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Asylum Seekers and Refugees

Immigration detention and human rights

Immigration detention centre in dusty field
The human rights of people who are in immigration detention are of special concern to the Commission. Liberty is a fundamental human right, recognised in major human rights instruments to which Australia is a party.

Australia's human rights progress

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Australia is widely considered the land of the "fair go".

And while that may ring true for many people, not all in our country are yet afforded the dignity and basic rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  

As the final episode in our series commemorating the Declaration’s 75th anniversary explores, its promise in Australia remains a “work in progress”.

Learn more about our series here.

What does 'human rights' mean to you?

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10 December 2023 marked 75 years since the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In this first of a 5-part video series commemorating the anniversary from a local perspective, we hear from a diverse group of Australians about what human rights means to them.  

The Commission acknowledges this series comes at a time of major global crises. It is in the pursuit of peace, justice, and equality that we discover our common ground.

Now, more than ever, it’s time to promote and protect human rights.  

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: 75 Years On Video Series

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In a video series commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we hear from a diverse group of Australians about what human rights means to them and where our nation still needs to improve.

View the rest of the series here.

Australia’s human rights champions put social justice and equality centre stage

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Women’s equity and racial equality advocate Juliana Nkrumah AM has been awarded the prestigious Human Rights Medal at the 2023 Australian Human Rights Awards in Sydney tonight.

Other awards went to Gabriel Osborne (Young People’s Award), Northern Pictures (Media and Creative Industries Award), Advocacy Tasmania (Community Award) and the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia (Law Award).

Hasty detainee laws raise human rights concerns 

Read an opinion piece from Australia's Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay raising concerns about the passage of new laws responding to the fallout from the recent NZYQ High Court decision.

Commission commends High Court ruling on indefinite immigration detention

Content type: Media Release
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The Australian Human Rights Commission has welcomed yesterday’s High Court ruling which determined that Australia’s system of indefinite immigration detention is unlawful. 

The landmark decision overturns almost two decades of the practice by Australian authorities in finding it is unlawful to hold a person in immigration detention when there is no real prospect of them being removed from Australia in the foreseeable future. 

Racism. It Stops With Me campaign relaunch

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'Racism. It Stops With Me' is a national campaign calling on Australians who have not had lived experience of racism to reflect on its causes and impacts and commit to action. No matter how challenging the conversation, we need to talk about racism and the causes of inequality. By taking a stand against racism, we can build a fair and equal society – for all.

Inspection report: Serious human rights concerns in hotel detention

Content type: Media Release
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Explore an inspection report by the Commission that found serious human rights concerns persist in the use of hotels as alternative places of detention.

The Use of Hotels as Alternative Places of Detention

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