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The forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families occurred during two periods in Tasmania. The first commenced with the European occupation of Van Dieman's Land (as Tasmania was called until 1856) in 1803 and lasted until the middle of the nineteenth century. The second commenced in the 1930s with the forcible removal of Indigenous children from Cape Barren Island under general child welfare legislation and continues into the present.

One of the Commission’s central functions is to undertake education programs that increase public awareness and generate discussion of human rights and anti-discrimination issues within Australia.

The application of human rights principles to native title has been the subject of an ongoing dialogue taking place both nationally and internationally in the reporting period.

Dr William Jonas commenced duty as acting Race Discrimination Commissioner in September 1999 in addition to his duties as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner.

We see our organisation as being a positive role model for other employers and a leader in the public sector. We were the first public sector agency to offer Paid Maternity Leave of 18 weeks to our staff and six weeks paid parental leave. We have a range of flexible working arrangements in place that enable our staff to make choices that create harmony and balance in their lives.

The 'right to negotiate' is a fundamental right assured by the Commonwealth Native Title Act (the 'NTA') and reflected in international human rights standards. Yet in practice the capacity of native title parties to exercise their 'right to negotiate' is determined by factors other than the mere existence of the right. Given the primary role of state and territory governments in land administration, their policies regarding the administration of the right to negotiate have a significant impact on native title parties' capacity to exercise their 'right to negotiate'.

The Commission plays a significant role in monitoring legislation and policy in Australia to assess compliance with human rights principles. This monitoring role includes:

In 1863 the area now known as the Northern Territory came under the control of South Australia. By 1903 the whole area was leased to non-Indigenous people. As there were few non-Indigenous women, relationships between the Indigenous women and non-Indigenous men were relatively common. The consequence was a growing population of children of mixed descent who were usually cared for by their mothers within the Aboriginal community.