Australia Post customers are shocked by a racist sign in one of its stores – but is there an innocent explanation?
- An Australia Post office displayed sign saying ‘we CANNOT take INDIAN photos’
- The office received massive backlash online but insisted it was ‘poor wording’
- Australia Post applications for Indian passports and visas have been rejected
- The documents have different requirements that the Post can’t always provide
Australia Post customers were left shocked after a city location said it couldn’t take ‘Indian photos’.
The sign displayed outside an inner-city Adelaide post office drew hundreds of angry comments online but Australia Post said it wasn’t meant to be discriminatory.
The sign read: ‘Due to our lighting and quality of photo background we unfortunately CANNOT take INDIAN photos.’
It then advised the nearest photo store and apologised for the inconvenience.
An Adelaide Australia Post office posted a sign (above) saying it couldn’t take ‘Indian photos’ due to problems with background and lighting
Photos of the sign were shared on social media with many outraged the post office seemed to be denying service to a specific nationality.
‘That’s insane, they can’t do that,’ one person said.
Another wrote: ‘For the pricing of that sign, they could have fixed the lighting surely?!
‘So it’s only Indians? Other races with dark complexions OK?’
‘How hard is it to change the settings?’
An Australia Post spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia the sign was a result of a large number of Indian passport and visa applications being dismissed because of the photos submitted.
Photos for Indian documents have different requirements to Australia’s, and Australia Post is not always equipped to meet the criteria.
An Australia Post spokeswoman said the sign was poorly worded but meant the office wasn’t equipped to take specialist photos for Indian passports and visas
In a statement, Australia Post apologised for the poorly worded sign and said it was put up by employees without clearance.
‘As soon as we were made aware, we immediately removed the sign and have spoken with the team member concerned,’ it said.
‘While the wording of this sign is inexcusable, we understand the Indian Consulate had rejected a number of customers’ passport photos provided by this Post Office.
‘We have reached out to the High Commission of India to understand the issue with the photographs, so we can rectify this urgently.’
The statement added that Australia Post is an inclusive company with a diverse workforce.
‘Although no offence was intended, this lapse in judgement falls well below the standard we expect from Australia Post team members,’ it said.
‘It’s especially disappointing given Australia Post prides itself on its commitment to inclusion and diversity both across our workforce and within our communities.
‘We are fully investigating the issue and will take appropriate action.’