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The UTS Indigenous research centre has urged the government to introduce stronger workplace anti-racism reforms, arguing that now is the time for legislative action that delivers meaningful and lasting change.
The Centre for Indigenous People and Work (CIPW) is urging the government to move beyond commitments and deliver meaningful workplace anti-racism reforms, saying stronger protections for workers can no longer be overlooked.
The organisation took its push for reform directly to Labor’s National Conference last week, with CIPW director Professor Nareen Young and assistant director Joshua Gilbert using the LaborEngaged’26 fringe event to make the case for stronger legal protections against workplace racism.
At the heart of CIPW’s proposal is the introduction of a legal “positive duty”, requiring employers to actively prevent workplace racism through measures such as anti-racism policies, mandatory training, and robust complaints procedures.
The proposed measures build on the landmark Respect@Work reforms, which introduced a positive duty requiring employers to take proactive steps to prevent workplace sexual harassment.
Despite being recommended in the Australian Human Rights Commission’s (AHRC) 2024 National Anti-Racism Framework, the reforms have yet to be implemented through legislation.
At LaborEngaged’26, Young and Gilbert pointed to findings from CIPW’s national Gari Yala 2 (Speak the Truth) survey, arguing that proactive workplace measures can significantly improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers.
Based on responses from 1,158 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers, the survey found that 40 per cent of workers in organisations with both measures reported experiencing racism, compared with 66 per cent of those working in organisations without either safeguard.
The findings also linked these measures to higher job satisfaction, with one-third (33 per cent) of employees in workplaces with both protections describing themselves as very satisfied, compared with just 22 per cent of those in organisations without them.
Drawing on the survey’s findings, Young argued that what is already working to reduce workplace racism should now be backed by law through mandatory anti-racism policies, training and procedures.
“Through our Gari Yala 2 survey, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers told us clearly what’s been working for them when it comes to reducing racism at work,” Young said.
“But creating a legal requirement to have proactive anti-racism policies, training and procedures in place will make everyone safer.”
Beyond the workplace, CIPW argued the reforms also make compelling economic sense, pointing to estimates that racial discrimination costs Australia around “3 per cent of its gross domestic product annually”.
Young stressed how tackling workplace racism is not just a social responsibility but an economic one, arguing the proposed reforms could boost productivity, reduce the cost of discrimination and benefit workers, employers and the wider economy alike.
“These measures can improve productivity and save the country billions in direct and indirect costs of racial discrimination. So, they’re not just good for workers, they’re good for employers and for the economy too,” Young said.
Pointing to the success of the Respect@Work reforms, Gilbert argued there is already a clear roadmap for legislating workplace anti-racism measures that could improve outcomes for workers while strengthening productivity.
“The evidence for the effectiveness of these reforms is clear, and a working model for positive duty already exists in the Respect@Work reforms,” Gilbert said.
“Legislating anti-racism workplace measures would make a real difference to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers, and to workers of other cultural backgrounds, while boosting productivity and stimulating the economy.”
