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1) Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD): additional information to Australia's 10th, 11th and 12th periodic reports under CERD, March 2000;

An entrenched pattern of disadvantage and dispossession continues to wreak havoc and destruction in Indigenous families and communities. This situation has been described in the preceding chapters of this Part. State and Territory legislation, policy and practice in the areas of child welfare, care and protection, adoption and juvenile justice do not comply with the evaluation criteria…

The Inquiry will also focus on identifying and developing practical strategies that can help address the disincentives that many people with disabilities experience when they do seek employment.

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.

This submission aims to highlight a number of issues for children in immigration detention arising from the Department of Human Services' (DHS) involvement in child protection, health service provision to children and their families, settlement support and care of unattached minors.

Native title agreements are emerging as an important tool in defining the rights of native title holders over their land. As Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner I welcome negotiation and agreement-making as a way of establishing a stable and enduring basis for a dynamic and long term relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people over land. However I am…

The High Court's decisions in Yarmirr [1], Miriuwung Gajerrong [2], Wilson v Anderson [3] and Yorta Yorta [4] clarify the law with respect to the recognition and extinguishment of native title. The consequences of the law of native title for Indigenous people are now starkly apparent. It is thus timely that the 2002 Native Title Report evaluates these principles against the human rights standards…

This Office issued a formal report on Immigration Detention Centres in March 2001 which contained a number of recommendations to DIMIA for improvements in arrangements for children. The investigation was conducted following complaints and a number of reported incidents including escapes and allegations of assault on detainees. It revealed evidence at every immigration detention facility of self…

In 1958, whilst our family [Penny aged 10, her brother Trevor 11, Murray 7, sister Judy 6 and baby Olive was five or six weeks old, their mother and step-father] were all resident at a house situated in Cairns, my mother's capacity to look after her children in a fit and proper manner became the subject of challenge within the Cairns District Children's Court. This action was initiated by Sgt Syd…

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…

A significant number of sexual harassment complaints received by the Commission involve small businesses. Employers should be aware of the potential for sexual harassment to occur in the context of close working relationships where staff are on familiar terms with one another and should take appropriate precautions to avoid this risk.

Because of the variability of the information collected by project workers in each State/Territory, this chapter on the criminal justice system takes the form of a general discussion of the situation in , with details of specific State or Territory practices provided where possible. Considerable use has been made of New South Wales examples, due to the detailed contribution received from that…