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Report racism or religious discrimination in schools

Find out how to report racism or religious discrimination in schools.

Everyone in our school community deserves to be respected, valued and treated equally. We will not tolerate racism or religious discrimination in our school communities.

Report to your school

We encourage you to report incidents to your school if your child:

  • has been the target of religious, racial discrimination or abuse
  • has seen others experience racism or religious discrimination.

Your school will take appropriate action and provide support.

You can also make a formal complaint about the incident to the school.

Contact the Report Racism hotline

You can report the incident to the Report Racism hotline if you are:

  • not comfortable reporting to the school
  • not happy with the school’s response.
The Report Racism hotline is available 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) on 1800 722 476.

In an emergency, contact Victoria Police on 000. If your concern is non-urgent but you would like to contact the police, call 131 444.

Make a complaint in writing

You can write to the department's Report racism line via email at report.racism@education.vic.gov.au

Make a complaint in your language

To make a complaint in your language call the National Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450.

Counselling and support through Parentline

Contact Parentline to get support from a qualified counsellor.

Parentline is available 8am to midnight, 7 days a week (including public holidays) on 13 22 89.

Parentline is a confidential and anonymous phone service for parents and carers of children from birth to 18 years old. Parentline is independent from the department.

Visit Parentline for more information.

Relevant department policies

More information and support

Bullystoppers

A resource for Victorian parents, students and school staff to work together to help put a stop to bullying.

National Safe Schools Framework

A set of nationally agreed principles for safe and supportive school environments (PDF, 4.47MB).

Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc. (VAEAI)

Koorie students can get extra support from VAEAI.

Safe Schools

Safe Schools is a department program that ensures schools are:

  • safe places for all students, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender intersex, queer or questioning (LGBTIQ+) students
  • free of discrimination.

Courage to Care

Education programs about racism, discrimination and bullying. The Courage to Care mobile exhibitions and programs are available to all Victorian schools free of charge.

Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC)

VEOHRC can provide information regarding discrimination in education.

Foundation House

Foundation House offer professional learning workshops, advice and resources to support schools in their work with students from refugee backgrounds.

Schools standing up to racism

The Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) have created resources to support schools to address racism and strengthen inclusion.

Flyers and Information sheets: How to report racism to a school

Resources to print or use in school newsletters.

Report Racism Hotline flyers in multiple languages

Acholi
PDF 332.54 KB
(opens in a new window)
Amharic
PDF 315.53 KB
(opens in a new window)
Arabic
PDF 316.96 KB
(opens in a new window)
Assyrian
PDF 308.04 KB
(opens in a new window)
Chinese Simplified
PDF 333.13 KB
(opens in a new window)
Chinese Traditional
PDF 342.02 KB
(opens in a new window)
Dari
PDF 300.98 KB
(opens in a new window)
Dinka 
PDF 321.82 KB
(opens in a new window)
Farsi
PDF 300.89 KB
(opens in a new window)
Hakha Chin
PDF 278.54 KB
(opens in a new window)
Hazaragi
PDF 301.08 KB
(opens in a new window)
Hindi
PDF 331.6 KB
(opens in a new window)
Karen
PDF 319.08 KB
(opens in a new window)
Khmer
PDF 310.26 KB
(opens in a new window)
Korean
PDF 322.41 KB
(opens in a new window)
Macedonian
PDF 311.92 KB
(opens in a new window)
Nepali
PDF 321.17 KB
(opens in a new window)
Nuer
PDF 305.98 KB
(opens in a new window)
Oromo
PDF 279.67 KB
(opens in a new window)
Pashto
PDF 301.8 KB
(opens in a new window)
Plain English
PDF 273.33 KB
(opens in a new window)
Punjabi
PDF 320.32 KB
(opens in a new window)
Samoan
PDF 280.04 KB
(opens in a new window)
Sinhalese
PDF 383.13 KB
(opens in a new window)
Somali
PDF 279.54 KB
(opens in a new window)
Swahili
PDF 280.47 KB
(opens in a new window)
Tagalog
PDF 280.42 KB
(opens in a new window)
Tamil
PDF 426.28 KB
(opens in a new window)
Tigrinya
PDF 317.26 KB
(opens in a new window)
Tongan
PDF 318.11 KB
(opens in a new window)
Turkish
PDF 281.96 KB
(opens in a new window)
Urdu
PDF 303.06 KB
(opens in a new window)
Vietnamese
PDF 324.49 KB
(opens in a new window)
Zomi Chin
PDF 278.52 KB
(opens in a new window)

Updated