[citation needed] It is against the law to discriminate in areas such as: In Bligh and Ors v State of Queensland [1996] HREOCA 28, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (precursor to the Australian Human Rights Commission) found in favour of a number of Aboriginal applicants who had worked on Great Palm Island Aboriginal reserve and were underpaid between 31 October 1975 (the Act's start date) and 31 May 1984.

[2] In Wotton v Queensland (No 5) police raids and behaviour following the 2004 Palm Island community riot, sparked by the death in custody of an Aboriginal man, were found to have breached the Racial Discrimination Act with $220,000 in damages awarded in 2016.

"[7] Dozens of police officers in riot gear wearing balaclavas with no identification and carrying large guns had marched into the community conducting early-morning raids on 27 November 2004.

[10][11] While some conservative politicians have claimed the bar for breaching 18C is too low,[12][13] courts have consistently shown that this is not the case, and to fall within 18C the speech must have "... profound and serious effects, not to be likened to mere slights.

Cases and determinations in relation to section 18C include the following: An aggrieved person may make a complaint of a contravention of the Act to the Australian Human Rights Commission.

While some conservative politicians have claimed the bar for breaching 18C is too low,[12][30] courts have consistently shown that this is not the case, and to fall within 18C the speech must have "... profound and serious effects, not to be likened to mere slights.

"[14] In 1995, left-wing ABC journalist Phillip Adams argued against the provision, saying that a better response to expressions of racial hatred was "public debate, not legal censure".

[33] In 2013, members of the Abbott government proposed significant changes to section 18C in a draft bill put on public exhibition, which would have substantially limited the scope of the prohibition.

[33] In November, 2016, the President of the Human Rights Commission Gillian Triggs voiced support for changes to 18C, saying that removing the words "offend" and "insult" and inserting "vilify" would strengthen the laws.