Melbourne Airport says an alleged racial profiling incident involving a US comedian is being investigated by government agencies.

Comedian Eric André posted to social media on Monday, claiming he was singled out and made to stand in a separate line for a security inspection after arriving at Melbourne Airport's Terminal 2. 

"I do not want to be humiliated or racially discriminated against anymore at these airports," André said. 

In the social media post, André called on future employers to arrange for a police or security escort for him at the airport, as he no longer felt safe in the terminal.

In a statement, Melbourne Airport said the allegations were contrary to the airport's ethos and that an investigation had been launched by the appropriate agencies.

"Melbourne Airport does not tolerate racism in any form. We welcome all passengers to Melbourne, and we expect everyone to be treated equally," a Melbourne Airport spokesperson said.

"Upon being made aware of Mr Andre's complaint, we immediately asked the Australian Border Force (ABF) and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), the government agencies in charge of processing all international arrivals into Australia, including at Melbourne Airport, to investigate.

"Those agencies have now provided a response to Mr Andre."

Melbourne Airport said it had been advised by government agencies that André was not detained or interrogated at any point.

In response to the allegations, the ABF said it was not involved in the incident.

"We have confirmed that this was not a [Australian Border Force] detector dog or interaction," the ABF said.

"Here at the ABF we are really proud of our diverse workforce, especially at [Melbourne Airport], and the work they undertake — both human and canine — to keep the country safe."

In its own response, DAFF said all travellers were subject to biosecurity screening processes when entering Australia.

"As part of these processes, every traveller will complete incoming passenger cards and may have their baggage scanned through x-rays, be subject to individual inspections and unpacking of baggage, or by general screening with the assistance of our highly trained dog," a department spokesperson said.

"Any traveller coming into Australia will experience some or all of these screening measures."

Of the 21 million passengers who arrived in Australia by air in 2023-24, more than 7.9 million underwent "biosecurity intervention", the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also confirmed the department has received and responded to complaints from travellers following this type of screening.

Allegations of racial profiling at Australian airports are nothing new

It is the not the first time staff at Australian airports have been accused of racially profiling passengers. 

Indigenous artist Jandamarra Cadd said he was racially profiled and "interrogated" by ABF staff on his return to Australia from a diplomatic trip to Indonesia in 2017.

In 2022, Senator Lidia Thorpe claimed she was racially profiled by airline staff at Canberra Airport when boarding a flight.

It is also not the first time André has claimed he was racially profiled while travelling.

In 2022, André and fellow comedian Clayton English filed a lawsuit after incidents at Atlanta Airport, claiming they were each stopped by police officers due to racial profiling.

A Georgia District court dismissed the case in 2023 due to a lack of supporting evidence, a decision which is currently being appealed.

The Department of Home Affairs sets the broad requirements and outcomes for aviation security, with individual policy and protocol set by each airport.

"Security screening practices can differ across Australian airports. Each airport has its own screening procedures that meet the government's requirements to achieve the required level of security," the Department of Home Affairs website states.

"Selection for security screening is not based on gender, ethnicity, religion or employment."

Lack of data obscures possible racial profiling

Tamar Hopkins, a racial profiling researcher, said a lack of Australian data made assessing the extent of racial profiling in institutions across the country extremely difficult.

"By not collecting that data, we're left in the dark about the extent of racial profiling that is going on in Australia."

When asked whether it collected data on random security checks of passengers, Melbourne Airport said the processing of all international border arrivals was the responsibility of government agencies.

Dr Hopkins said anecdotal evidence suggested patterns of racial profiling in Australia, which could extend across multiple industries.

While racial profiling is effectively banned through the Race Discrimination Act, there are few institutions which have actually introduced clear bans against it in their policies.

Dr Hopkins said organisations needed to take the lead and introduce ways of randomising their screening processes to free them of human bias.

"These biases occur across the population for all individuals, regardless of their individual racial background. Racial profiling can occur by anyone and it can be done consciously or unconsciously," she said.

"I really think given the level of unconscious bias across society, it is incumbent on organisations to design out the opportunity for individuals to engage in bias."

She highlighted the police strategy of conducting random breath tests in batches as ways to cut down on any unconscious biases.