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Disability Rights
8 March 2018Opinion piece25 years of the Disability Discrimination Act
It was 25 years ago this month that the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) (the ‘DDA’) commenced operation. On 1 March 1993, Australians with a dis¬ability had a national law that was designed to provide them with equality in many areas of life. Over the past quarter of a cen¬tury, the DDA has contributed significant¬ly to social change for people with disability and has been used by -
Sex Discrimination
14 December 2012SpeechSpeeches on Sex Discrimination Issues
Access Speeches on Sex Discrimination Issues Sex Discrimination by the Commission’s Commissioners from between the years 1996 to 2012. -
14 December 2012Book page
Commission Website: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
2. I am presently employed by Australasian Correctional Management (ACM) as the Centre Manager of the Perth Immigration Detention Centre (PIDC). I am on extended leave from that position as I am unfit for work at present. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
14 December 2012WebpageReparations and the Waitangi Tribunal
Tena koutou katoa. I have no expert knowledge of the legal or political context in Australia insofar as it applies to indigenous peoples here and even less on the issue of the controversial topic of the stolen generations. It would be utterly inappropriate therefore for me to express any view on the issues particular to this country. What I can do is talk to you a little bit about the process… -
Commission – General
14 December 2012SpeechPresident Speech: Victorian Foundation for the Survivors of Torture Annual Oration
I would like to begin this evening by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation. I pay my respects to their elders past and present. -
Disability Rights
14 December 2012Speech
Education and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Des English Memorial Lecture
On 30 March 2007 I was waxing lyrical to my computer screen in Sydney. My words were not quite the same, but they had equal passion and determination. At 1.40 a.m. on that Saturday morning Sydney time, I was having a few glasses of wine and watching Australia line up with 80 other countries at the United Nations (UN) in New York, to sign that same Convention on the first day it was open for… -
Legal
14 December 2012WebpageSJU: Submission to Inquiry into Aboriginal Customary Law in NT
To access the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner's Submission to the Northern Territory Law Reform Committee Inquiry into Aboriginal Customary law in the Northern Territory click here. -
1 August 2014Book page
Chapter 5: The legal and policy framework
Learn about how Australia has entered international human rights obligations to stop pregnancy and return to work discrimination against women. -
22 July 2013Book page
Chapter 7: ADFA’s Structure and Staffing (Recommendations 11-15)
Key findings of Review The Review found that: The high turnover of Commandants and military staff has had a significant negative impact on ADFA’s leadership stability, continuity and organisational memory. The COMDT has limited influence over which staff are posted to ADFA and has limited engagement with ADF Service Chiefs. ADFA is not considered a prestigious posting for staff. This has an… -
15 July 2014Book page
Chapter 3: How do we keep moving forward? A road map for our future
3.1 Introduction In chapters 1 and 2, I look back over the past 20 years that the Social Justice Commissioner position has been in place and think about the journey and our learning over this time. In this chapter, I want to explore how those lessons can take us forward to chart a confident course into the future and how the realisation of our rights can produce long term sustainable… -
14 December 2012Book page
Chapter 2 - Introduction: Social Justice Report 2009
Indigenous imprisonment rates in Australia are unacceptably high. Nationally, Indigenous adults are 13 times more likely to be imprisoned than non-Indigenous people[1] and Indigenous juveniles are 28 times more likely to be placed in juvenile detention than their non-Indigenous counterparts.[2] -
14 December 2012Book page
Native Title Report 2009: Chapter 3
In my previous two Native Title Reports, I have strongly argued the need to reform the native title system. Stakeholders from all sectors engaged in the native title system have also stressed the need for the Government to take significant steps to ensure that the system meets the original objectives set out in the preamble to the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) (Native Title Act). -
14 December 2012Book page
Social Justice Report 2006: Chapter 2: The new arrangements for Indigenous affairs – facilitating Indigenous access to government services
It has now been over two years since the federal government introduced new arrangements for the administration of Indigenous affairs. One of the catchcries of the new arrangements is that they are aimed at ‘harnessing the mainstream.’ This is to be achieved by removing or reducing the barriers that prevent Indigenous peoples from accessing existing mainstream services on an equitable… -
10 April 2015Book page
2 Background and framework for promotion and protection of human rights
2.1 Scope of international obligations 2.2 National framework 2.3 Equality before the law and non-discrimination 2.4 Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers 2.5 Right to life, liberty and security of the person 2.1 Scope of international obligations Australia prides itself on its commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights and has announced its candidacy for election to the… -
Legal
14 December 2012Webpage
Post Implementation Review of the Fair Work Act 2009
We have found that employees in the SACS industry are predominantly women and are generally remunerated at a level below that of employees of state and local governments who perform similar work. [6] -
Rights and Freedoms
30 April 2013WebpageRight to self determination
Back to Rights and Freedoms: right by right Article 1 of both Covenants | A right of peoples rather than individuals | Self determination and the Australian people | Self determination and Australia's first peoples | International scrutiny | More information | Comments Article 1 of both Covenants The right to self-determination is contained in article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil… -
14 December 2012Book page
Law Society Journal - Customary law and international human rights: The Queen v GJ
THE ROLE THAT ABORIGINAL customary law has, or should have, in the criminal codes and sentencing acts of the Commonwealth, states and territories has been the subject of detailed consideration for some time.1 -
Commission – General
14 December 2012Speech
President Speech: Flinders University Law School Prize Giving Ceremony 2010
I am honoured to have been invited to address you this evening on this beautiful campus of the Flinders University of South Australia. Let me begin my address by recalling that, long before the establishment of this prestigious place of learning in the European tradition, there was learning of another tradition here; the learning of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains.I would like to… -
Commission – General
14 December 2012Speech
Address to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Annual Conference
A little over a month ago, I started as the new President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, ending my time as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia. -
Commission – General
14 December 2012Speech
Creating a culture of human rights compliance
Debates about a charter of rights are often monopolised by the contentious issue of the proper role of the courts. While this is undoubtedly an important question, it overlooks the impact a charter would have on the role of Parliament as a guardian of rights of freedoms.