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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 02 Hansard (Tuesday, 2 March 2004) . . Page.. 600 ..

(1) The human rights commissioner may on his or her own initiative investigate conduct that appears to the commissioner to contravene a human right.

(2) An investigation under subsection (1) must, as far as practicable, be conducted as if it were an investigation of a complaint.

41K Dismissing  complaints

(1) If, because of the investigation of a complaint made under section 41B, the human rights commissioner decides that a relevant ground for dismissing the complaint exists, the commissioner must dismiss the complaint.

(2) For subsection (1), the following are relevant grounds for dismissing a complaint:

(a) the complaint is frivolous, vexatious, misconceived or lacking in substance or was not made honestly;

(b) the complaint relates to an act, or the last in a series of acts, that took place more than 1 year before the complaint was made;

(c) the matter complained about is not a contravention of a human right;

(d) the matter complained about has already been adequately dealt with by the human rights commissioner (whether under this Act or the Discrimination Act 1991);

(e) the matter complained about has already been adequately dealt with otherwise than by the commissioner;

(f) the complainant does not want the complaint investigated;

(g) having regard to the complaint and any other relevant matter before the commissioner, in the commissioner’s opinion it is not necessary to pursue the complaint.

(3) If the human rights commissioner dismisses a complaint under subsection (1), the commissioner must give written notice of the decision to the parties no later than 60 days after the day the complaint was made.

(4) A notice under subsection (3) given to a complainant must tell the complainant about any further action he or she may take about the grievance on which the complaint was based.

Example

The complainant may be able to take action in relation to the grievance through the court system, for example, through review of an administrative decision.

41L Compulsory  conferences

(1) The human rights commissioner may, in writing, require the following people to attend a conference presided over by the commissioner:

(a) a party to the investigation of a complaint;

(b) anyone else the commissioner believes on reasonable grounds is likely to be able to provide information relevant to the investigation or whose presence at a conference is likely to assist in the proper resolution of the complaint.

(2) A requirement under subsection (1) must state the time and place for the conference.

(3) A conference must be held in private and is to be conducted in the way the human rights commissioner considers appropriate.

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