Glossary - Annual Report 2011-2012: Australian Human Rights Commission
Glossary
A
- AAT
- Administrative Appeals Tribunal
- ACARA
- The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority is the independent authority responsible for the development of a national curriculum, a national
assessment program and a national data collection and reporting program. - ADA
- Age Discrimination Act 2004
- AHRCA
- Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986
- ANAO
- Australian National Audit Office
- APF
- Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions – A member-based
organisation that supports the establishment and strengthening of independent
human rights institutions in the Asia Pacific region. - APS
- Australian Public Service
- ASTRA
- Australian Subscription Television Association
- ASX
- Australain Securities Exchange
- ATSIC
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission
- AusAID
- Australian Agency for International Development
- Action Plan
- A voluntary mechanism for organisations to structure their own compliance efforts.
- Amicus Curiae
- ‘Friend of the court’ – The role of amicus curiae is to provide special assistance
to the court in resolving issues raised by the case and to draw attention to aspects
of the case that might otherwise have been overlooked.
B
- Braille
- A tactile form of reading and writing used by people who are blind or vision impaired, invented by Louis Braille in 1829.
- Building Code of Australia
- Developed by the Australian Building Codes Board on behalf of the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments, the Building Code of Australia (BCA) provides a nationally accepted and uniform set of technical requirements for all areas of building, from design to construction.
C
- CDS
- Commonwealth Disability Strategy
- CEDAW
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
- CEO
- Chief Executive Officer
- COAG
- Council of Australian Governments
- CPSU
- Community and Public Sector Union
- CSW
- United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
- Certificate IV
- A basic post-secondary level of qualification for training gained under the Australian Qualifications Framework, which provides the hierarchy of educational qualifications in Australia.
- Commission, the
- The Australian Human Rights Commission
- Consultancy contract
- A contract that typically defines the nature, purpose and duration of the task to
be performed, but not (in any detail) the manner in which the task is to be performed by a consultant. The consultant is usually paid on completion of milestones or in a lump sum. - Consultancy service
- A particular type of service delivered under a contract for services, distinguished from other contracts by the nature of the work performed. Consultancy services involve the application of expert professional skills to: investigate or diagnose
a defined issue or problem, carry out defined research, reviews or evaluations; or provide independent advice, information or creative solutions to assist the agency
in management decision making. - Consultant
- An entity (whether an individual, a partnership or a corporation) engaged to
provide professional independent and expert advice or services. Consultants
are not employees of the department and are not paid wages or other
employee entitlements. - Corporate Social Responsibility
- The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility is generally understood to mean that corporations have a degree of responsibility not only for the economic consequences of their activities, but also for the social and environmental implications. This is sometimes referred to as a ‘triple bottom line’ approach that considers the economic, social and environmental aspects of corporate activity.
- Cyberbullying
- A form of bullying carried out through an internet service, mobile phone or other electronic device.
D
- DDA
- Disability Discrimination Act 1992
- DPO
- Disabled People’s Organisations
E
- EL
- Executive Level
- EMRIP
- Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Expert Mechanism
- Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – Composed of five
experts (from Congo, Malaysia, Norway, Costa Rica and the Philippines), the
Expert Mechanism provides thematic expertise on the rights of indigenous peoples to the Human Rights Council, the main human rights body of the United Nations.
F
- FaHCSIA
- Department of Families, Housing, Community Service and Indigenous Affairs
- Fair Work Australia
- Fair Work Australia is the national workplace relations tribunal. It is an independent body with power to carry out a range of functions relating to the safety net of minimum wages and employment conditions; enterprise bargaining; industrial
action; dispute resolution; termination of employment; and other workplace matters.
G
- GST
- Goods and Services Tax
- General Assembly
- The United Nations General Assembly – One of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation. Its powers are to oversee the budget of the United Nations, appoint the non-permanent members to the Security Council, receive reports from other parts of the United
Nations and make recommendations in the form of General Assembly Resolutions.
H
- Human Rights Technical Cooperation Program
- In August 1997, China and Australia initiated a high level dialogue on human rights during the course of which it was agreed that the two countries would undertake a program of technical cooperation. The goal of the Program is to strengthen the administration, promotion and protection of human rights in China.
I
of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech,
freedom of assembly, electoral rights and rights to due process and a fair trial.
of the employer and that individual employee” in an individual context.
K
is a shortening of Kindergarten (4–6-year-old) through 12th grade or grade 12
(16–19 years old).
L
or oppression themselves.
N
natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term is usually applied only to organizations that pursue some wider social aim that has political aspects.
O
- OPCAT
- Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment – An international agreement which establishes a two-tiered system
of inspections of places of detention, with the aim of preventing torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. - Operations
- Functions, services and processes performed in pursuing the objectives or
discharging the functions of an agency. - Outcomes
- The results, impacts or consequence of actions by the Commission on the
Australian community. - Outputs
- The goods or services produced by agencies on behalf of government for external organisations or individuals. Outputs include goods and services produced for other areas of government external to an agency.
P
- Pacific Disability Forum
- The peak non-government organisation in the Pacific representing Pacific Islanders with disabilities, their rights and entitlements. Its purpose is to promote and facilitate Pacific regional cooperation on disability-related concerns for the benefit of people with disabilities.
- Permanent Forum
- United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues – An advisory body to the United Nations Economic and Social Council with a mandate to discuss indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment,
education, health and human rights. - Podrights
- A Podcast from the Australian Human Rights Commission
Q
- QUT
- Queensland University of Technology
R
- RAP
- Reconciliation Action Plan – A self-generated plan that helps organisations build positive relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, through
engagement within their sphere of influence, in the national effort to close the
gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and other Australians. - RDA
- Racial Discrimination Act 1975
- RMIT
- Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University
- Roundtable
- Formal meetings between interested parties (mainly government and non
government industry) where everyone has equal status.
S
- SDA
- Sex Discrimination Act 1984
- SES
- Senior Executive Service
- SMS
- Short message service – text messaging on a mobile telephone.
- Service charter
- Public statements about the service that a department or agency will provide.
- Special Rapporteur
- A title given to individuals working on behalf of the United Nations who bear a
specific mandate from the UN Human Rights Council to investigate, monitor and recommend solutions to human rights problems. This appointment in made by
the UN Secretary General.
T
- TTY
- Text Telephone – A special device that lets people who are deaf, hearing impaired,
or speech-impaired use the telephone to communicate, by allowing them to type messages back and forth to one another, instead of talking and listening.
U
- UN
- The United Nations
- UNESCO
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – Established on
16 November 1945 and based in Paris, UNESCO is a specialized agency of the United Nations which has 193 Member States and seven Associate Members. Its stated mission is to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty,
sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information. UNESCO’s two global priorities are Africa and gender equality. - UNHCR
- Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- UNPFII
- United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues – An advisory body to the Economic and Social Council, with a mandate to discuss indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health
and human rights. - UPR
- Universal Periodic Review – A State-driven process under the auspices of the Human Rights Council which involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN Member States once every four years. It provides the opportunity for each State to declare the actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfil their human rights obligations.
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- Adopted unanimously by the members of the United Nations on 10 December 1948, it is the foundation on which much international law has been based. It sets out
the fundamental rights of all people, including the right to life; freedom from slavery, torture and arbitrary arrest; freedom of thought, opinion and religion; the right to
a fair trial and equality before the law; the right to work and education; and the right
to participate in the social, political and cultural life of one's country. - Universal design
- A code to describe the design of building products so that the largest number of people, including people with disabilities, can use them.