The Workplace Relations Commission found Mandy Place’s complaints of housing assistance discrimination and victimisation against her landlord, Marie Ioannidis, not well founded. The decision was dated 11 August 2023. Place had alleged that Ioannidis would not sign her rent supplement form and later treated her unfairly. The Commission found Place had not established facts showing discrimination or victimisation, including less favourable treatment compared with someone in a relevant housing assistance situation.
Place said Ioannidis initially agreed to sign the form but later refused. Ioannidis said she was willing to sign it, then became concerned that it contained misleading information about the tenancy and rent arrears. The officer considered her evidence credible and found tenancy issues, including arrears, had influenced her actions. In plain terms, the Commission found insufficient evidence that the landlord’s actions were because of Place’s housing assistance application or a protected act under the victimisation rules. A separate Pensions Act complaint, submitted in error, was withdrawn at the hearing.