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Commission – General5 September 2021Webpage
Human Rights Commissioner, Ms Lorraine Finlay
Learn about Lorraine Finlay, who commenced as Human Rights Commissioner in 2021 after working as a lawyer and academic specialising in human rights. -
Race Discrimination2 November 2020News story
Racial Equality in the Time of Coronavirus: 2020 Kep Enderby Lecture
How has Australia’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic affected diverse communities? What lessons can be learned? And how can we ensure diverse communities are included in the road to recovery? Covid-19 has demonstrated the enduring importance of the Racial Discrimination Act and highlighted the right of all Australians to be able to live free from discrimination -
Race Discrimination2 November 2021News story
Kep Enderby Memorial Lecture 2021 - Embracing Cultural Diversity in Australia
The Australian Human Rights Commission has held its annual Kep Enderby Lecture, with this year’s keynote address given by acclaimed author Alice Pung. The theme of the lecture was Embracing Cultural Diversity in Australia , and a panel discussion followed the lecture with panellists Kupakwashe Matangira, Zaahir Edries and Jidah Clark. In her address, Ms Pung spoke powerfully about the power of ... -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees20 June 2023Media Release
Inspection report: Serious human rights concerns in hotel detention
Explore an inspection report by the Commission that found serious human rights concerns persist in the use of hotels as alternative places of detention. -
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 ... -
Children's Rights24 August 2022Media Release
Survey shows children need better mental health support
A national survey examining the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people during the COVID-19 pandemic shows children and their families need better support from schools and mental health services. An initiative of the National Children's Commissioner, the survey found that children most commonly seek mental health support from their families, friends and schools. However, these ... -
Sex Discrimination8 May 2019Webpage
National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces - Attend a consultation
Back to National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces main page Consultations Public consultations for the National Inquiry have now finished. The National Inquiry Team has conducted meetings and consultations in cities around Australia with selected groups of stakeholders to further develop our understanding of workplace sexual harassment, its causes, impacts and best practice ... -
Sex Discrimination3 December 2020Speech
The Beijing Platform for Action, 25 years on: Progress, Retreat and the Future of Women's Rights
Beijing Platform for Action at 25: Progress, Retreat and the Future of Women's Rights Opening Address Thursday 3 December, 10:00 am Kate Jenkins, Sex Discrimination Commissioner Hello everyone. My name is Kate Jenkins, and I have had the honour of serving as Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner for the past four years. I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional lands of our ... -
14 December 2012Book page
Ending family violence and abuse in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities – Key issues (2006)
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. -
Race Discrimination27 September 2019Media Release
Submission on the draft Religious Discrimination Bill
The Australian Human Rights Commission supports reform to improve protections against religious discrimination for all people in Australia. While supporting much of the draft Religious Discrimination Bill, the Commission urges that the Bill be amended to avoid limiting other human rights and overriding existing anti-discrimination laws. “The Commission has advocated for more than 20 years for a ... -
Race Discrimination5 February 2024News story
Commission welcomes new Race Discrimination Commissioner
The Australian Human Rights Commission welcomes the appointment of Giridharan Sivaraman as the new Race Discrimination Commissioner. “We are very excited by this appointment. On behalf of the Commission, I would like to warmly welcome Giridharan Sivaraman to the role of Race Discrimination Commissioner,” said Commission President, Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM. “For decades, the fight ... -
Technology and Human Rights16 December 2019Media Release
Commission calls for ethical AI
Learn more about how Australians need ethical AI which is designed and deployed to protect human rights. -
Commission – General1 August 2022Media Release
Commission urges passage of new Bill to strengthen integrity
The Australian Human Rights Commission is urging all federal parliamentarians to support the passage of the new Australian Human Rights Commission Legislation Amendment (Selection and Appointment) Bill 2022. Commission President, Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM, has welcomed the introduction to Parliament of the new Bill by Attorney-General, the Hon Mark Dreyfus QC MP, last week. The Bill ... -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice13 September 2022Media Release
First Nations women to take leading role in addressing family and community violence
An important gathering of First Nations women – including specialist experts, researchers, frontline workers and women with lived experience of violence – has called on governments across Australia to ensure First Nations women lead all future efforts to prevent violence against First Nations women and children. On Monday the Wiyi Yani U Thangani Women’s Safety Policy Forum was held online, with ... -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice11 December 2019Speech
Inaugural National Indigenous Women’s Leadership Symposium
[Introduction in Bunuba] Jalangurru lanygu wiyi yani. I want to pay my respects to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional owners of the land we meet on today, and to their elders both past and present. I also want to thank and congratulate the organisers of this event – everyone at Women in Leadership Australia and everyone at Women’s Business. Well thank you all for having me here ... -
Rights and Freedoms1 December 2020Video
Balancing Human Rights During COVID19
Protecting public health and protecting human rights are not mutually exclusive choices – but how do we keep the balance between the two? What safeguards do we need to protect rights and freedoms in Australia and prevent the ‘creeping authoritarianism’ we have witnessed elsewhere in the world? These were just some of the big questions of our time discussed by the panellists during the ‘Balancing ... -
Race Discrimination19 April 2021Media Release
Stop mass incarceration to prevent deaths in custody
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, June Oscar AO said Australia must stop the “mass incarceration” of its Indigenous people or else deaths in custody will continue to occur. Commissioner Oscar said her thoughts are with all the families who have lost loved ones over recent months, and in the 30 years since the Report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in ... -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice7 September 2023Webpage
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Information about the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. -
Rights and Freedoms17 January 2019Project
Free and Equal: An Australian conversation on human rights
What makes an effective system of human rights protection for 21st century Australia? What are we doing well and what steps do we still need to take? -
Rights and Freedoms21 January 2022Opinion piece
Novak Djokovic drew global attention to Australia's immigration detention regime. Now we need proper scrutiny of all places of detention
Novak Djokovic’s recent detention at Melbourne’s Park Hotel drew international attention to Australia’s use of hotels as Alternative Places of Detention by immigration authorities. But while Djokovic’s detention was measured in days, others still remaining in the Park Hotel measure their detention in years. Hotels are simply not appropriate places to detain people for extended periods. The hotels ...