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Asylum Seekers and Refugees
2 December 2020Publication
Inspections of Australia's immigration detention facilities 2019 Report
Human Rights Commissioner’s foreword For several decades, the Australian Human Rights Commission has expressed deep and longstanding concern about the human rights of people held in Australia’s immigration detention facilities. As a result of our most recent inspection process, that concern has deepened. Some of the issues of greatest concern to the Commission are as follows. A number of… -
Age Discrimination
22 July 2020Media ReleaseUrgent call to harmonise powers of attorney
Australia’s Age Discrimination Commissioner, the Hon Dr Kay Patterson AO, has called on the federal and state and territory Attorneys-General to act urgently to implement the Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) recommendations on powers of attorney at the COAG meeting on 27 July. The Australian Human Rights Commission has heard from lawyers, peak bodies and frontline workers of a sharp… -
Rights and Freedoms
29 July 2021Webpage
Face masks and federal discrimination law
At various times during the COVID-19 pandemic, state and territory governments in Australia have made it a requirement for people to wear a face mask in certain settings. The different rules and exemptions around face masks are set out in the relevant state and territory public health orders. The latest mask-wearing requirements can be found on the appropriate state and territory government… -
Rights and Freedoms
18 November 2022Speech
Housing and human rights - rights where it matters
Sandy Duncanson Memorial Lecture Housing and human rights – rights where it matters Hobart, 11 October 2022 Abstract Homelessness can happen to anyone. People with disability are at an increased risk and they are joined by a growing invisible cohort of older women. COVID-19 was a trigger for state governments to find shelter for people living rough, illustrating that solutions to… -
Rights and Freedoms
28 July 2020Opinion piece
Wearing a mask will protect human liberties, not infringe upon them
There’s been a lot of talk, anger and resistance to the changes of our rights and freedoms as Australia deals with the COVID-19 pandemic. In some way or another, each and every one of us has encountered restrictions – on our freedom of movement, the right to peaceful protest, the ability to engage in public areas without wearing masks and the requirement to provide personal information for… -
Age Discrimination
6 September 2024Publication
Empowering futures: a report on enduring powers of attorney (2024)
A national survey on the understanding and use of financial enduring powers of attorney (2024). -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
16 August 2024Media ReleaseAHRC commissioners call for action on findings of Senate report on murdered and missing First Nations women
Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and Sex Discrimination Commissioner say the findings of a Senate inquiry into murdered and missing First Nations women provide more evidence of how to address violence against women and girls in First Nations communities. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
5 May 2021Media Release
Media Statement: Federal Court improves pathways to protection for more than a thousand asylum seekers taken to Ashmore reef
More than 1,000 asylum seekers have a greater ability to apply for protection in Australia following a landmark judgment by the Federal Court on Tuesday. “When a person seeks asylum in Australia, it’s vital that their application be processed quickly, fairly and transparently. This judgment will remove administrative barriers for a vulnerable group of people who have been waiting too long to… -
Commission – General
8 August 2024E-bulletin (Monthly)August 2024: Commission News | President's message
The Australian Human Rights Commission is a vital national institution which has been promoting justice and human rights for Australians for close to forty years. It is an honour to write to you as the Commission’s new President. -
Age Discrimination
2 May 2023Media Release
Ageism keeping older people out of the workforce
Ageism is blocking older people from the workforce, findings from a survey of HR professionals about attitudes to older workers show. A partnership between the Australian HR Institute and the Australian Human Rights Commission, the 2023 Employing and Retaining Older Workers Survey found one in six organisations will not consider hiring people aged 65 and above while only a quarter are open… -
9 May 2024Conciliation register
2021-06-02
The complainant is Aboriginal and has post-traumatic stress disorder and other disabilities. He was placed with the respondent cleaning company by a disability employment service. He claimed he was triggered by a workplace incident where he was accidentally locked in a room for a time. He said he asked to always work with a 'buddy ' but this request was denied. He said his employment was -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
24 July 2024Webpage
Informing the Agenda Project - About the Project (Participant Information Sheet)
Project Overview / Privacy Collection Statement The Australian Human Rights Commission invites you to contribute to the Informing the Agenda Project. 1. What is the Project about? The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commissioner is inviting surveys and submissions as well as engaging in face-to-face and two online engagements to contribute to the Informing the Agenda Project ( Project)… -
Legal
15 July 2024SubmissionReview of Secrecy Offences in Part 5.6 of the Criminal Code 1995
The Australian Human Rights Commission (Commission) makes this submission to the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (INSLM) in relation to its Review of Secrecy Offences in Part 5.6 of the Criminal Code 1995. -
Children's Rights
27 July 2021Opinion pieceProtect children from data surveillance
Even before birth, Australian children are the targets of technology that collects their data and threatens their privacy – but right now we have an opportunity to protect them and future generations. Parents who use pregnancy apps or share ultrasounds on social media can expect information about their children to be collected and sold to advertisers for profit. Once a child is born, baby… -
Disability Rights
5 April 2024WebpageSam Jackson
IncludeAbility Ambassador Sam Jackson says all experience helps us to be more job-ready, and people in employment are far more employable that those not employed. -
Sex Discrimination
19 March 2024Project
Speaking from Experience Project
The Australian Human Rights Commission has launched Speaking from Experience, landmark project that centres the voices of people with lived experience in workplace sexual harassment reform. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
4 August 2023Webpage
Symbolic change or substantive reform
The difference between symbolic change and substantive reform in the context of the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament and the Australian Constitution. -
Children's Rights
4 October 2019Media Release
UN 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… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
5 July 2021Opinion piece
Return to country endangered by failure to invest
Covid-19 has triggered the most significant return to country by First Nations people since the homeland movement commenced in the 1960s. Thousands, like myself, returned to remote communities out of necessity. Facing the unknown, our family leaders who could made the courageous decision to gather loved ones and travel out to country, with minimal resources. Importantly, Australian… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
21 August 2024Publication
Women in Native Title: Native Title Report 2024 Community Guide
This is a Community Guide to the Women in Native Title: Native Title Report 2024. It provides a quick and easy way to understand the full report and its purpose. The report is an account of the experiences, perspectives, aspirations and solutions of First Nations women within the native title system. It takes a person-centred approach, highlighting how native title and related systems impact…