
News

Submission on the draft Religious Discrimination Bill
The Australian Human Rights Commission supports reform to improve protections against religious discrimination for all people in Australia. While supporting much of the draft Religious Discrimination Bill, the Commission urges that the Bill be amended to avoid limiting other human rights and...
National Consultations with Australian Muslims
The Race Discrimination Commissioner Chin Tan will today announce a series of national consultations with the Muslim community in Australia about their experiences of hate speech and violence and about their ideas for change. Commissioner Tan will make the announcement at a Harmony Day Event in...
Reconciliation Australia Barometer shows steady progress, but still work to do
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar AO and the Race Discrimination Commissioner Chin Tan have welcomed today’s release of the Reconciliation Barometer. The survey conducted every two years since 2008, measures the progress of reconciliation between...
The AHRC and the Racial Discrimination Act: setting the record straight
Federal racial hatred legislation and the complaints-handling processes of the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) are currently the subjects of an inquiry by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights. The Committee’s ‘Freedom of speech in Australia’ inquiry, due to report by 28...
Forty years of the Racial Discrimination Act
In October 1975, at a ceremony for the proclamation of the Racial Discrimination Act, then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam described the legislation as ‘a historic measure’, which aimed to ‘entrench new attitudes of tolerance and understanding in the hearts and minds of the people’.(1) The Act was...
40 years of the Racial Discrimination Act
Explore an opinion piece that celebrates 40 years of the Racial Discrimination Act by former Race Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Tim Soutphommasane.
The Asianisation of Australia?
Keynote speech to Asian Studies Association of Australia Annual Conference, “AsiaScapes: Contesting Borders”
Communique 2010 - Racism, exclusion and poverty: key factors reducing international student safety (2010)
Monday, 12 April 2010 Racism, exclusion and poverty: key factors reducing international student safety On 31 March 2010, the Academy of the Social Sciences, the Australian Human Rights Commission and Universities Australia worked in partnership to plan and deliver the Racism and the Student...
2024 UNESCO Chair Oration: The racism of benign assimilation
Giridharan Sivaraman's anti-discrimination legal and advocacy work is based on his strong passion for human rights, as well as his moral conviction to speak truth to power and fight for the rights of the marginalised, oppressed, and vilified. The UNESCO Chair, Cultural Diversity and Social Justice is committed to conducting high impact research aligned with UNESCO's core objectives, as well as fostering effective dialogue that acknowledges and respects the value and integrity of all peoples and cultures.
Media Diversity Australia Event: Launch of Race Reporting Handbook
Launch of the Race Reporting Handbook by Media Diversity Australia and the Australian Human Rights Commission to promote anti-racist journalism and inclusive storytelling.
How to be an anti-racist in the workplace
Diversity and representation in the workplace is important, but not enough to tackle racism alone. In this session, Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman, explains an anti-racism approach which confronts the structural racism embedded in workplaces, and allows people of negatively racialised backgrounds to thrive. This event was brought to you by Multicultural Affairs Queensland in partnership with the Australian Human Rights Commission for Multicultural Queensland Month 2024.