Refine results
-
Asylum Seekers and Refugees8 November 2013Project
Transfer of asylum seekers to third countries
Learn how the Australian government introduced third-country processing for asylum seekers who came to Australia by boat without a valid visa in 2012. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees27 August 2021News story
Commission statement on Australia’s response to Afghanistan crisis
The Australian Human Rights Commission has serious concerns about the human rights situation in Afghanistan, heightened by the attacks on Kabul airport overnight, and the corresponding impacts on the Afghan diaspora in Australia. -
Rights and Freedoms26 September 2016Speech
Human rights and the overreach of executive discretion: citizenship, asylum seekers and whistleblowers
HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE OVERREACH OF EXECUTIVE DISCRETION: CITIZENSHIP, ASYLUM SEEKERS AND WHISTLEBLOWERS GILLIAN TRIGGS [*] (Annual Tony Blackshield Lecture delivered at Macquarie Law School, Macquarie University, 5 November 2015) I It is a special pleasure for me to speak in honour of Professor Blackshield, who is a long time colleague of mine in the law. He is a constitutional law scholar of the ... -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees8 November 2013Project
Refugees with adverse security assessments
Refugees with adverse security assessments face indefinite detention. -
Race Discrimination19 May 2020Webpage
The Moveable Feast – Australia and race hate as experienced in the lifetime as an observer
Learn about the experiences of a lifetime observer of race discrimination in this thought-provoking speech by Thomas Keneally AO. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees13 October 2020Opinion piece
Who are we leaving behind?
In presenting last week’s Federal Budget, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said, “we will get through this together.” Togetherness is an important value in Australia. It speaks to the basic liberal democratic principle that no-one in our community should be left behind. While much of last week’s Budget analysis focused on the details of tax breaks and tax cuts, at a basic level the Budget is also a gauge ... -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees16 June 2020Submission
Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2020
The concerns outlined in this submission draw on the Commission’s work inspecting Australia’s immigration detention facilities. The Commission has conducted such inspections since the mid-1990s. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees14 December 2012Speech
Current issues Australia faces in relation to its treatment of refugees (2012)
Speech delivered to the United Nations Association of Australia (WA Division) -
Legal17 May 2023Speech
Access to justice
Your Honours, distinguished guests: I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land, the Wurrindjeri people of the Kulin nation and pay my respects to their elders, especially to those elders present today. May also thank our host the Hon Justice Mordy Bromberg and the ICJ for inviting me to this, the ninth Community Opening of the Legal Year. Together we celebrate the partnership of the legal ... -
Children's Rights4 December 2013Speech
Young people seeking asylum – protecting their rights in Australia
Young people seeking asylum – protecting their rights in Australia Practitioners Workshop, ‘Improving Services for Unaccompanied Minors & Young People Seeking Asylum’ CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY 1. Acknowledgments Thank you, Pino, for your introduction. Thank you also to Australian Red Cross for the invitation to speak on this panel today. I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which ... -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees17 June 2019Media Release
Risk management in immigration detention report released
Any significant restrictions imposed on a person held in immigration detention, including the widespread use of restraints like handcuffs, must be tailored to individual circumstances and risks, according to a new report released by the Australian Human Rights Commission today . The Commission has made 34 recommendations to improve risk management practice based on its inspections of detention ... -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees2 December 2020News story
Immigration detention concerns deepen
The Australian Human Rights Commission has today released a report that details increasing concern for the human rights of people held in Australia’s immigration detention facilities. The report contains findings and recommendations arising from the Commission’s most recent in-person inspections of Australia’s immigration detention facilities, including ‘alternative places of detention’ (APODs) ... -
Rights and Freedoms20 January 2023Opinion piece
Australia needs to deliver on our treaty promises
As with any agreement, there are certain requirements that OPCAT signatories need to fulfill, and Australia has been given longer than any other country to meet our OPCAT commitments. Today – 20 January 2023 – is our extended compliance deadline, and Australia has failed to deliver on our promises. -
Rights and Freedoms17 January 2019Speech
Echoes of breaking glass: reflections on Kristallnacht
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY We know the basic facts of Kristallnacht. On the 9th and 10th of November 1938, mobs attacked Jews in Germany and neighbouring states. They did so freely; without restraint. Many Jews were killed, many more were injured, and many more than that were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Jewish businesses were destroyed; schools and cemeteries vandalised. Over 1000 ... -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees7 October 2022Media Release
Joint Statement on the use of hotel APODs
This Statement provides guidance on the short-term use of hotel APODs, including access to open‑air exercise, access to meaningful programs and activities, and the need to ensure medical and welfare services are of the same standard as those provided in other immigration detention facilities. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees5 August 2020Media Release
Statement on Christmas Island immigration detention
The Australian Human Rights Commission is deeply concerned that the Australian Border Force plans to re-open the immigration detention facility at Christmas Island. The Commission has carried out inspections of Australia's onshore and offshore immigration detention facilities for many years. The Commission's advice has been consistent: Christmas Island is not an appropriate place for an ... -
Rights and Freedoms28 July 2021News story
Farewell to Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow
This week, staff at the Australian Human Rights Commission gathered virtually to farewell our colleague Edward Santow, who has finished his five-year term as Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner. While we had looked forward to celebrating Ed’s significant achievements together in person, due to current COVID-19 circumstances these celebrations have been postponed to a later date. Ed was appointed ... -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees19 April 2024News story
Inspection report: “serious concerns” at Yongah Hill Detention Centre
An inspection report by the Australian Human Rights Commission has found that a high-security immigration detention centre in Western Australia was, in part, “no longer fit for purpose”, and raised serious concerns over safety conditions and the level of care for detainees and staff. The Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre Inspection Report followed a two-day inspection of the adult male ... -
Rights and Freedoms14 December 2012Speech
“Child Migrants and Human Rights in our Time”: Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM (2005)
I should add, at this point, that my work over the past few years and my inquiry on children in immigration detention (CIDI), in Australia, the report of which "A last resort?" was tabled in the Australian Federal parliament in May of 2004, has made me even more keenly aware of the fragility of child asylum seekers. But more on that later! -
21 October 2022Webpage
Let's talk about refugees
Explore teaching resources about refugees, including what it means to seek asylum, what a migrant is and how you can support refugees in the community.