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Commonwealth Attorney-General the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP will deliver this year’s Human Rights Day Oration at the 2023 Australian Human Rights Awards in Sydney on 8 December. The Attorney-General will join 21 Awards finalists and up to 600 guests to honour some of Australia’s leading human rights heroes and to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the

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…

Australia’s National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds says ”confronting new findings from the Australian Child Maltreatment Study provide evidence, for the first time, of the scale of child maltreatment in Australia. "Child maltreatment is a much bigger problem than we thought, leading to serious negative lifelong harms for children, and massive costs to the community. “The ground…

Nominations for the 2023 Australian Human Rights Awards are now open, providing an opportunity to honour and celebrate individuals and organisations striving to defend and protect the human rights of people in Australia. This year’s Awards form a key part of Australia’s celebration and commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights…

A new set of guidelines will help Australian sports organisations act effectively and consistently in responding to incidents of spectator racism and preventing racism from occurring at sporting events. Major professional sports organisations including the AFL, Cricket Australia, NRL, Tennis Australia, and some of the nation’s largest stadiums have already endorsed the guidelines, and more…

A new education campaign is urging older Australians from a range of culturally diverse backgrounds to safeguard themselves against elder abuse by organising their wills, enduring powers of attorney and other important legal documents. Launching on this year’s World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, the Have You Thought About Later Life? campaign has been produced by the Australian Human Rights

Leading disability rights advocate Rosemary Kayess will give the 2020 Human Rights Day Oration today. Last year’s Human Rights Medal winner, and a contributor to the drafting of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Rosemary Kayess will discuss the social transformation of CRPD and the impact it has had on the community as well as her work with the Disability…

All 16 of Australia’s children’s commissioners, guardians and advocates say a commitment by state attorneys-general to develop a proposal to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12 does not go far enough. In a joint statement, Australian children’s commissioners, guardians and advocates said: “We are pleased that some jurisdictions have for the first time indicated they will look at…

The International Day of Older Persons is an opportunity to consider the contribution made by older Australian workers and the importance of creating age friendly workplaces. The percentage of Australians aged 65 and over in the labour force doubled between 2000 and 2015 - and 20% of people over 70 are still working. We need to continue this trend so individuals can contribute and continue…

The Australian Government must act urgently to reduce the number of people in closed immigration detention in response to the ongoing risks posed by COVID-19, according to a new report by the Australian Human Rights Commission. Management of COVID-19 risks in immigration detention recommends new safety measures be introduced to protect people in immigration detention, and the wider community…