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Age Discrimination
22 July 2020Media ReleaseUrgent call to harmonise powers of attorney
Australia’s Age Discrimination Commissioner, the Hon Dr Kay Patterson AO, has called on the federal and state and territory Attorneys-General to act urgently to implement the Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) recommendations on powers of attorney at the COAG meeting on 27 July. The Australian Human Rights Commission has heard from lawyers, peak bodies and frontline workers of a sharp… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
16 July 2020Media ReleaseCommission concerned for detainees during COVID
The Australian Human Rights Commission has repeated its call for people in Australian immigration detention facilities who do not pose a security risk to the community to be released to community detention. In March 2020, the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases (ASID) and the Australian College of Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC) warned that overcrowded conditions in… -
Rights and Freedoms
28 June 2020Media ReleaseImplementing OPCAT in Australia released
The Commission has today released recommendations for how Australia should implement the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). Implementing OPCAT in Australia is the final step in the Commission’s consultation process with civil society, inspectorate and monitoring bodies, and a number of state and territory… -
Disability Rights
14 May 2020Media ReleaseDisability Discrimination Commissioner joins Play by the Rules
Disability Discrimination Commissioner Dr Ben Gauntlett will join the management committee of Play by the Rules, the national program to make grass roots sports safe, fair and inclusive. Dr Gauntlett joins his Australian Human Rights Commission colleague, Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins (co-chair), and South Australia’s Equal Opportunity Commissioner Dr Niki Vincent representing… -
Rights and Freedoms
27 April 2020Media Release
Commission welcomes COVIDSafe App
The Australian Human Rights Commission has welcomed the COVIDSafe App as an important public health initiative, which can help protect the rights of Australians to health and life. The App also opens the possibility of easing restrictions on other human rights, such as freedom of movement and freedom of association. Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow said, “The Commission welcomes the… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
18 March 2020Media ReleaseWe say: No more preventable deaths
The Close the Gap Campaign has warned that only systemic reform will make up for the harrowing failure of the last 12 years of government policy on closing the gaps in health equity, social and economic disadvantage for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The 2020 Close the Gap Campaign report, again written by the Lowitja Institute and released today, sets out a blueprint for… -
Race Discrimination
17 March 2020Media ReleaseCommemorating one year since the Christchurch mosque attack
Australia’s Race Discrimination Commissioner Chin Tan and Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow have commemorated the one-year anniversary of the Christchurch mosque attack. In a joint statement, they said: “The Christchurch massacre was deeply traumatic for New Zealand’s Muslim community. That trauma has echoed throughout the Muslim community in Australia and internationally.” “One year… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
14 March 2020Media Release
Failure to close the gap puts Indigenous communities at increased risk
The Close the Gap Campaign is cancelling its public events to mark Close the Gap Day on Thursday 19 March 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to endure higher levels of illness and higher levels of comorbidity. We have three times the rate of preventable admissions to hospital, overcrowded housing and a lack of access to basic health… -
Childrens Rights
11 March 2020Media ReleaseNew Resource to Teach School Children About Digital Health Records
Schools are being given the opportunity to teach students about their rights in managing their digital health records, using a new resource designed by the National Children’s Commissioner, Megan Mitchell. Under the My Health Record system, children aged 14 years and over can manage their own records. They may do so independently, or they can grant access to parents or guardians. They may… -
Sex Discrimination
5 March 2020Media ReleaseLaunch of Respect@Work report of the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins has today launched Respect@Work, the Australian Human Rights Commission’s report of the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces 2020. The report is the culmination of the world-first 18-month National Inquiry, which examined the nature and prevalence of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces, the drivers of this…