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Race Discrimination
13 October 2023Media ReleaseCommission President calls for human rights in Australia to be upheld in wake of Middle East conflict
The President of the Australian Human Rights Commission is calling for respect for human rights to be front of mind for all Australians as the situation in the Middle East continues to worsen. Commission President and Acting Race Discrimination Commissioner Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM said: “The devastating conflict in Israel and Gaza and its horrific civilian fallout is… -
14 December 2012Book page
Bringing them Home - Chapter 12
Just as there are many homes, there are many journeys home. Each one of us will have a different journey from anyone else. The journey home is mostly ongoing and in some ways never completed. It is a process of discovery and recovery, it is a process of (re)building relationships which have been disrupted, or broken or never allowed to begin because of separation (Link-Up (NSW) submission 186). -
14 December 2012Book page
Annual Report 2008-2009: Chapter 4
Federal human rights and anti-discrimination law provides for the Commission to investigate and resolve complaints of alleged discrimination and breaches of human rights. The Commission’s complaint work is central to its role in protecting and promoting human rights and complements the Commission’s policy and education functions. The Commission’s complaint process provides an… -
14 December 2012Book page
HREOC REPORT NO. 37 (2007) - Report of an inquiry into Dr Julie Copeman’s complaint that Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service terminated her employment on the basis of her trade union activity
Pursuant to section 11(1)(d) of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 (Cth) ('HREOC Act'), I attach a report of my inquiry into a complaint made by Dr Julie Copeman. I have found that Dr Copeman's employment as a general medical practitioner was terminated by Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service (her employer) in circumstances that amounted to discrimination, and that such… -
14 December 2012Book page
Bringing them Home - Jennifer story
My grandmother, Rebecca, was born around 1890. She lived with her tribal people, parents and relations around the Kempsey area. Rebecca was the youngest of a big family. One day some religious people came, they thought she was a pretty little girl. She was a full blood aborigine about five years old. Anyway those people took her to live with them. -
Children's Rights
5 November 2013SpeechRespecting children’s voices in play and learning
Megan Mitchell National Children’s Commissioner Australian Human Rights Commission Continuing the conversation: are all the voices being heard Crown Plaza, Hunter Valley Friday 18 October 2013 View slides 1. Acknowledgments Slide 1 Thank you Aunty Marge for your Welcome to Country. I too would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land we meet on today. It is on their ancestral… -
Legal
6 April 2018SubmissionMigration Amendment (Clarification of Jurisdiction) Bill 2018
Downloads Introduction The Australian Human Rights Commission makes this submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee in its Inquiry into the Migration Amendment (Clarification of Jurisdiction) Bill 2018 (Cth) (Bill) introduced by the Australian Government. Summary This Bill proposes to amend Part 8 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) (Migration Act) which… -
Children's Rights
24 April 2013Speech
Privileging the voice of children in family law
I want to start by sharing with you the views of 14-year-old Rani who was – as part of a custody case – the subject of a lengthy dispute about contact. Rani had an independent children’s lawyer and a family report to present ‘her best interests’ to the judge. However she still felt totally excluded from the decision-making process. -
Rights and Freedoms
21 September 2023Media ReleaseHuman Rights Commissioner critical of COVID inquiry scope
Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of an inquiry into Australia’s handling of the COVID pandemic but has criticised the inquiry’s terms of reference for not having a specific focus on human rights impacts and for excluding the unilateral actions of state and territory governments. Today Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the… -
Children's Rights
21 July 2022Media Release
Government action needed to protect children in detention
Learn how the Human Rights Commission is deeply concerned about the safety and wellbeing of teenagers who were kept in adult detention centres. -
Rights and Freedoms
17 January 2019Speech
Echoes of breaking glass: reflections on Kristallnacht
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY We know the basic facts of Kristallnacht. On the 9th and 10th of November 1938, mobs attacked Jews in Germany and neighbouring states. They did so freely; without restraint. Many Jews were killed, many more were injured, and many more than that were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Jewish businesses were destroyed; schools and cemeteries vandalised. Over 1000 … -
14 December 2012Book page
Social Justice Report 1998 : Appendix 2: Selected Inventory of Apologies and National Sorry Day Events
Politicians, church leaders, community members and the local Aboriginal community gathered in Peace Park yesterday for 'Sorry Day', organised by local members of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. -
14 December 2012Book page
Bringing them Home - Millicent story
At the age of four, I was taken away from my family and placed in Sister Kate's Home - Western Australia where I was kept as a ward of the state until I was eighteen years old. I was forbidden to see any of my family or know of their whereabouts. Five of us D. children were all taken and placed in different institutions in WA. The Protector of Aborigines and the Child Welfare Department in their … -
Commission – General
14 December 2012SpeechFederal Anti-discrimination Law - 2004
In May last year I stepped down from my position as a Judge of the Federal Court to accept the role as President of HREOC. It has been a time of new challenges, such as the need to balance the legislative and administrative responsibilities that the Commission has been given by the federal government, with the important role of advocating for the rights of those on the margins of Australian… -
14 December 2012Book page
Voices of Australia: Case study 1 - rightsED
AN Aboriginal girl who kicked a woman and called her a ``white slut'' did not engage in racial vilification because the slur was common street language. -
1 February 2024Conciliation register
2022-10-05
The complainant has a spinal cord injury and uses an electric wheelchair. The complainant said he booked a flight with the respondent airline and was informed that, in accordance with its policies, airline staff would assist him to transfer from his wheelchair to his seat on the plane. The complainant alleged that on arriving to board the flight, he was informed staff could not assist him to… -
Race Discrimination
30 March 2017Speech
Graduation speech: Moral courage
Speech given at University of South Australia Graduation Ceremony Check against delivery It is wonderful to be joining you this afternoon. To all those who will be graduating very shortly, my warmest congratulations to you. And my congratulations as well to the proud families of graduands. In America, they refer to graduation as a commencement ceremony. The idea being that the occasion wasn… -
14 December 2012Book page
Mature Workers: Case studies from the workplace
With the Australian workforce changing rapidly, more and more employers are recognising the benefits that older workers bring to their organisation: experience, reliability, dependability, to name a few. -
Rights and Freedoms
29 January 2024Media Release
Statement on the ruling of the International Court of Justice 26 January 2024
The Australian Human Rights Commission reiterates our calls for: human rights to be respected for Palestinians and Israelis; the need to uphold international humanitarian and human rights law; and the rights to protest, freedom of assembly and association. Following the interim ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 26 January, we join calls for: urgently needed basic services… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
7 May 2021Media ReleaseKimberley Aboriginal Women develop regional action plan
This week 100 women, including 85 Kimberley Aboriginal women, gathered for a three-day roundtable to commence development of a regional action plan and establish the Kimberley Aboriginal Women’s Council. The roundtable, held from May 4-6, 2021, was convened in response to the landmark Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women’s Voices) report released by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commissioner…