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Commission – General
14 December 2012SpeechSite navigation
Human rights are said to be universal and indivisible. This paper explores how far that universality introduces human rights principles into the functions and work of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). The answer, I think, could be “further than you realise”. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
11 December 2019SpeechInaugural National Indigenous Women’s Leadership Symposium
[Introduction in Bunuba] Jalangurru lanygu wiyi yani. I want to pay my respects to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional owners of the land we meet on today, and to their elders both past and present. I also want to thank and congratulate the organisers of this event – everyone at Women in Leadership Australia and everyone at Women’s Business. Well thank you all for having… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
15 June 2021Media ReleaseCommission urges immediate action on COVID-19 risk to people in immigration detention
The Australian Government must act urgently to reduce the number of people in closed immigration detention in response to the ongoing risks posed by COVID-19, according to a new report by the Australian Human Rights Commission. Management of COVID-19 risks in immigration detention recommends new safety measures be introduced to protect people in immigration detention, and the wider community… -
Technology and Human Rights
16 December 2019Media ReleaseCommission calls for ethical AI
Learn more about how Australians need ethical AI which is designed and deployed to protect human rights. -
14 April 2015Book page
6 Giving effect to the Declaration
6.1 Introduction 6.2 Steps taken by the Australian Government to implement the Declaration 6.3 Giving effect to the Declaration 6.4 Conclusion and recommendations 6.1 Introduction Throughout my term, I have continually emphasised the importance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [565] (the Declaration). The Declaration is the most comprehensive and advanced… -
14 December 2012Book page
A Time to Value - Part A
In August 2001, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) began a comprehensive examination of the need or otherwise for a national paid maternity leave scheme in Australia. -
14 December 2012Book page
Commission Website: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
I looked up and saw a long line of men, women and children waiting to have their blood taken. I was standing beside a small table in a RAAF tent with a co-worker. It was 40 degrees Celsius in the Kimberly November humidity. Both ends of our tent were open in a vain attempt to get a breeze through as we worked side by side with flies buzzing around our faces and hands and sweat running down our… -
Legal
14 December 2012WebpageMinister for Immigration v Ah Hin Teoh
1. On 20 November 1989 the Convention on the Rights of the Child ("the Convention") (ATS 1991 No 4) was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations and opened for signature, ratification and accession (see Cth Gaz No GN I, 13 January 1993, p 85). On 22 August 1990 the Convention was signed for Australia (see ATS 1991 No 4, P 35, n 1). On 2 September 1990, pursuant to Article… -
Rights and Freedoms
13 February 2017Opinion pieceOPCAT could revolutionise Australia's treatment of detainees
The federal government has announced it will ratify and implement the OPCAT treaty . Few people will have heard of OPCAT (Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture). It creates no new legal rights. Yet it could be the single most positive step this decade in improving conditions in all Australian places of detention. OPCAT will enhance how independent bodies inspect places of… -
Commission – General
17 January 2019Media Release
Finalists for 2018 Government Award revealed
Four finalists have been selected from a diverse range of nominations for the 2018 Human Rights Awards’ Government Award. This year marks the first time our Awards recognise Government as a stand-alone category. “There are many Government groups and individuals helping others overcome discrimination and isolation and building tolerance and respect in the community and further afield,” said … -
14 December 2012Book page
Native Title Report 2000: Appendix 1
(a) whether the finding of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD Committee) that the Native Title Amendment Act 1998 is inconsistent with Australia's international legal obligations, in particular the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, is sustainable on the weight of informed opinion; -
14 December 2012Book page
National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
Australia's Immigration Detention Centres are contradictory to the human rights of the child. The Immigration Detention experience is extremely harmful to children and has effects of traumatisation and re-traumatisation during the Detention experience and continuing after release. Concerning alternatives to Detention, the present options are also not geared towards the best interest of the child. -
Rights and Freedoms
14 December 2012Speech
Don Chipp Foundation Defending Democracy Public Forum “What a Bill of Rights could deliver for Australia”: Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM (2005)
Many of you here would have read Tony Stephen’s SMH article ‘Stand up for your rights stuff’ of Saturday 8 October, where he gave an account of the launch by New Matilda of a campaign to install a Bill of Rights in Australia. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
27 January 2016Opinion piece
Government’s Healthy Welfare Card no solution to alcohol abuse
In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across the country, old wounds are being reopened. Many of our people are being forced to revisit the past trauma of income management and stolen wages. The federal government’s Healthy Welfare Card has created great concern and contention, as the measure will disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and… -
Children's Rights
27 October 2017SpeechChildren’s rights to safety and to a holistic education
Good morning everyone and thank you Katharine O’Donnell, ANZELA National President, for inviting me to be part of what I hear has been a stimulating event to date and to present the Dr Ann Shorten Memorial Lecture. I too would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet today, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to elders past, present… -
Disability Rights
14 December 2012SpeechTHE DDA AS A TOOL FOR CHANGE
I am particularly pleased to welcome the Honourable Daryl Williams, Attorney-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, who has kindly agreed to open our proceedings. -
Children's Rights
30 June 2014Speech
Presentation to the ANZCDR&PG Annual Meeting by Megan Mitchell
Insights into the key human rights issues facing children and young people by the National Children's Commissioner. -
14 December 2012Book page
HREOC Annual Report 2003-2004 : Chapter 4: Complaint Handling Section
The Complaint Handling Section (CHS) is responsible, through the President, for investigating and conciliating complaints lodged under federal anti-discrimination and human rights law. The CHS also delivers a Complaint Information Service. Accordingly, the CHS plays a key role in fulfilling the Commission's objective of delivering an Australian society in which human rights are protected. -
Disability Rights
16 October 2013Speech
Housing Demonstration Project Launch of The Summer Foundation Apartments
Patricia had a degenerative disability, and lived in Department Of Housing accommodation. She has used a wheelchair for the last few years. It was a beautiful sunny day outside, but we talked in her kitchen while my friends from church worked in her garden. She told me she didn't leave the house much, and had only gone out a couple of times this year- it was September. -
14 December 2012Book page
Native Title Report 2011: Chapter 1: Reviewing key developments in the Reporting Period
In this Chapter I review key developments within the native title system that occurred throughout the Reporting Period (1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011) and consider the impact of these events on the exercise and enjoyment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ human rights.