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1. The commission's jurisdiction 2. The complaint 3. The complainant's evidence and submissions 4. Respondent's response 5. Documentary material before the commission 6. Conciliation 7. Preliminary findings of Commissioner Sidoti 8. Response to Commissioner Sidoti's preliminary findings 9. My Further Preliminary Findings 10. Respondent's response to my Further Preliminary Findings 11. Section 21…

5.1 Introduction The significant role of business to respect and support our human rights is increasingly being recognised. Although the protection of human rights remains the responsibility of government, business is realising that human rights are both relevant and fundamental to their operations. In many of the conversations I have had with business and community leaders across the…

MR BROMWICH: Commissioner, before we start, I have been asked to place a concern on the record and I don't mean this to be in any sense a personal matter but it will have that flavour, I suppose. I've been asked to express a concern that there be no repeat of the sarcasm and personal attacks that were on occasions made yesterday. Commissioner, we are not aware that there has been the same…

Since 2001, the primary method of assessing whether an individual is under the age of 18 years in the context of criminal proceedings in Australia has been through the analysis of an x-ray of the young person’s wrist. As this Inquiry is considering the treatment of young Indonesian males suspected of people smuggling who say that they are children, it is important to consider the…

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) requires Australia to protect children's rights to cultural identity, language and religion. The most effective way of ensuring enjoyment of these rights is to encourage and allow refugee and asylum-seeking children to participate in cultural and religious activities in the community. The Australian community is well equipped to respond to this need…

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.

Under section 501 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) (Migration Act), a non-citizen’s visa may be cancelled if they do not satisfy the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (the Minister) or the Minister’s delegate that they pass the ‘character test’.

Copyright © Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. Copying is permissible provided acknowledgment is made to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Sydney, April 1999.

For more than a decade, the Australian Human Rights Commission has called for reforms to Australia’s system of mandatory and indefinite immigration detention – both in light of the impacts it has on people’s mental health and wellbeing, and because it leads to breaches of Australia’s international human rights obligations. During this time, the Commission has investigated…

Recognizing that 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 ... Convention on the Rights of the Child, Preamble

This chapter considers the Commonwealth’s approach to the use of biomedical markers to assess age since wrist x-rays became a prescribed procedure for the purpose of age determination following the enactment of the Crimes Amendment (Age Determination) Bill 2001 (Cth). It also considers what each relevant Commonwealth agency knew, or should have known, about the value of specific age…

The twin pillars of the government's approach to Indigenous policy in 2003 continued to be practical reconciliation, with its emphasis on service delivery in core areas of disadvantage, and mutual obligation, with its emphasis on reciprocity and individual responsibility. Through both of these policies, the government has identified moving Indigenous people beyond welfare dependency and enabling…

This report to the Attorney-General concerns inquiries made by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission ('the Commission') into complaints by Quan Ri Qing and Su Yu Fei against the Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs ('the Department') concerning violations of human rights under the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 (Cth) (…

DR OZDOWSKI: Good morning everybody. I would like to formally open this public hearing which is the last, hopefully, of the series held around Australia. My name is Sev Ozdowski and I'm the Human Rights Commissioner and to my right I've got Professor Trang Thomas, who is Professor of Psychology at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Today the Commission will be assisted by counsel…

DR OZDOWSKI: This is one of a series of hearings to be conducted around Australia. My name is Dr Sev Ozdowski and I am the Human Rights Commissioner and I am assisted in the Inquiry by two colleagues of mine, Mrs Robin Sullivan who is to the left of me, the Queensland Children's Commissioner. To the right of me is Dr Trang Thomas who is a Professor of Psychology at Melbourne Institute of…

This report identifies the necessity to adopt a human rights approach to reconciliation, as well as shortcomings in Australia's performance on human rights issues as they relate to Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. This chapter emphasises processes and mechanisms that enable reconciliation to be implemented within a human rights framework. It identifies crucial commitments and processes…

The most distressing aspect about the level of juvenile justice intrusion in the lives of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is the fact that entry into the system is usually the start of a long career of incarceration for many (SNAICC submission 309 page 28).