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This is my first Social Justice Report to the federal Parliament as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. I commenced my five year term at the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission on 12 July 2004.

A note from the Commissioner New arrangements for Indigenous affairs New arrangements event timeline What are the new arrangements ? Walking with the women Race discrimination and shared responsibility agreements Getting more out of native title Agreement making guidelines Links to the new arrangements Where to from here?

On my right is Professor Trang Thomas, Professor of Psychology at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and on my left Mrs Robin Sullivan, who is also the Queensland Children's Commissioner. Before the hearing commences I would like to note the following matters. First, the issue of confidentiality and privacy. The Commission believes it is important to respect the privacy of individuals…

In 2013, the Australian Government asked the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, on behalf of the Australian Human Rights Commission, to undertake a National Review into discrimination related to pregnancy, parental leave and return to work after parental leave.The aims of the National Review, entitled Supporting Working Parents: Pregnancy and Return to Work National Review have been to:…

How can the baptized claim to welcome Christ if they close the door to the foreigner who comes knocking? " If anyone has the world's goods and sees his brothers or sisters in need, yet closes his heart against them, how does God's love abide in him?" (1 Jn 3:17)

I looked up and saw a long line of men, women and children waiting to have their blood taken. I was standing beside a small table in a RAAF tent with a co-worker. It was 40 degrees Celsius in the Kimberly November humidity. Both ends of our tent were open in a vain attempt to get a breeze through as we worked side by side with flies buzzing around our faces and hands and sweat running down our…

In accordance with the functions set out in section 46C(1) (a) of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 (Cth), this report includes 8 recommendations – 3 in relation to the accessibility of mainstream services under the new arrangements for Indigenous affairs, 1 in relation to engaging with Indigenous communities under the new arrangements for Indigenous affairs and 4…

Australia's Immigration Detention Centres are contradictory to the human rights of the child. The Immigration Detention experience is extremely harmful to children and has effects of traumatisation and re-traumatisation during the Detention experience and continuing after release. Concerning alternatives to Detention, the present options are also not geared towards the best interest of the child.

To develop a nationwide picture of existing government initiatives that address family violence, the Social Justice Commissioner sent correspondence to all State, Territory and relevant Australian government departments[1] requesting information on their policies and programs during the period 2006-2007.

Key Finding of Review The Review found that: There needs to be a strong reaffirmation of ADFA as the centre of excellence for tri-Service education and training for junior officers. ADFA espouses excellence; however it lacks a well-articulated purpose and a clear vision. This inhibits it from realising its potential and, significantly, from integrating equality, diversity and inclusion in a …

The Ethnic Communities Council of Western Australia commends the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and Human Rights Commissioner Sev Ozdowski in particular, for instituting the Children in Immigration Detention Inquiry.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Overview Committee (Queensland), 1996: First Report (Department of Families, Youth and Community Care, Brisbane).

Adoption is the transfer, generally by order of a court, of all parental rights and obligations from the natural parent(s) to the adoptive parent(s). In Australia, legal adoption is relatively recent. It was first introduced in 1928 in Victoria, for example. Until very recently adoption involved near-total secrecy, partly in deference to the desire of adoptive parents to present the child as…