More than a quarter of reported incidents of racism targeting Indigenous Australians involved children and young people, according to new data, as experts say Australians need to confront the racism targeted at First Nations people.
The latest Call It Out Annual Report, based on 442 validated reports submitted between March 2024 and March 2025, highlights distressing and harmful experiences, including encounters with racist and derogatory language, neglectful or dismissive treatment by public services, and incidents of physical assault.
"Being at that school made me feel so [much] shame," one respondent said. "It's so crazy that I felt and still feel so unwanted in my own country!"
Another participant shared: "[Racism] made me feel upset, I didn't know why people hated me and my culture so much. I was frustrated."
One child said: "Everywhere I go no matter where, if it's around non-Indigenous people I feel a hate vibe. It feels like I'm being watched". 30 per cent of the racist incidents occurred in a school setting.
An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander male said: "The fellow student went around telling other students in my year group saying, 'I was only 3 percent' and that I was 'Faking it to receive benefits' and that 'I was a fake Aboriginal.'"
"I get told by friends that the programs we get to do at school to recognise our culture are unfair, that people that are 'barely' Aboriginal get to get all this stuff and when we get the stuff from government all we do is trash it. I try to defend myself but then all my friends turn on me" — Aboriginal female respondent
The report also highlighted the concern from many about media coverage of Keegan Payne, who, after winning a fishing competition, was ambushed by Sky News host Peter Stefanovic with questions about allegations that he and friends had stolen a Polaris Ranger and quad bike as children. Mr Stefanovic later apologised.
"The actions of a single journalist, in this case, tipped over into systemic racism as the media company in question saw no issue with the question being asked and the interview being broadcast," it said.
Titled "Everywhere I go, no matter where, if it's around non-Indigenous people I feel a hate vibe. It feels like I'm being watched and judged", the report was produced by the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at UTS (Jumbunna Research) in collaboration with the National Justice Project.
It identifies racist stereotyping as the most common form of racism, stating that "racist attitudes and stereotyping underpin racism in most or all contexts in which it arises".
"Common examples describe First Nations people as law breakers or as otherwise engaging in anti-social or negative behaviour, misusing alcohol/drugs, seeking or receiving financial benefits or 'hand-outs' they don't deserve," the report said.
A post shared by National Justice Project (@nationaljusticeproject_au)
One respondent recounted how their father, admitted to a NSW hospital and walking with an unsteady gait, was mocked by nurses who assumed he was intoxicated.
"One joked to the other that he was 'pissed' so no wonder he fell over," the testimony said. "They both laughed. He had had a mini-stroke. Both my mum and I heard this comment; thankfully, dad is a bit deaf."
National Justice Project CEO George Newhouse said that while there is government focus on combating Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, "the full extent of racism targeting First Nations people in Australia continues to be downplayed by governments and institutions".
He added that the stories submitted to Call It Out "make the ongoing legacy of colonial racism hard to ignore".
"While the register provides a platform for First Nations people to report discrimination, it is also the responsibility of non-Indigenous people to take meaningful action to report racism and to stamp it out," he said.
Racist language was frequently reported by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
"I work in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program and a coworker said she was 'sweating like a n***er at a KKK meeting', which made the rest of the staff that were present burst out laughing," one Aboriginal respondent said. "Once they saw that I was not laughing, she tried to excuse her language/comment by saying she 'says it in front of her Aboriginal friend all the time'."
While travelling in Queensland, another respondent said they "stumbled on a property with Nazi symbols." "I have researched online and found this place and the Nazi symbols have been there for a number of years," they added.
"I was serving a customer who disclosed to me that they (or their partner?) had 'drove over an Aboriginal'. This dehumanising language was both shocking and upsetting. Prior to disclosing this information, they were looking at my Blak Pride pin from Clothing the Gaps which has the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flag connected by a rainbow" — Aboriginal respondent
Others reported seeing calls for the lynching of First Nations people on social media, with the report noting that 29 per cent of incidents occurred online or through other media platforms.
The report found that 33 per cent of reported incidents were aggressive, including hate speech, threats, harassment, and physical harm. Over a quarter of the incidents involved strangers, while 25 per cent involved employees or workers.
"The report again identified that there are very few spaces for First Nations people that are free from racism, which is experienced intergenerationally, in daily life and at more structural levels," Associate Professor Fiona Allison from Jumbunna said.
"Its significant impacts are again made clear — on work, education, relationships, health etc — as are the enormous barriers to effectively addressing it. We heard that key solutions lie with First Nations people themselves, and a public more educated about their responsibilities to avoid and address racism."
For more information and to make a report visit: https://callitout.com.au/
Lifeline (13 11 14)
13YARN (13 92 76)
Yarning Safe'N'Strong (1800 959 563)
Beyond Blue (1300 22 46 36)
