Skip to main content
Three young boys sit outdoors on grass, wearing blue shirts and eating snacks. One boy holds food, another boy looks ahead, and the third drinks from a pink cup. Trees and other children are visible in the background.
Childrens Rights

Statement of Intent on Children's Rights in Early Childhood Education and Care

In 2014, the National Children's Commissioner worked with Early Childhood Australia (ECA) to develop a Statement of Intent on Children’s Rights in Early Childhood Education and Care (Statement of Intent). The Statement of Intent identifies priority areas for action. It is a practical tool designed...
Free Speech 2014 event logo with sponsor logos: AIMIA Digital Policy Group, Australian Government Attorney-General's Department, Law Council of Australia, and Sky News.
Rights and Freedoms

Free Speech 2014

The Commission hosted a one-day symposium on free speech on Thursday 7th August 2014.
An elderly man wearing a plaid shirt rides a red mobility scooter on a sunlit sidewalk, with a tall green hedge in the background.
Disability Rights

Mobility Scooters in Registered Clubs

The use of mobility scooters has become more prevalent in public spaces. Mobility scooters have also become cheaper and are seen as a viable aid to mobility. At the same time, scooters are tending to have a larger footprint, be heavier and may also be constructed with a dual purpose, eg travelling...
A man in a wheelchair sits behind a desk with a microphone, speaking to another man in glasses whose back is to the camera. The scene appears to be in a formal or courtroom setting.
Disability Rights

Access to justice in the criminal justice system for people with disability

Synopsis The Report focuses on people with disabilities who need communication supports or who have complex and multiple support needs and who have come in contact with the criminal justice system. Negative assumptions and attitudes, coupled with a lack of support services and minimal provision of...
A young child peers through a metal fence. Text reads: The Forgotten Children. National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention 2014.
Asylum Seekers and Refugees

National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention - Index

Inquiry publications: Report - The Forgotten Children: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention 2014 (2015) ( h ard copies are available from the Commission's offices at Level 3, 175 Pitt Street, Sydney) Summary factsheet - The Forgotten Children: National Inquiry into Children in...
A stained glass window displays symbols of various religions, including a Christian cross, Buddhist wheel, Islamic crescent and star, Taoist yin-yang, Jewish Star of David, Hindu Om, and a flaming chalice.
Rights and Freedoms

Freedom of Religion and Belief

News: 1 September 2015 - Religious Freedom Roundtable announced. Introduction | More detail on Article 18 | Project: Freedom of Religion and Belief in the 21st Century | Publications | Speeches | Comments Introduction The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion is recognised in Article...
Flower Gate
Asylum Seekers and Refugees

Refugees with adverse security assessments

The Commission has serious concerns about the situation for people who have been found to be refugees, but who have received adverse security assessments from the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). For information about refugees with adverse security assessments, see the...
A child's painting shows two people on a brown boat in blue waves, with a fence in the water. The text at the bottom reads “NO WAY TO AUSTRALIA"
Asylum Seekers and Refugees

Transfer of asylum seekers to third countries

Updated 6 January 2016 In August 2012 the Australian Government introduced a third country processing regime for asylum seekers who come to Australia by boat, without a valid visa. There are many aspects of this regime which may lead to breaches of Australia’s human rights obligations. The third...
An illustration shows the text, Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution, above an image of a yellow envelope with a person symbol inside.

Immigration detention, asylum seekers and refugees

The Commission seeks to ensure that the human rights of all people held in immigration detention in Australia are protected. The Commission has focused its recent immigration detention work on the conditions and treatment of asylum seekers, refugees and children, because they have specific...
A laptop with various white digital and technology icons flowing upward from the screen on a blue background, representing internet connectivity and digital communication.
Rights and Freedoms

Human rights and the Internet

The Internet provides unparalleled opportunities for the promotion and advancement of certain rights
A smiling person wearing glasses, a green feather boa, and holding a sign stands among a crowd at a pride event. People around wave rainbow flags and colorful decorations are visible in the background.
Rights and Freedoms

Right to freedom of information, opinion and expression

Introduction This page provides access to a range of Commission work regarding the right to freedom of information, opinion and expression. More resources are available on our Human Rights: Right by Right page for freedom of information, opinion and expression, including the Human Rights Committee's...
A rainbow flag with six horizontal stripesred, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violetwaves against a clear blue sky. The flag is commonly known as the pride flag, representing LGBTQ+ pride.
LGBTIQ+

New protection

New protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status What is changing? From 1 August 2013 it became unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status under federal law. Same-sex...