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This is a Report of the findings and reasons for findings made by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (the Commission) following an inquiry conducted by the Commission. The inquiry related to a complaint by the Asylum Seekers Centre (the Centre) against the Commonwealth of Australia (the Commonwealth), Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (the Department).

When I commenced writing this chapter in 2008, Australia did not have a national Indigenous languages policy. However in August 2009, for the first time in Australia’s history, the Commonwealth Government launched a strategy for preserving Indigenous languages: Indigenous Languages - A National Approach 2009 (National Approach). The National Approach sets out the Commonwealth Government&…

Whether Indigenous peoples are able to gain full recognition and protection of their native title rights and interests, depends significantly on the process by which native title applications are resolved.

This chapter explains how the provisions of international human rights treaties protect same-sex couples and their children, in the context of accessing financial and work-related entitlements. In particular, this chapter focuses on the right to non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. It also describes how the breach of that right can interfere with a range of other basic human…

Between 1 September 2008 and 22 November 2011, 180 young Indonesians who said that they were children arrived in Australia, having worked as crew on boats bringing asylum seekers to Australia. These young people were often fishermen from impoverished communities in the south and east of Indonesia. Many of them have spent long periods of time in immigration detention without being charged, or…

When it can be obtained, verified documentary evidence from a person’s country of origin can be reliable evidence of that person’s age. Consequently, the making of enquiries in Indonesia about whether such documentary evidence exists is an important means of age assessment. When they are made, such enquiries are ordinarily part of the investigation process conducted by the Australian…

12.1 Accommodation 12.2 Facilities 12.3 Provision of clothing and footwear 12.4 Recreation and play 12.5 Education 12.6 Security measures 12.7 Policy guiding the transfer of children to Nauru 12.8 Impact of detention on children 12.9 Transfer of unaccompanied children 12.10 Child protection and allegations of abuse 12.11 Health services 12.12 Republic of Nauru Hospital 12.13 Mental health…

Key findings of ADF Review The ADF Review stated that harnessing all available leadership talent, and employing a diversity of thought and experience, was critical to increasing capability, and to more effective problem solving. It noted that the ADF was an organisation largely comprised of white Australian men, which lacked the perspectives and experiences of women, Aboriginal and Torres…

An entrenched pattern of disadvantage and dispossession continues to wreak havoc and destruction in Indigenous families and communities. This situation has been described in the preceding chapters of this Part. State and Territory legislation, policy and practice in the areas of child welfare, care and protection, adoption and juvenile justice do not comply with the evaluation criteria…

The immigration status that results in the detention of children under Australian law also affects their entitlements to various services on release from detention, after they have been recognised as refugees. As discussed in Chapter 6 on Australia's Detention Policy, most children detained in immigration detention facilities for long periods are detained because they arrive in Australia without…