Search results

Even before birth, Australian children are the targets of technology that collects their data and threatens their privacy – but right now we have an opportunity to protect them and future generations. Parents who use pregnancy apps or share ultrasounds on social media can expect information about their children to be collected and sold to advertisers for profit. Once a child is born, baby…

In a joint op-ed, National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds and Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay contend that the proposed ban on social media access for Australians under 16 merely addresses surface issues without improving overall safety on these platforms.

Read more about how big technology companies' race to develop generative AI products is threatening human rights.

Find out more about how Australia can be a leader in responsible and ethical artificial intelligence.

Six weeks ago I returned to my traditional homeland near Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia. Thanks to modern technology, I am working remotely and continuing my duties as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. Like many Aboriginal people, I chose to return to country because COVID-19 travel restrictions made homeland communities the safest place to see out the…

In an an opinion piece for The Canberra Times, Commission President Hugh de Kretser reflects on how the truth-telling process can change the perspectives of non-Indigenous Australians like himself. It follows this week's publication of the final reports of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, the first formal truth-telling inquiry into injustices against First Peoples in Victoria.

Learn more about the risks of developing generative artificial intelligence products with disregard for human rights.

This opinion piece by Human Rights Commissioner, Lorraine Finlay, appeared in The Australian on Friday, 23 February 2024. Elon Musk recently announced Neuralink’s first successful brain computer interface (BCI) implantation in a human being. The BCI implant is called Telepathy , and allows the user to control digital devices with their thoughts alone. Initial trials aim to enable people with…

National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds had an op-ed published in the Canberra Times criticising the lack of government accountability for the protection of children. This comes in the wake of recent allegations of child abuse across several childcare centres in Melbourne.

In an opinion piece published in The Mandarin, Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay decries Australia’s ongoing failures in torture protection. The piece was published on the 1989 anniversary of Australia signing up to the UN Convention Against Torture.

Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman reflects on how two speeches from two Prime Ministers, half a century apart, hold the key to ending racism. It comes at a significant marker in Australia’s history, fifty years since the Racial Discrimination Act came into effect.

When the COVID-19 pandemic spread to this big island of ours, our leaders made a momentous decision: they decided to save as many human lives as possible. This was the right decision. It shows we as a country care about human life above all else. But now we face an even harder question: how to save lives while preventing economic collapse and staying true to our democratic values? In order…