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Rights and Freedoms
14 August 2024Media ReleaseCommission supports Bill to recognise adequate housing as a human right
The Australian Human Rights Commission has supported a private member’s bill that would recognise the human right to adequate housing and support improved housing outcomes for all Australians. -
Technology and Human Rights
28 February 2024Opinion pieceLet’s not elevate brain tech over our humanity
Learn more about how Neuralink's successful implantation could raise human rights issues about neurotechnology. -
Rights and Freedoms
21 August 2019Project
Freedom of Religion
For over 20 years now, the Commission has advocated for more comprehensive legal protection in Australia for freedom of thought, conscience and religion. -
Technology and Human Rights
2 July 2023Opinion piece
Australia needs to be a world leader in ethical AI
Find out more about how Australia can be a leader in responsible and ethical artificial intelligence. -
Education1 April 2016Webpage
An Introduction to Human Rights
Human rights recognize our freedom to choose, develop, and live without fear or discrimination. Explore their history and importance globally. -
Rights and Freedoms
15 November 2019Opinion piece
Freedom of speech and Annika Smethurst
Opinion piece by Commission President Rosalind Croucher published in the Australian newspaper The raids on the home of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst and the offices of the ABC have highlighted the vulnerability of press freedom in Australia compared to other similar liberal democracies. The offences being investigated, as set out in the relevant warrants, included alleged offences by… -
Technology and Human Rights
6 May 2024Opinion piece
Protecting Free Speech Doesn’t Mean Dismissing Online Safety
This opinion piece by Human Rights Commissioner, Lorraine Finlay, appeared in The Australian on Monday 29 April 2024. When President Roosevelt gave the 1941 State of the Union Address he spoke of four essential human freedoms that people ‘everywhere in the world’ ought to enjoy. The very first of these was freedom of speech and expression. Free speech was listed first because it is the… -
Rights and Freedoms
21 September 2023Media Release
Human Rights Commissioner critical of COVID inquiry scope
Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of an inquiry into Australia’s handling of the COVID pandemic but has criticised the inquiry’s terms of reference for not having a specific focus on human rights impacts and for excluding the unilateral actions of state and territory governments. Today Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the… -
Technology and Human Rights
19 December 2023Speech
Human Rights in AI-powered Immersive Worlds
Read Commissioner Finlay's speech at Metaverse Safety Week 2023 about the importance of human rights and technology. -
Technology and Human Rights
15 May 2023Opinion piece
‘Weaponised' AI an existential threat to truth, human rights
This opinion piece by Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay appeared in The Australian on Monday 15 May 2023. In George Orwell's 1984, the Ministry of Truth exercises absolute control of information according to The Party ethos, “Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present, controls the past”. If the Ministry of Truth existed today, a more accurate slogan would… -
Rights and Freedoms
18 November 2020Webpage
How are our human rights protected in law in Australia during COVID-19?
Discover how existing human rights laws continue to apply in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic to protect the rights of all citizens. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
20 June 2023Media ReleaseInspection report: Serious human rights concerns in hotel detention
Explore an inspection report by the Commission that found serious human rights concerns persist in the use of hotels as alternative places of detention. -
Rights and Freedoms
30 April 2013Webpage
Right 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… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
4 August 2023Webpage
Indigenous Rights & the Voice
The Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum proposes a mechanism that addresses Indigenous peoples’ right to participation in decision making, and the right to consultation with government. The Voice could also promote the realisation of other human rights for Indigenous peoples, including to ensure the full realisation of rights to health, education, housing and the protection of Indigenous… -
Disability Rights
10 January 2024VideoMissing Perspectives
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “everyone is entitled” to all rights and freedoms, “without distinction of any kind”. But 75 years since its creation, disability rights advocate Hannah Diviney says Australia needs to do more to fulfill that promise. In episode 3 of our series commemorating the UDHR’s anniversary, hear the story of ‘Missing Perspectives’, a global news… -
Rights and Freedoms
31 July 2019Speech
Free and Equal: A National Reform Agenda for Human Rights in Australia for the next decade
Commission President Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM addressed the Castan Centre human rights conference on July 26. The topic was ‘Free and Equal’: A National Reform Agenda for Human Rights in Australia for the next decade. Thank you to the Castan Centre, and its Director, Professor Sarah Joseph, for inviting me to speak. Let me begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of… -
Rights and Freedoms
1 December 2020Video
Balancing Human Rights During COVID19
Protecting public health and protecting human rights are not mutually exclusive choices – but how do we keep the balance between the two? What safeguards do we need to protect rights and freedoms in Australia and prevent the ‘creeping authoritarianism’ we have witnessed elsewhere in the world? These were just some of the big questions of our time discussed by the panellists during the … -
Rights and Freedoms
30 April 2019Publication
Free and equal: An Australian conversation on human rights (2019)
Through 2019, the Commission will promote conversation nationally to identify what makes an effective system of human rights protection for 21st century Australia? -
Rights and Freedoms
11 December 2020Video
Rosemary Kayess: Human Rights Day Oration 2020
Watch Human Rights Medal winner Rosemary Kayess present the 2020 Human Rights Day Oration. Rosemary Kayess is a leading human rights advocate for people with disability in Australia and worldwide. Rosemary contributed to drafting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and successfully lobbied for its ratification in Australia. Last year, Rosemary was … -
Technology and Human Rights
23 August 2023News story
Countering Disinformation Online
Learn more about the difficulties in countering misinformation and disinformation without unduly restricting freedom of expression.