Search results

The same-sex partner of a federal government employee is denied access to certain superannuation and workers’ compensation death benefits available to an opposite-sex partner.

1. The federal government should amend the discriminatory laws identified by this Inquiry to ensure that same-sex and opposite-sex couples enjoy the same financial and work-related entitlements.

The following is a summary of the findings and recommendations made in the full report. It substantially represents the content of Chapter 18 of the full report of the Same-Sex: Same Entitlements Inquiry.

Read the Same-Sex: Same Entitlements Report, which outlines human rights protection in areas such as marriage, family law, employment, and health care.

Explore the Same-Sex: Same Entitlements media kit and fact sheet, which outline human rights protection in areas like marriage, family law, and employment.

Review the Same-Sex: Same Entitlements Report, which was collated after 18 community forums were held around Australia in 2006.

The Inquiry held seven formal public hearings around Australia between 26 July 2006 and 20 October 2006. Overall, 32 organisations and 44 individuals appeared at the public hearings.

The Same-Sex: Same Entitlements Inquiry was launched by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) in April 2006. The final report of the Inquiry was completed in May 2007 and transmitted to the federal Attorney-General.

This chapter describes how the Inquiry gathered information and community views about discrimination against same-sex couples and their children. In particular, the chapter addresses the following questions:

The following is a selection of extracts from these stories.[1] The stories demonstrate the compound effect of discrimination against same-sex families in the area of financial and work-related entitlements.

The following chapter summarises the findings and recommendations made in each of Chapters 4 – 16 in this report. This chapter should be read in conjunction with Appendix 1 which sets out the list of legislation to be amended in order to eliminate discrimination against same-sex couples and their children.

Protecting the best interests of a child is one of the most important principles of international law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in particular. This chapter focuses on whether federal law currently protects the best interests of a child being raised by lesbian or gay parents.

It is simple to remove discrimination against same-sex couples in laws conferring financial and work-related benefits: amend the definitions describing a couple to include same-sex and opposite-sex couples alike.

Employment is fundamental to the lives of Australian families. For many individuals, work is their major activity outside the home, and ensures their family’s financial security.

The Inquiry received submissions from 680 different individuals and organisations. Some provided submissions in response to both the first and second round discussion papers.

This discussion paper briefly discusses federal laws which exclude same-sex couples from accessing financial and work-related entitlements. The paper discusses the following areas of federal law:

3.1 Equality before the law and non-discrimination (a) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has yet to be implemented in law, policy and practice. [12] Recommendation: The Commission recommends that Government develop, in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, a National Strategy to give effect to the

2.1 Scope of international obligations During Australia’s review, the Government made a commitment to improving Australia’s monitoring of its international human rights obligations. Australia is a party to seven of the core human rights treaties and maintains a number of reservations under these. The Australian Government made a commitment to conduct a comprehensive review of such…

2.1 Scope of international obligations 2.2 National framework 2.3 Equality before the law and non-discrimination 2.4 Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers 2.5 Right to life, liberty and security of the person 2.1 Scope of international obligations Australia prides itself on its commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights and has announced its candidacy for election to the…

3.1 Equality before the law and non-discrimination A prominent theme throughout Australia’s UPR was the unacceptable level of disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, with 50 of the countries that spoke during the interactive dialogue referring to issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. [15] Since its appearance the Australian…