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Schools are being given the opportunity to teach students about their rights in managing their digital health records, using a new resource designed by the National Children’s Commissioner, Megan Mitchell. Under the My Health Record system, children aged 14 years and over can manage their own records. They may do so independently, or they can grant access to parents or guardians. They may…

The Australian Human Rights Commission calls on the Australian Government to make urgent changes to improve protections for approximately 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers living in the Australian community. A new report released today, Lives on hold: Refugees and asylum seekers in the ‘Legacy Caseload’, reveals the human rights situation for approximately 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers…

Any significant restrictions imposed on a person held in immigration detention, including the widespread use of restraints like handcuffs, must be tailored to individual circumstances and risks, according to a new report released by the Australian Human Rights Commission today. The Commission has made 34 recommendations to improve risk management practice based on its inspections of…

Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins has today launched Respect@Work, the Australian Human Rights Commission’s report of the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces 2020. The report is the culmination of the world-first 18-month National Inquiry, which examined the nature and prevalence of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces, the drivers of this…

Australia’s first Children’s Commissioner, Megan Mitchell will on Monday launch her final report – one of the most comprehensive assessments of children’s rights ever produced in Australia. The report makes clear that the mental health of Australian children is not being cared for sufficiently and that Governments must do more to ensure children’s wellbeing. Commissioner Mitchell said: “Not…

The Australian Human Rights Commission is urging all Australian state and territory governments to fully commit to implementing an important human rights framework for people held in detention settings following the suspension of a tour of Australia by United Nations inspectors. A delegation from the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (UN SPT) has been in Australia since last week…

The Australian Human Rights Commission welcomes the commencement of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of people with disability. The Commission also welcomes the appointment of Disability Discrimination Commissioner Alastair McEwin to the Royal Commission. The Commission warmly thanks Mr McEwin for his service over the last two and a half years. “Alastair…

The Australian Human Rights Commission is urging all federal parliamentarians to support the passage of the new Australian Human Rights Commission Legislation Amendment (Selection and Appointment) Bill 2022. Commission President, Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM, has welcomed the introduction to Parliament of the new Bill by Attorney-General, the Hon Mark Dreyfus QC MP, last week. The…

The Australian Human Rights Commission, the New Zealand Human Rights Commission along with FIFA have today published a Human Rights Risk Assessment for the next FIFA Women's World Cup, to be held in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand in 2023. The assessment examined the potential human rights impact of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ on players, spectators, workers and local communities in …

This week 100 women, including 85 Kimberley Aboriginal women, gathered for a three-day roundtable to commence development of a regional action plan and establish the Kimberley Aboriginal Women’s Council. The roundtable, held from May 4-6, 2021, was convened in response to the landmark Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women’s Voices) report released by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commissioner…

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar AO has launched a dedicated Institute to elevate the voices and solutions of First Nations women and girls – the Wiyi Yani U Thangani Institute for First Nations gender justice. The Australian-first Institute, housed at the Australian National University (ANU) on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country, ensures the…

Monday 16 October 2023: A diverse array of people and organisations from across Australia have been selected as finalists for this year’s Australian Human Rights Awards, the country’s premier national event for honouring and celebrating Australia’s human rights heroes. The 21 finalists were selected from over 260 nominations across five categories, including the prestigious Australian Human…

Up to 71 asylum seekers who missed out on making an application for a protection visa were still entitled to a fair assessment of their claims the Full Federal Court has held. The Court accepted submissions from the Australian Human Rights Commission that an internal process established by the Department of Home Affairs should have provided them with procedural fairness. As a result of the …

Anne Hollonds has commenced in her role as Australia’s new National Children’s Commissioner. Commissioner Hollonds emphasised the need for greater recognition of the importance of childhood in Australia. “Childhood is quite rightly described as critically important for people's social, health and economic outcomes, but the value of childhood is not only about the future adult that a child…