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Children's Rights
4 October 2019Media ReleaseUN calls for national action to protect the rights of children and young people in Australia
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is calling on Australia to prioritise raising the age of criminal responsibility as part of its Concluding Observations on Australia's performance in protecting the country's children and young people. This comes at a time when there is a strong push around the country to improve our responses to juvenile offending and do more to divert children… -
9 May 2024Conciliation register
2021-06-06
The complainant has psychosocial disability, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, and has an assistance dog. The complainant owned an apartment and alleged the body corporate did not recognise his dog as an assistance animal. He said the body corporate’s newsletter said only guide dogs would be permitted to access communal areas. The complainant alleged the on… -
Race Discrimination
27 September 2019Media ReleaseSubmission on the draft Religious Discrimination Bill
The Australian Human Rights Commission supports reform to improve protections against religious discrimination for all people in Australia. While supporting much of the draft Religious Discrimination Bill, the Commission urges that the Bill be amended to avoid limiting other human rights and overriding existing anti-discrimination laws. “The Commission has advocated for more than 20 years… -
11 February 2021Conciliation register
2020-01-11
The complainant was employed as a team leader with the respondent debt solutions business. She said that she took maternity leave and sought to return to work part time. The complainant alleged the company required her to work fulltime in the team leader role or to accept a role with less responsibility and lower pay. The complainant said she felt she had no option but to resign. On being… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
15 March 2022Media ReleaseCommissioner backs calls for no more guns in communities
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, June Oscar AO has joined calls for no more guns to be carried by police officers in communities, and has extended her heart and thoughts to the family of Kumanjayi Walker, the Yuendumu community and Warlpiri people at this very difficult time. Commissioner Oscar said, “Walker’s family have been brave, courageous, and… -
Race Discrimination
16 November 2021Media Release
New guidelines to address spectator racism in sport
A new set of guidelines will help Australian sports organisations act effectively and consistently in responding to incidents of spectator racism and preventing racism from occurring at sporting events. Major professional sports organisations including the AFL, Cricket Australia, NRL, Tennis Australia, and some of the nation’s largest stadiums have already endorsed the guidelines, and more… -
Rights and Freedoms
17 January 2019Media ReleaseModern Slavery and Beyond
As the Federal Senate debates the Modern Slavery Bill this week, the 2018 Australian Dialogue on Business and Human Rights takes place in Sydney today with modern slavery prevention as the key theme. It’s the fifth time the Global Compact Network Australia and the Australian Human Rights Commission have joined forces to address the ongoing challenges facing business, government, civil… -
Sex Discrimination
8 November 2019SpeechInvisible women in sport
Kate Jenkins Australian Institute of Sport Conference 6 November 2019 Thank you very much for joining me here today. I will start by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Ngunnawal people, and pay my respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. Every time I make that acknowledgement, I make it genuinely and from the heart. I'm really proud to live in a… -
2 July 2021Conciliation register
2020-06-13
The complainant worked for a community organisation and alleged that a volunteer stroked her arm and embraced her without her consent at a work event. She said she reported the incident to the organisation and the police. She said the organisation found that the volunteer had breached its Code of Conduct but allowed him to keep working with the organisation. She alleged the matter would have… -
11 February 2021Conciliation register
2020-02-10
The complainant became pregnant while undertaking veterinary nursing training with the respondent vocational training provider. She said the training included activities that could pose a risk to her unborn baby and the provider allowed her to commence a new course, though not to withdraw from the training. The complainant said she began a period of maternity leave but was still required to … -
10 February 2021Conciliation register
2020-02-01
The complainant alleged that the respondent software business terminated his employment in a sales role three weeks after recruiting him because of his criminal record. The complainant said he had left his employment with another employer to take up the position with the business. The complainant was charged with, but not convicted of, assault and domestic violence related offences six years… -
1 February 2024Conciliation register
2022-10-07
The complainant uses a wheelchair, is non-verbal and uses eye-gaze technology and hand-over-hand techniques. The complainant enrolled in a diploma with the respondent vocational education provider and an individual plan was developed setting out reasonable adjustments to be provided to the complainant. The complainant alleged the vocational education provider did not provide her all the… -
Sex Discrimination
23 July 2021Media Release
Commission releases Progress Update on Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces
The Australian Human Rights Commission has today released its Progress Update on the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces. The Commission was asked to undertake the Review by the Federal Government, with the support of the Opposition and crossbench, in March 2021. The Review is examining the culture of Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces with the aim of ensuring… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
17 January 2019Media Release
New approach to Closing the Gap Strategy welcomed
The Close the Gap Campaign has welcomed the COAG agreement to work in genuine partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the Refreshed Closing the Gap Strategy. COAG has recognised that in order to effect real change, governments must work collaboratively and in genuine, formal partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as they are the essential… -
Sex Discrimination
5 March 2019Media Release
Gender equality on the golf course
New guidelines for Australian golf clubs are being rolled out today in a bid to stop sex discrimination and increase female participation, which has been sliding over the past 50 years. Golf Australia and the Australian Human Rights Commission found that while clubs offer women and girls opportunities to play and compete, frequently men were given greater opportunities purely because of… -
Commission – General
23 October 2019Media ReleaseMedia statement: Use of force in immigration detention
Fourteen complaints about the use of force in immigration detention form the basis for a comprehensive thematic report by the Australian Human Rights Commission tabled in Parliament today. The report considers the practices of handcuffing detainees, use of physical force within centres including arm and elbow locks, operations conducted by the Emergency Response Team (ERT), and the use of… -
Age Discrimination
17 January 2019Media ReleaseToo old to work at 50: Survey
A new survey on attitudes to employing older workers has found that up to 30 per cent of Australian employers are still reluctant to hire workers over a certain age, and for more than two thirds of this group, that age was over 50. The survey of more than 900 human resource professionals was conducted by the Australian HR Institute supported by the Australian Human Rights Commission. It… -
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… -
2 July 2021Conciliation register
2020-06-04
The complainant is blind. His employer offered him the opportunity to participate in a postgraduate leadership program delivered by the respondent not-for-profit organisation. The complainant said he informed the organisation of his disability on enrolment and requested adjustments to accommodate his disability, including the provision of reading materials in an accessible format. The… -
11 February 2021Conciliation register
2020-01-09
The complainant says he is homosexual and worked as a dispute officer with the respondent bank. He alleged a colleague made numerous comments about his sexuality and asked him if he was sexually involved with another male colleague. The complainant said he told his colleague that the comments made him uncomfortable and asked him to stop. He alleged his colleague did not take his request…