Hoy -V- Illawarra Area Health Service [1996] NSWEOT

Equal Opportunity Tribunal of New South Wales

CITATION: Hoy -V- Illawarra Area Health Service [1996] NSWEOT

COMPLAINANT: Dr Stephen Hoy

RESPONDENT: Illawarra Area Health Service

NUMBER: 21 of 1994

Ms Penny Goode ( Judicial Member ) TRIBUNAL: L Mooney M Luger

GROUNDS OF COMPLAINT: Race discrimination in employment

DATES OF HEARING: 09/18/1995; 09/19/1995; 03/12/1996; 06/21/1996 DATE OF JUDGMENT: 09/19/1996

Complainant: Self-represented

LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES: Respondent: Ms J Redfern Hunt & Hunt

JUDGMENT IN FAVOUR OF:

The Complainant, Dr Hoy, is an Australian national of Chinese racial origin. By letter dated 26 November 1991, he lodged a complaint with the President of the Anti-Discrimination Board ("the ADB") alleging that the Respondent, the Illawarra Area Health Service ("the IAHS"), had discriminated against him on the ground of his race, primarily by declining his application for employment as a permanent Visiting Medical Officer ("VMO") Specialist Anaesthetist.

Notwithstanding the fact that the alleged discriminatory treatment occurred more than 6 months before the complaint was lodged, the President of the Board elected to accept the complaint out of time upon being satisfied that "good cause" had been shown within the meaning of s. 88(4) of the Anti-Discrimination Act ("the Act"). In due course, conciliation having been unsuccessful, the President informed the Complainant that he had declined to entertain the complaint further since, in his view, it was lacking in substance (see s.90(1) of the Act). Thereafter, the Complainant exercised his right under s.91(1) of the Act to require that the complaint be referred to the Tribunal and the President referred the complaint on 30 May 1994 (see s.91(2) of the Act).