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Race Discrimination
16 March 2021SpeechAustralia needs a National Anti-Racism Framework
Speech by the National Race Discrimination Commissioner, Chin Tan, ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Hello everyone, wherever you are in Australia. I join you from the lands of the Bunurong Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation. I pay my respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. Welcome to you and… -
Children's Rights
24 August 2022Media ReleaseSurvey shows children need better mental health support
A national survey examining the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people during the COVID-19 pandemic shows children and their families need better support from schools and mental health services. An initiative of the National Children's Commissioner, the survey found that children most commonly seek mental health support from their families, friends and schools. However,… -
Children's Rights
16 September 2020Opinion piece
Greater focus needed on kids during pandemic
Since lockdown restrictions were introduced in March, the national 24/7 counselling and support service Kids Helpline has received a significant increase in the volume of children and young people seeking help, up 24% to the end of August compared to 2019. The concerns they raised in counselling sessions provide important insights into how governments, parents and educators can better… -
Rights and Freedoms
30 October 2024News story
COVID Review a good start, but human toll must be recognised
The findings of a federal review into the country’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted more needs to be done by all levels of governments to acknowledge the human cost of the pandemic response and ultimately restore public trust, says Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner, Lorraine Finlay. -
Children's Rights
25 May 2017Opinion piece
We need to do more to protect our kids online
One unintended consequence of the explosion of digital technology is the proliferation of online child exploitation material – and increased opportunities for child sex offenders to connect with other offenders. This is the central finding of Anti-Slavery Australia’s Behind the Screen: Online Child Exploitation in Australia report. That report is the first comprehensive summary of Australia… -
Commission – General
31 October 2024SpeechEastern Community Legal Centre Multidisciplinary Forum
Hugh de Kretser discusses the impact of multidisciplinary legal practice, highlighting the intersection of legal and social issues and the importance of integrated support. -
Age Discrimination
27 November 2019Media ReleaseAttorneys-General Need to Act on Elder Abuse
Age Discrimination Commissioner Dr Kay Patterson is calling on the Council of Attorneys-General to agree to take immediate action on elder abuse at their meeting tomorrow to develop a timetable outlining its action plan. “Elder abuse is a blight on our society. Older Australians do not have time on their side, they need immediate action from Governments at state and federal levels,” said Dr … -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
30 January 2014Opinion pieceWe need to fix the Constitution, says Social Justice Commissioner
Recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the nation’s Constitution is a waste of time, 2UE Drive host Justin Smith recently argued. There are many things the Constitution doesn’t recognise, he said, the document is dull, and we would be better off if we paid attention instead to the words we use every day. I agree with Mr Smith on one point: the Constitution isn’t a page… -
Commission – General
14 December 2012Speech
Why we need an Australian Bill of Rights - a Joint Forum
The first is that HREOC has been suggesting for a considerable time that there needs to be renewed public debate on whether Australia should have a charter of human rights of some sort. It seems that the launch of the New Matilda campaign will give momentum to such a debate. A lot has changed, both nationally and internationally since the unsuccessful attempts of the 1970s and the 1980s to… -
Technology and Human Rights
30 October 2024SubmissionGuardrails for High-risk AI
Learn more about the need for an Australian Artificial Intelligence Act to better protect human rights -
Rights and Freedoms
22 February 2023News story
Urgent action needed following termination of UN inspection
The Australian Human Rights Commission says an extraordinary decision to terminate a tour of Australian places of detention by United Nations inspectors reflects Australia’s fragmented approach to protecting the human rights of people in detention. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
1 November 2024News story
Ending QLD Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry is harmful and divisive
The Queensland Government’s decision to abolish the state’s Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry and repeal its Path to Treaty Act marks a major step backwards for First Nations rights, says Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss. -
Disability Rights
17 November 2015PublicationInfo and Communications Technology in the A.P.S – the need for change
The low rate of employment of people with disability in the Australian Public Service (APS) is unsatisfactory in terms of the government’s broader objectives, and from the Australian Human Rights Commission’s perspective in terms of the right to work of people with disability. The Australian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) sees the wider use of accessible Information and Communications… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
6 November 2024Opinion piece
The year our Voice broke: The fallout from the failed referendum
“It’s gone.” That’s what Mick Gooda said to me plaintively half an hour into counting the votes to enshrine a First Nations Voice to parliament in our constitution on October 14, 2023. I’d started that day – a year ago today – with a high level of optimism that Australia was going to do this, that Australia would get this right, that Australia would make history. How wrong I was. Instead,… -
Technology and Human Rights
30 October 2024Submission
Privacy and Doxxing Reform Bill
Learn more about how reforms to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) will better protect human rights in Australia -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
16 March 2022News story
Urgent funding needed to support Indigenous community-led health solutions
The Close the Gap campaign has called for an urgent investment in community-led health services to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the country. The 2022 Close the Gap Report: Transforming Power – Voices for Generational Change has 12 recommendations for large-scale transformation and systemic reform to avoid further preventable deaths and… -
Rights and Freedoms
14 December 2012Opinion piece
No need to abandon human rights to be tough on terror (2006)
In the post-September 11 world, debate about counter-terrorism is often characterised as an argument between 'the realists', who appreciate the need for tough new counter-terrorism laws, and 'the out of touch', who fail to take the terrorist threat seriously. -
6 November 2024Conciliation register
2023-10-02
The complainant is 78 years of age and has a significant hearing impairment. He claimed the respondent cinema did not have the appropriate facilities to enable him to hear the film soundtrack. He claimed staff spoke to him abruptly and considered this may not have occurred if he was a younger person. On being notified of the complaint, the cinema indicated a willingness to participate in -
Children's Rights
9 September 2022Speech
Every child, in every community, needs a fair go. Shining a light on supporting children to grow up safe and supported
His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC, Governor-General of Australia, and Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley. Thank you for launching National Child Protection Week 2022 and for hosting us today. I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land, the Ngunnawal people, and pay my respect to their elders, past, present and emerging, and to all Aboriginal and… -
Age Discrimination
14 October 2024Speech
Age Discrimination Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald's Press club address
Why Australia Needs Ageism Awareness Day Shared Presentation with Dr Marlene Krasovitsky from EveryAGE Counts Wednesday, 25 September 2024 Check against delivery Introduction Thank you Marlene. It is a great joy to be here at this significant event. This is my third appearance at the National Press Club, but I'm now about 30 years older than the last time, so it's good to be back as an older…