Australia’s Fourth Universal Periodic Review

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a peer-review dialogue undertaken by the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council and all 192 Member States of the UN.

Every five years, the UPR considers the progress of every country in the realisation of all human rights. It identifies human rights achievements and challenges, with countries making recommendations to the country undergoing review.

In 2026, Australia will appear before the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in Geneva, for its fourth Universal Periodic review.

The UPR is an opportunity to:

• take stock of how well we are protecting the human rights of all people in Australia
• inform the international community of the human rights situation in Australia
• engage with other countries about specified steps Australia will take to improve the enjoyment of human rights in Australia.

Australia has undergone three reviews, the first in 2011, the second in 2015 and the third in 2021.

The review will take place on the basis of three documents:

• the national report prepared by the Australian Government
• the United Nations human rights report
• the stakeholders report which includes contributions by the AHRC and NGOs from Australia.

The Commission’s role in the UPR

In advance of the appearance, the Commission will contribute an independent assessment of Australia’s human rights situation on the ground, make recommendations about ongoing challenges, and will assess the implementation status of the 344 recommendations that were made during Australia’s third UPR process.

Our submission to the fourth cycle review will welcome positive developments since the last cycle in 2021 and will highlight the ongoing substantial weaknesses in Australia’s human rights protections and new challenges that are arising.

Civil society participation in the UPR

NGOs and civil society organisations are also invited to take part in the UPR process. Submissions can be made individually or jointly with other NGOs. Submissions for the fourth cycle of the UPR are now open. More information about the NGO coalition can be found on the Human Rights Law Centre website.