If you have a disability and you want to contact the Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW or make a discrimination complaint, the Board will try to accommodate your disability.

Below are some common ways in which a disability might affect your interaction with the Board, and what we can do to help you. If your disability is not discussed here, please contact the Board and let us know what you need.

Difficulty phoning

If you have difficulty using the phone because of a hearing impairment and you have a TTY, you can phone us on (02) 9268 5522. You can also make enquiries by email to adbcontact@agd.nsw.gov.au.

The National Relay Service can also help you phone us if you have a hearing or speech impairment. For more information go to www.relayservice.com.au, or phone 133 677 for TTY and voice calls or 1300 555 727 for speak and listen.

Difficulty writing

The law says that discrimination complaints must be received in writing, that is, handwritten or typewritten.

If you are unable to write or type your complaint, a staff member from the Board can help you. However we can’t help you decide what to say in your complaint, as the Board must not take sides between you and the person you are complaining about. You can also dictate your complaint over the phone, and we will send you a draft that you can approve and sign.

You can write your complaint in any language, or in Braille, and we will have it translated at no cost to you. You can also speak your complaint and provide it as an audio tape, video tape, CD, sound file or video file, as long as you include a letter saying that you intend to lodge the complaint. If you are an Auslan speaker, you can submit a video of yourself making your complaint and we will have it translated.

Difficulty lodging your complaint

You can lodge your complaint on paper, on disc or memory device, or in audio or video as discussed above. You can post it, deliver it by hand or email it to the Board.

If you are unable to post or deliver your complaint to the Board due to a disability, and you can’t email it either, contact the Board to discuss how you can lodge it. The Board can arrange to collect your complaint if necessary. Once the complaint is accepted, we can communicate with you via phone, fax or email.

Hearing impairment

As well as the services described above under difficulty phoning, we can also provide assistance for interviews and conciliation conferences such as an Auslan interpreter or a hearing loop.

Vision impairment

If you are lodging a complaint and you need to have our correspondence in a particular format, please contact us and let us know your exact requirements. We will provide whatever format you need, such as large print, Braille, audio or formatted text.

Most of our free information is available on our website in text format. If you require information or a publication in another format, or you want a publication that is not available on the website in text form, please contact us and tell us what you need. We will provide it in the format you need at the same cost charged for the print material.

Mobility disability

All the Board’s offices are wheelchair accessible. If you need parking in our building when you visit one of our offices, please contact the relevant office beforehand and we will arrange this. We can meet you in the carpark and escort you to our office if required.

Intellectual disability

The person with the disability should be involved in the complaint process. Parents, guardians, carers and advocates can make a complaint on behalf of a person with an intellectual disability – contact the Board for more information on how to do this.

The Board has several resources that are designed specifically to help explain anti-discrimination law for people with an intellectual disability. For more information click here, or contact our enquiry service.

Psychiatric disability

If you have a psychiatric disability and have particular requirements because of this, we will do our best to assist you. Please inform staff of your needs when you make contact with us.

More information about how our complaint handling service helps people with a disability…..