The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a rise in racist attacks on Australia's Asian community leading to calls for Australians to report any racist behaviour.
It is believed that the Covid-19 crisis is the catalyst behind the attacks, with a quarter of victims saying that the incidents they faced were driven by the pandemic.
Although the number of cases reported has seen an increase, officials believe that there are still many incidents that are going unnoticed - with the likelihood that victims do not know how, or where, to report an incident to the authorities.
Although Australians are able to report the attacks to the Human Rights Commission, experts believe the process is too complicated.
Victorian Multicultural Commission chair Vivienne Nguyen believes the current situation is the result of a lack of understanding in the wider community.
"The lack of understanding and lack of awareness of the legislation means that we find ourselves in the situation we are in now with under-reporting," Nguyen said.
Australia's acting immigration minister says that Australians need to detach their views on the Chinese government from those of Chinese descent living in Australia.
"We've also got to be very clear in separating people's views about the Chinese government, the Communist Party of China and Australians or permanent residents here who may be ethnically Chinese."
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