Civil and Political Rights
Human Rights and Technology
The Australian Human Rights Commission is undertaking a major project on the relationship between human rights and technology.
Commission position on the draft ‘COVIDSafe App’ Bill
The Australian Human Rights Commission has welcomed the release of the exposure draft of the Privacy Amendment (Public Health Contact Information) Bill 2020 (the ‘draft Bill’). This sets out the legal protections for the Australian Government’s contact-tracing COVIDSafe App.
Commission welcomes COVIDSafe App
The Australian Human Rights Commission has welcomed the COVIDSafe App as an important public health initiative, which can help protect the rights of Australians to health and life.
The App also opens the possibility of easing restrictions on other human rights, such as freedom of movement and freedom of association.
Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow said, “The Commission welcomes the App and we will continue working with the Australian Government to ensure it protects public health, while also upholding all of our human rights.”
Resisting extremism in a pandemic
When the COVID-19 pandemic spread to this big island of ours, our leaders made a momentous decision: they decided to save as many human lives as possible.
This was the right decision. It shows we as a country care about human life above all else. But now we face an even harder question: how to save lives while preventing economic collapse and staying true to our democratic values?
Mr Nauroze Anees v Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Home Affairs)
Mr Nauroze Anees v Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Home Affairs)
[2019] AusHRC 133
Report into complaint of arbitrary detention and arbitrary interference with family
Children’s Commissioner to Launch Final Report
Australia’s first Children’s Commissioner, Megan Mitchell will on Monday launch her final report – one of the most comprehensive assessments of children’s rights ever produced in Australia.
The report makes clear that the mental health of Australian children is not being cared for sufficiently and that Governments must do more to ensure children’s wellbeing.
Religious Freedom Bills second exposure draft
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Religious Discrimination Bill Forum
Event by PIAC
Over the past few weeks, the Government’s proposed Religious Discrimination Bill has been the subject of intense public debate.
PIAC are hosting a special forum to find out what it really means, its implications for human rights and potential impact on different groups within the Australian community.
Hear from the Human Rights Commissioner, anti-discrimination experts, as well as civil society representatives, about the positives, and negatives, of the Second Exposure Draft of the Bill.
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Commission calls for accountable AI
The Australian Human Rights Commission has set out a template for change for how artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies are developed and used in Australia.
In its Human Rights and Technology Discussion Paper, released today, the Commission makes wide-ranging proposals for safeguarding human rights and encouraging accessible, equal and accountable use of new technology in Australia.
