A survey of more than 200 people found one in three had witnessed or experienced racism at work. Fifteen per cent had encountered it on public transport, and 31 per cent had seen it on the street. Racism may include verbal and physical abuse, offensive graffiti, and gestures where a person is treated unfavourably due to their race. Santino Deng ... 'The rest of the people I was working with laughed.' Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui ''People are often subject to unthinking behaviour which is inherently racist,'' said acting commissioner Karen Toohey. ''To hear their own community being spoken about in derogatory terms has a profound impact.'' Funeral leave in the Aboriginal community, also known as sorry business, is one example that Ms Toohey gave of an event that was commonly misunderstood and derided by co-workers. Santino Deng, from South Sudan, spent 12 years in a refugee camp in Kenya before arriving in Australia in 2005. To support himself through his arts degree at Victoria University he worked as a labourer in factories, where he said racism was commonplace.

Potential employers lost interest upon hearing his foreign name and background. Once he did find work, he was assigned the toughest tasks, some colleagues refused to speak to him, and there were often jokes about his race. Respondents who had experienced or witnessed racism in Victoria. ''Someone told me, 'you're so dark I don't see you around'. The rest of the people I was working with laughed,'' Mr Deng said. ''So I told him, 'OK, let me put the light on - maybe you have a problem with your eyes.'' Currently unable to work due to a workplace injury to his hand, the 32-year-old is seeking a less physically demanding job to allow him to sponsor his wife and young son to come to Australia. But Mr Deng is not sure what kind of society he would be welcoming them to. ''If we see the situation is not improving, then we must speak out,'' he said. ''If not for our generation, then for generations to come.'' Loading

The report also found 55 per cent of racist incidents went unreported. Ms Toohey attributed this to concern that nothing would be done, and the frequency of abuse. In an effort to combat this, anyone who witnesses racism may now fill out a report on the commission's anti-hate website. The reports will be passed on to police. People are often subject to unthinking behaviour which is inherently racist.