status discrimination. At the conciliation conference, the Aboriginal housing corporation said that the board member had spoken to the real estate agent without their authority.

The complaint was resolved when the corporation agreed to provide Lilly with a letter of apology and a payment of $2,000.

*Name has been changed to protect the privacy of the individual.