Search results

Introduction Proposed purpose Where should comments be sent What is a 'Living Will'? Reasons for discussing living wills Status of living wills How can a person make a living will? When could a living will be invoked? Can a living will be revoked or changed? How can capacity be determined? Legislative considerations Advocacy implications Limitations of Living Wills Benefits of having a living will Key Issues for Comment References

Family violence and abuse is causing untold damage to the cultures and fabric of Indigenous societies. It is damaging our communities, our families, our women, our children and our men. All Indigenous people are entitled to live their lives in safety and full human dignity - without fear of intimidation, family violence or abuse. This is their cultural and their human right. Like all Australians, Indigenous peoples are also entitled to the full and equal protection of the law.

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) is seeking the views of the sex and gender diverse community about the most pressing human rights issues faced by people who are transgender, transsexual or intersex. HREOC also seeks input into how it might assist in promoting and protecting the human rights of people who are sex and gender diverse.

We are deeply dissatisfied with the performance to date by various government agencies... there does not appear to be any process beyond monitoring to ensure that effective implementation takes place...

Indigenous peoples from all over the world have suffered the long-standing effects of colonisation. Consequently, we continue to struggle with the challenges that I have raised in this Report; particularly those that concern our identity, culture and access to and protection of our lands, territories and resources.

back to immigration detention, asylum seekers and refugees The human rights of people who are in immigration detention are of particular concern to the Commission. Liberty is a fundamental human right, recognised in major human rights instruments to which Australia is a party, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child . People ...

The Australian Psychological Society categorically condemns the practice of detaining child asylum seekers and their families, on the grounds that it is not commensurate with psychological best practice concerning children’s development and mental health and wellbeing. Detention of children in this fashion is also arguably a violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

We must face up to our humanitarian responsibilities to accept refugee children and their families. We must take them out of the immigration detention centres and welcome them into the community where they can play, learn and grow. At least then when our children look back on this time and ask us what we did to stand up for refugee kids, we can say we gave them their childhood." (Calvert, 2001).

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-harm, damage to property, fights and assaults which suggested that there were systemic deficiencies in the management of detainees, including women and children.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) was established in 1990 by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act 1989 (Cth). The Act made provisions for the establishment of 35 representative Regional Councils on behalf of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia.

States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure that a child who is seeking refugee status or who is considered a refugee in accordance with applicable international or domestic law and procedures shall, whether unaccompanied or accompanied by his or her parents or by any other person, receive appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance in the enjoyment of applicable rights set forth in the present Convention and in other international human rights or humanitarian instruments to which the said States are Parties.

The first twelve months of the federal government's new arrangements for the administration of Indigenous affairs has ended. The primary focus of this period has been on abolishing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and creating new processes to engage with local Indigenous communities and coordinate mainstream delivery of services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Twelve months on, the new arrangements remain in a transitional phase. It will be a number of years before they are fully locked into place.