Each year the Commission's Community Education and Training team provides rights based training for year 11 and 12 students at Sevenoaks Senior College as part of their preparation for job placements and entering the workforce.
Community Education and Training Officer Stephen Goodall said the annual session came about because senior Aboriginal students at the college were going on job placements and experiencing race discrimination and racial harassment.
"The students needed tools to deal with the treatment they were experiencing."
"They needed to know they didn't have to put up with it, that it was unlawful and they could seek remedy for it through the Commission's complaint handling process," he said.
Stephen said until they introduced the annual sessions with the Commission many of the students didn't know how to deal with these negative experiences and were simply walking away from their apprenticeships and placements which meant they weren't able to finish their courses.
"Sitting down with this group to educate them about their rights, to let them know they are protected against this behaviour under the Act is empowering for these young people and goes a long way to strengthening their future," he said.
