Vorchheimer’s legal win over VMC
The Victorian Multicultural Commission amends charter after antisemitic posts by former commissioner.
A Melbourne Jewish community member has forced the Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC) to amend its charter after a former commissioner posted content on social media describing Jews as the devil and having horns.
Menachem Vorchheimer lodged an application against the VMC under the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 following statements made online by Mohamed Mohideen, who was then a VMC commissioner and is now president of the Islamic Council of Victoria.
The matter was resolved at a compulsory conference before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal on December 18, 2025.
The VMC agreed to amend its charter to explicitly state that publishing content that denigrates or dehumanises any person or group on the basis of race, religion, or any other attribute protected by the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 constitutes a breach.
Vorchheimer said he had raised the matter with the Premier and Multicultural Affairs Minister Ingrid Stitt before taking legal action, but his correspondence went unanswered.
“People like Tom Elliott at 3AW followed up with the Premier in advance of the legal proceeding. So it wasn’t as if they weren’t aware, but they, unfortunately, as our community is well aware, chose to ignore the issue,” he said.
He brought the action under Section 15 of the Act, which covers authorising and assisting, arguing that the VMC bore responsibility for conduct by its commissioner undertaken in his representative capacity.
“We’re not talking about new laws. We’re talking about existing laws and things that have always been clear at law but haven’t been enforced by our government,” he said.
As part of the resolution, the VMC also agreed to publish a statement clarifying that Mohideen’s posts did not reflect the commission’s views.
“This outcome is really a poor reflection on the government that we’ve had to ask for it,” Vorchheimer said. “It’s disappointing that legal action was necessary. Government should have had this charter with those words years ago.”
He said he believed the charter amendment would have practical effect, and that VMC members who participated in the conference had genuinely engaged with the issue.
“I believe they grasped the issue, and they understood how wrong it was,” he said.