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The Commission’s vision is of and for an Australian society in which the human rights of all people are respected and promoted. Our task is to find practical, pragmatic ways to turn the rhetoric of human rights into an everyday reality for all Australians and build a more tolerant and inclusive community. As this report indicates, this past year has been a period of substantial achievement…

Although it is not possible to precisely specify all the circumstance that lead people to arrive in Australia through people smuggling routes, there can be no doubt that they undertake perilous journeys which put their lives and that of accompanying family members at risk. Given the very high rates of approval for those who have sought asylum in Australia through these routes, it is reasonable to…

Along with its human rights education and promotion function, the Commission undertakes a monitoring role in relation to human rights standards. This monitoring role ranges across the work of the individual Commissioners who examine and report issues of race, sex and disability discrimination and human rights, to the assessment of legislative proposals and presentation of submissions through the…

Workplace sexual harassment is a persistent and pervasive problem in Australia and elsewhere, demanding new and creative responses. One promising area which may inform prevention and response strategies is bystander approaches.

On 14 and 15 February 2008, HREOC held a planning summit at Jones Bay Wharf, Pyrmont Point in Sydney, entitled HREOC21. The 21 refers to the number of years that have passed since HREOC was established by an act of federal Parliament in 1986.

"The child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding".

Australia is a signatory to a number of International Conventions, which are relevant to mandatory detention of children in Australia’s immigration detention centres. Under International law, each of the conventions that Australia has ratified is binding on the Australian state, which is obliged to bring its domestic laws into conformity with their stipulations. In Australia, International…

3. I was employed by what is now the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) for 37 years. I started with the Department after leaving school and was employed with them until January 2002 when I resigned.

Organisations and individuals raised a range of issues with the Inquiry that did not fall strictly within its Terms of Reference. Where these issues relate to one of the main chapters of this report, they are discussed within that chapter.

On Saturday 29 July 2000 the then Human Rights Commissioner, Mr Chris Sidoti, assisted by a consultant, Dr Mary Crock, Senior Lecturer in Law at Sydney University, visited the Curtin Immigration Reception and Processing Centre outside Derby in the Kimberley region of WA. They made observations and obtained information about accommodation, programs and services, and particulars about the…

The Commission has a function of intervening, with the leave of the Court, in proceedings that involve issues of human rights, equal opportunity in employment and age, race, sex, marital status, pregnancy and disability discrimination.

From the outset of this Inquiry, it was apparent that there was a need for clearer information on the services offered by the Commonwealth regarding employment of people with disabilities.

There is some evidence to suggest that within the Australian community, the idea that it is unacceptable for a government to maintain an immigration detention regime which provides for the long-term incarceration of children behind razor wire, is finally the prevailing view. The actions of the government in relaxing their hard line stance on immigration detention, as far as children are concerned…