Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs has vigorously defended her handling of a controversial case at the centre of the push to overhaul Australia's racial discrimination laws, taking aim at "misinformation in some parts of the media".

However, in recommendations that are likely to inform future legal changes, Professor Triggs conceded the commission needed greater powers to dismiss race-hate complaints that were "not warranted" and to resolve disputes more quickly.

The complaint against Queensland University of Technology and seven of its students has become a centrepiece in the campaign to reform or scrap section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act, with opponents arguing the case was vexatious.

The students were accused of making offensive remarks on a university Facebook page after a non-Indigenous student was ejected from an Indigenous computer lab. The complaint was thrown out of a Brisbane court in November.