The Mitchell Oration aims to further public debate on equal opportunity and human rights issues, and it is named in honour of Dame Roma Mitchell, who died earlier this year. In her honour and memory, Mr Mike Smith offered a tribute to Dame Roma. Mike Smith was an associate of Dame Roma s in 1972, and maintained a life-long friendship with her. Annual Report was tabled in parliament on 30 November 2000. Complaints lodged over recent years reflect the changing nature of discrimination.
Complaints are now more likely to reflect discrimination of a subtle and indirect kind.
This is probably due to a greater understanding of the need to avoid direct and obvious discrimination. In addition, many complaints are now handled internally by organisations that have refined their grievance handling procedures over time. This has resulted in fewer complaints coming to the Commission. Decreasing employment stability may also make people reluctant to complain. The table below indicates the change in grounds of complaints received in the current and the previous reporting periods.