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Dear friends, Australia is one of the safest, most stable and prosperous countries on the planet. For most of us, most of the time, it is a great place to live. For many Australians, human rights violations are things that happen to other people in other places, often overseas. This can lead to complacency about our own rights protection and the importance of protecting the rights of those…

Eye opening video on elder abuse What does elder abuse look like? It may be physical, financial or psychological, but many Australians do not see the abuse that older people sometimes suffer. Last week, on International Day of Older Persons, Age Discrimination Commissioner Dr Kay Patterson launched a campaign centred on a hard-hitting video that identifies the “red flags” of elder abuse to…

Welcoming our new Children's Commissioner, Anne Hollonds Anne Hollonds commences her role as Australia’s National Children’s Commissioner today. Anne brings with her a wealth of experience as an advocate for children and young people. She has worked as the CEO of Relationships Australia, the Benevolent Society and – most recently – the Australian Institute of Family Studies. The Commission…

News and updates from the Australian Human Rights Commission

Dear friends, It was good to reflect at the recent Law Institute of Victoria Legal Sector Dinner on access to justice, the role of lawyers and the law. Too often our legal system delivers unequal access to justice – different standards of justice depending on who you are, where you live and how much is in your bank account. Laws granting people rights are meaningless if people can’t enforce…

Letter from the President: May 2024 It has been a challenging time, with the tragic events at Bondi and Wakeley casting a sombre shadow. It's imperative that we condemn these acts of violence in the strongest possible terms and work together to ensure such tragedies do not occur again. The aftermath of these attacks has sparked heated debate in the media about the right to free speech, and…

However, given the extraordinary circumstances of 2020 we believe a new and different approach is needed to celebrate the many human rights heroes who have emerged this year.