Officers Jodie Wyatt and Lindon McKenna from Ombudsman WA taking enquiries at Gwoonwardu Mia Cultural Centre information session
In Carnarvon the RAAP team was made up of officers from Ombudsman WA, the Equal Opportunity Commission, Health and Disability Services Complaints Office, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and Telecommunication Industry Ombudsman.
Equal Opportunity Commission Senior Aboriginal Education and Conciliation Officer Stephen Goodall said the main concerns in Carnarvon were service providers asking Aboriginal people to pay up front or to provide a deposit for a service where non-Aboriginal people were not asked to do so.
"When a service provider asks only Aboriginal people to pay a deposit or pay for a service up front before providing the service and doesn't do the same to everyone, that would be something the Equal Opportunity Commission would be interested in investigating," he said.
Stephen said he took seven enquiries from community members in Carnarvon, three of which would be potential complaints.
He said the Equal Opportunity Commission's involvement in the RAAP was vital because it made the Commission aware of issues as such this in regional and remote areas.
"Discriminatory behaviours need to be monitored by the Commission throughout Western Australia, so the RAAP provides a wonderful service for communities in regional and remote areas of WA," he said.
