New report identifies gaps in data collection and recommends reforms to improve reporting
The Australian Human Rights Commission has called for a nationally coordinated approach to collecting and using data on racism, finding that inconsistent reporting systems leave many experiences of racism uncounted.
In its report, “Data for change: A national approach to anti-racism data,” the commission found that Australia lacks a consistent national approach to collecting information on race and racism. Fragmented and inconsistent data collection means many experiences of racism remain undercounted or unrecorded, limiting understanding of its nature and impacts.
Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman said existing systems often fail to capture the full extent of racism experienced by communities.
“We hear about the devastating impacts of racism from communities every day,” Sivaraman said in a statement. “But many experiences go unreported or uncounted, and our systems often do not capture the full picture.”
He said improved data collection would help make inequality visible, strengthen institutional accountability, and give communities greater control over information about their experiences.
The scoping report makes 16 recommendations directed at governments, civil society organisations, and businesses.
Among its proposals, the commission recommends developing a national anti-racism data plan to coordinate data collection, use, and management across Australia. It also calls for a review of national government standards concerning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity and cultural and linguistic diversity data.
The report recommends embedding Indigenous data sovereignty and Indigenous data governance across data systems.
Other recommendations include improving the collection of information about experiences of racism in workplaces, the legal and criminal justice system, education, health, media, and the arts, while addressing barriers that prevent people from reporting racism.
The commission also recommends adopting an intersectional approach to understand how racism interacts with other forms of inequality and strengthening monitoring, evaluation, and accountability across anti-racism policies, initiatives, and programs.
Sivaraman said Australia has a long history of collecting data about First Peoples without giving communities control over its design, reporting, and use.
He said First Peoples and other communities experiencing racism must have a meaningful role in determining how institutions represent their identities and use information about their experiences.
The report builds on previous commission recommendations concerning racism data, including those made through the National Anti-Racism Framework, evidence to the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, and its submission to the Inquiry into racism, hate, and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Sivaraman said the next step is to work with communities to develop a national approach that reflects their interests and aspirations.
