A First Nations woman who says she experienced a "derogatory and humiliating" security check at a regional Coles supermarket has won the right to pursue a racial discrimination case.
Janice Edwards was using a self-scanning check-out at Coles in Dubbo, western NSW, in March 2024, when the machine registered an error and she asked a staff member for help.
Instead of clearing the error, the staff member did a security check by placing an image of Ms Edwards' face on the screen and playing video footage of her scanning groceries.
Ms Edwards told the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal that the staff member refused her requests to remove the image from the screen and instead re-scanned all of her items.
That process raised suggestions there was some kind of issue with Ms Edwards' scanning her groceries or there was an item that had been missed, the tribunal heard.
"There was, of course, no theft or attempt at theft by Ms Edwards," tribunal senior member Jill Gatland said in a judgment handed down on Wednesday.
"However, the manner in which her request for assistance was handled left Ms Edwards feeling humiliated and embarrassed."
Ms Edwards told the tribunal that she was familiar with the self-scanning technology, but believed the security check had been conducted in a "derogatory and humiliating" manner because of her race.
"She stated that she was treated unfairly and in a manner that a non-Indigenous person would not have been treated," Ms Gatland said.
Ms Edwards was granted leave to pursue the complaint against Coles before the tribunal, after she challenged the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board's decision to drop their investigation into the incident.
The tribunal found it was clear Ms Edwards would not be able to finish her shopping unless she underwent the security check, which would be central evidence at a future hearing.
"I consider that Ms Edwards may be able to satisfy the tribunal at a final hearing that the terms on which she was allowed to make purchases from Coles were different because of her race," she said.
Coles did not suggest "in any way" in evidence to the tribunal that Ms Edwards was trying to steal anything.
"Indeed, there is no evidence whatsoever that Ms Edwards is anything other than an upstanding senior member of the community in Dubbo," Ms Gatland said.
"To a great extent, the fact that there was no suggestion of misconduct on Ms Edwards' part rather underlines the point that she may have been treated differently because of her race."
Evidence from a Coles customer service manager said the cameras at self-scanning check-outs can be oversensitive and staff were trained to "never blame the customer".
The case was listed for directions at a later date.
