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Australia Post customers are horrified by a racist sign in one of its stores – but is there an innocent explanation?
- An Australia post office displayed a sign reading ‘we CANNOT take INDIAN photos’
- The office received a massive response online, but insisted it was “bad wording.”
- Australia Post applications for Indian passports and visas have been rejected
- The documents have different requirements that the Post cannot always provide
Australia Post customers were shocked after a venue in the city said it was not allowed to take ‘Indian photos’.
The sign outside a post office in Adelaide’s inner city stating that the shop is not allowed to take ‘Indian photos’ drew hundreds of angry reactions online, but Australia Post said it was not intended to be discriminatory.
The sign read: ‘Unfortunately, due to our lighting and quality of the photo background, we CANNOT take INDIAN photos.’
It then recommended the nearest photo shop and apologized for the inconvenience.
A post office in Adelaide Australia posted a sign (above) saying it could not take ‘Indian photos’ due to background and lighting issues
Photos of the sign were shared on social media, and many were outraged that the post office appeared to be refusing a certain nationality.
“That’s insane, they can’t,” someone said.
Another wrote: ‘For the price of that sign they could have fixed the lighting?!
So it’s only Indians? Other dark-skinned races OK?’
“How hard is it to change the settings?”
However, an Australia Post spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia that the sign was the result of a large number of rejected Indian passport and visa applications.
Photos for Indian documents have different requirements than 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 was not equipped to take specialist photos for Indian passports and visas
In a statement, Australia Post apologized for the poorly worded sign, saying it was put up by employees without permission.
“As soon as we were informed, we immediately removed the sign and spoke to the appropriate team member,” it read.
“While the wording of this sign is unforgivable, we understand that the Indian Consulate had rejected passport size photographs of a number of customers provided by this post office.
“We have contacted the High Commission of India to understand the problem with the photos so that we can rectify it quickly.”
The statement added that Australia Post is an inclusive company with a diverse workforce.
While no offense was intended, this error of judgment falls well below the standard we expect from Australia Post team members.
“It is particularly disappointing as Australia Post prides itself on its commitment to inclusion and diversity, both within our workforce and our communities.
“We are fully investigating the matter and will take appropriate action.”