A former employee of McArthur Recruitment, who provide Ticketek with staff to operate Adelaide Oval's box offices, says she was told to discriminate against Aboriginal people at last year's NAIDOC week game between Adelaide and Geelong.

Key points: A whistleblower says she was told to tell Aboriginal patrons that a game between Adelaide and Geelong was sold out when it was not

A whistleblower says she was told to tell Aboriginal patrons that a game between Adelaide and Geelong was sold out when it was not When she told her supervisor she felt uncomfortable with the directive, the whistleblower says she was told to "just follow the directive"

When she told her supervisor she felt uncomfortable with the directive, the whistleblower says she was told to "just follow the directive" The SA Equal Opportunity Commission says it cannot investigate discrimination unless the complaint comes from the person who is aggrieved

She said the box office supervisor at Adelaide Oval's eastern box office told staff to tell Aboriginal patrons the game was sold out when it was not.

"She turned around and told everyone in the box office we'd been told not to sell tickets to any more Aboriginal people," she said.

A representative from McArthur Recruitment confirmed a directive of this nature was in place for "at least" an hour.

The representative said McArthur Recruitment undertook an internal investigation, which resulted in the box office supervisor being stood down from their position and suspended for two weeks.

The representative said the directive was given after a miscommunication between security guards and the box office supervisor, and that policies and procedures had changed in light of the incident.

The alleged discrimination took place while a curtain raiser match between the APY Lands and Maralinga representative football teams was being played on Adelaide Oval.

'I felt sick to my stomach', whistleblower says

The former ticket-seller who contacted the ABC with the allegations said she lied to two Aboriginal patrons who tried to buy tickets from her on the day of the incident.

When she told her supervisor she did not feel comfortable doing this she was told to put her personal feelings aside and "just follow the directive anyway".

She said she saw four more Aboriginal people turned away from the game in the time the directive was in place.

The whistleblower resigned from her position the next day, and submitted a detailed description of what she said occurred to the South Australian Equal Opportunity Commission.

But because she was not a direct victim of the discrimination the information she provided the commission could not be processed as a formal complaint, and could not be investigated by the government body.

She said she was compelled to contact the ABC after hearing a Background Briefing investigation into segregation in an Alice Springs Hotel.

Podcast Background Briefing The Black and White hotel A big name hotel has been racially segregating guests, and our undercover recordings captured it. Would you pay $129 for a room with dirty sheets, chicken bones and broken glass on the floor? About

About Subscribe

Subscribe RSS Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen More great ABC podcasts

In this investigation a whistleblower's tip-off to the Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Commission could not be investigated for the same reason.

I wish we could do more: Commissioner

When asked about the incident SA Equal Opportunity Commissioner Niki Vincent said she could not comment on specific cases for confidentiality reasons.

She highlighted the fact that whistleblower tip-offs were not enough for the commission to formally look into allegations.

"I can't investigate it unless I have a complaint from someone who is personally aggrieved by the discrimination," Dr Vincent said.

The Commissioner admitted she was sometimes frustrated by this.

She said the Australian Council of Human Rights, a body which she chaired, was "having a look" at the investigative powers of commissioners.

AFL 'not made aware of the incident'

Adelaide Oval management said they were made aware of the incident the following day, and responded by investigating, attempting to speak to the person who made the complaint, and reviewing communication protocols.

"We are unequivocal in our stance that everyone is welcome at Adelaide Oval," a spokesperson said.

"We condemn discrimination in any form. We apologise to anyone affected and have taken steps to ensure this situation doesn't arise again."

Ticketek said they endorsed the statement made by Adelaide Oval.

Adelaide Oval said an AFL representative was present on the night and was fully aware of the challenges in and around the oval that SA Police, security, and Adelaide venue staff were dealing with.

But the AFL said they were not made aware of the incident until the ABC contacted them, and were now looking into the allegations.

'Deeply troubled'

NAIDOC's John Paul Janke said he was "deeply troubled" that this alleged incident occurred during NAIDOC week, and said he hoped the bodies responsible were taking steps to ensure it did not happen again.

"I'm keen to learn of what processes — or cultural competency training — has since been put in place to ensure this never happens again," he said.

Chairperson of NAIDOC SA Scharlene Lamont said she hoped the incident reminded people that racism still existed.

"I commend people like Nicky Winmar, Eddie Betts, Adam Goodes who have the platform to change people's perceptions and they've all taken a stand against racism," she said.

"But it's everybody's responsibility to change and make a difference for all Australians, especially Aboriginal Australians."

She said NAIDOC SA will meet with Adelaide Oval to discuss what actions will be taken.