A Sydney barber says he’s devastated after being taken to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission for not cutting a young girl’s hair.

Sam Rahim runs a barber shop in Hunters Hill Village on Sydney’s North Shore, where he exclusively cuts men’s hair.

Just before Christmas, a woman, a lawyer, walked into his shop asking him to cut her daughter’s hair.

Sydney barber Sam Rahim will face the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission after refusing to cut a young girl's hair. Picture: 9NEWS. (9NEWS)

“I refused politely,” he said.

“I explained I’m not qualified to cut women's or girls’ hair. I’ve never done it.

“But she kept pressing me, saying I should just do it. I told her there are three women’s hair salons within a minute’s walk but she became angry and stormed out.”

Mr Rahim told 9NEWS he refused the job because he's unqualified to cut girl's hair after years of exclusively cutting men's hair. Picture: 9NEWS. (9NEWS)

Mr Rahim says the woman then took her complaint to the HREOC – claiming he breached anti-discrimination laws and embarrassed her daughter.

“She might have been more embarrassed walking to school if I’d butchered her hair,” Mr Rahim said.

“The skills are different. Look up barber and it says 'a place where men get their hair cut'.”

The mother of the young girl claimed he breached anti-discrimination laws, despite the required skills to cut women's and men's hair being different. Picture: 9NEWS. (9NEWS)

Mr Rahim has had to hire a lawyer and with a wife and baby to support, he's now concerned what impact the case will have on his livelihood.

The Australian Hairdressing Council’s Sandy Chong said there are different techniques used when cutting men’s and women’s hair.

“Barbering didn’t have a qualification for 31 years and was only reintroduced two years ago,” she said.

With a wife and baby, Mr Rahim is now worried about the effect legal costs could have on his livelihood. Picture: 9NEWS. (9NEWS)

“It’s now reached a stage where many female hairdressers are doing the qualification because they see a growing market.”

“Someone like Mr Rahim - (after) cutting only men’s hair for so many years - probably has more skills than many of the teachers of the course. I understand why he wouldn’t be comfortable cutting women’s hair.”

The court case is due in the next couple of weeks.

“I haven’t been able to sleep. My wife hasn’t been able to sleep. I don’t understand why someone would do something like this,” Mr Rahim said.

The complainant, who 9News.com.au is not naming to avoid identifying her daughter, supplied the following statement.

"A claim has been brought against Hunters Hill Barber Shop in the Federal Circuit Court for an alleged breach of the Sex Discrimination Act. The basis of the claim is that the barber shop refused to simply run the clippers through my daughter's undercut, because she was a girl.

"I indicated to him that I did not need him to style, cut or trim the rest of her hair, which is styled in a 'bob'.

"Mr Rahim's explanation was that he wished to keep his barber shop for boys and men only. He never said he was not qualified to cut women or girls' hair, as he has incorrectly reported to the media.