Melbourne, Feb 6 : Indian-origin employment lawyer Giridharan Sivaraman has been appointed Race Discrimination Commissioner by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC).

Sivaraman is currently the Chair of Multicultural Australia, and a Principal Lawyer at Maurice Blackburn where he is head of the firm’s Queensland Employment Law department. 

"I'm honoured to be appointed Commonwealth Race Discrimination Commissioner. And excited, and slightly terrified! But there is so much work to be done and I can't wait to work with the team at the @AusHumanRights," Sivaraman wrote in a post on X on Monday.  According to the AHRC, he has run numerous state and national race discrimination cases and led the pro bono compensation scheme for underpaid 7-eleven workers, many of whom came from migrant backgrounds. 

In addition, he provides advice and legal representation in all areas of employment law including workplace bullying, employment contracts, redundancy, restraint of trade, workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, adverse action, and unfair dismissal.  Welcoming the appointment, AHRC President, Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher said that the fight for systemic equality and speaking truth to power have been at the heart of Sivaraman’s work.