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The Commission seeks to ensure that the human rights of all people held in immigration detention in Australia are protected. The Commission has focused its recent immigration detention work on the conditions and treatment of asylum seekers, refugees and children, because they have specific vulnerabilities and are given special protections under international law. What’s new? Asylum seekers …

Updated 6 January 2016 In August 2012 the Australian Government introduced a third country processing regime for asylum seekers who come to Australia by boat, without a valid visa. There are many aspects of this regime which may lead to breaches of Australia’s human rights obligations. The third country processing regime Following the release of the report by the Expert Panel on Asylum…

The Commission has serious concerns about the situation for people who have been found to be refugees, but who have received adverse security assessments from the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). For information about refugees with adverse security assessments, see the Commission’s fact sheet: Tell Me About: Refugees with Adverse Security Assessments. In August 2013…

Reports to the Minister under the AHRC Act In addition to receiving complaints of unlawful discrimination, the Commission can inquire into complaints of breaches of human rights and workplace discrimination under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth) (AHRC Act). When the Commission receives a complaint of a breach of Human Rights or workplace discrimination, the Commission…

It is time for us to talk about the Australia that we want to live in, and how we want our rights and freedoms protected. There are great opportunities ahead for human rights protection in Australia, but also great challenges. How do we balance competing rights in a complex legal landscape? How do we keep improving protections for vulnerable Australians? How do we find common ground on human…

Age assessment in people smuggling cases Inquiry into the treatment of individuals suspected of people smuggling offences who say that they are children The outgoing President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Catherine Branson QC, recently completed an Inquiry into the treatment of individuals suspected of people smuggling offences who say that they are children. The majority of…

The human rights of people who are in immigration detention are of special concern to the Commission. Liberty is a fundamental human right, recognised in major human rights instruments to which Australia is a party.

Inquiry publications: Report - The Forgotten Children: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention 2014 (2015) ( h ard copies are available from the Commission's offices at Level 3, 175 Pitt Street, Sydney) Summary factsheet - The Forgotten Children: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention 2014 (July 2015) Tell Me About: Children in immigration detention in Nauru …

As part of the development of our new website we are developing pages on human rights scrutiny by reference to each area of rights and obligations set out in the main human rights treaties which have been developed by the international community and adopted by Australia in the years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed in 1948. Please feel free to let us know about…

Explore a report by the Commission in relation to a national inquiry in to children being held in immigration detention.