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Rights and Freedoms
16 July 2019Media ReleaseUrgent call for Federal Government to protect 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers at risk in the community
The Australian Human Rights Commission calls on the Australian Government to make urgent changes to improve protections for approximately 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers living in the Australian community. A new report released today, Lives on hold: Refugees and asylum seekers in the ‘Legacy Caseload’, reveals the human rights situation for approximately 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
19 September 2018WebpageAsylum Seekers and Refugees
Learn how everyone has the right to seek asylum and be free from persecution, regardless of how or in what country they arrive in Australia. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
26 July 2019Media Release
Transferring asylum seeker families to Nauru – human rights report
The practice of sending to Nauru families with young children who arrived in Australia seeking asylum is the subject of an inquiry report by the Australian Human Rights Commission tabled in Parliament today. [1] Mr Richard Lancaster SC, as delegate of the President, found that the regional processing centre on Nauru was not an appropriate place to send families with young children… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
16 July 2019Publication
Lives on hold: Refugees and asylum seekers in the 'Legacy caseload' (2019)
This report examines the human rights implications of policies affecting asylum seekers in the ‘Legacy Caseload’. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
9 October 2019Media Release
Court finds asylum seekers entitled to fair process
Up to 71 asylum seekers who missed out on making an application for a protection visa were still entitled to a fair assessment of their claims the Full Federal Court has held. The Court accepted submissions from the Australian Human Rights Commission that an internal process established by the Department of Home Affairs should have provided them with procedural fairness. As a result of the … -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
30 March 2017Publication
Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Human Rights: Snapshot Report (2nd Edition) 2017
The second edition of this Report provides an update on legal and policy developments related to refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia since 2013. The Report is not intended to address all the issues facing refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia. Instead, it focuses on developments which place Australia at risk of breaching its international human rights obligations -
Race Discrimination
19 May 2020WebpageThe Moveable Feast – Australia and race hate as experienced in the lifetime as an observer
Learn about the experiences of a lifetime observer of race discrimination in this thought-provoking speech by Thomas Keneally AO. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
17 June 2019Media Release
Risk management in immigration detention report released
Any significant restrictions imposed on a person held in immigration detention, including the widespread use of restraints like handcuffs, must be tailored to individual circumstances and risks, according to a new report released by the Australian Human Rights Commission today. The Commission has made 34 recommendations to improve risk management practice based on its inspections of… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
14 September 2016Publication
Pathways to Protection: A human rights-based response to the flight of asylum seekers by sea
President’s introduction Australia’s policy of sending asylum seekers and refugees to Nauru and Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island for processing of their claims has been one of the most contentious aspects of Australia’s migration policies. Introduced in 2012, third country processing has been a key plank of successive Australian governments to deter asylum seekers from travelling to Australia by… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
16 June 2020Submission
Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2020
The concerns outlined in this submission draw on the Commission’s work inspecting Australia’s immigration detention facilities. The Commission has conducted such inspections since the mid-1990s. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
5 August 2020Media Release
Statement on Christmas Island immigration detention
The Australian Human Rights Commission is deeply concerned that the Australian Border Force plans to re-open the immigration detention facility at Christmas Island. The Commission has carried out inspections of Australia's onshore and offshore immigration detention facilities for many years. The Commission's advice has been consistent: Christmas Island is not an appropriate place for an -
Rights and Freedoms
17 January 2019Speech
Echoes of breaking glass: reflections on Kristallnacht
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY We know the basic facts of Kristallnacht. On the 9th and 10th of November 1938, mobs attacked Jews in Germany and neighbouring states. They did so freely; without restraint. Many Jews were killed, many more were injured, and many more than that were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Jewish businesses were destroyed; schools and cemeteries vandalised. Over 1000 … -
Rights and Freedoms
2 September 2019Media Release
Commissioners call for compassionate approach for Tamil family
Australian Children’s Commissioner Megan Mitchell and Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow have today written to Minister David Coleman, calling for an urgent and compassionate resolution for the Tamil family detained in immigration detention on Christmas Island. “Given their connection to Australia, showing compassion and allowing the family to stay together in the only community the…