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Children's Rights
4 October 2019Media ReleaseUN 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 from ... -
Legal
26 February 2016SubmissionSubmission to Inquiry into the Regulatory and Legislative Aspects of Surrogacy Arrangements (2016)
Table of Contents 1 Introduction 2 Summary 3 Recommendations 4 Surrogacy and human rights 4.1 What is surrogacy? 4.2 Human rights issues in surrogacy arrangements 5 Current regulation of domestic surrogacy in Australia 6 Options for future domestic regulation: increase consistency and certainty domestically 6.1 Previous attempts at national consistency 6.2 Identifying people willing to enter into ... -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
10 July 2013WebpageSpeeches, events and media about immigration detention, asylum seekers and refugees
Discover a history of speeches, events and media about immigration detention, asylum seekers and refugees at the Human Rights Commission. -
Rights and Freedoms
26 June 2020Publication
Implementing OPCAT in Australia (2020)
The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) aims to improve how people’s human rights are protected when they are detained. -
International
2 November 2023News story
Engaging with the international human rights system
The Australian Human Rights Commission has recently hosted visits from two UN Special Rapporteurs: the UN Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children and the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change. Special Rapporteurs are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate, report on and make recommendations ... -
Children's Rights
12 April 2023News story
Join the webinar: Reinventing schools
If we want children to flourish, we must ask ourselves if the school system is doing the right thing by them. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the fault lines that emerge when health and learning aren’t considered holistically. Declining mental health, disengagement from learning, disruption among social connections and vastly reduced physical activity were some of the impacts on children. Can we ... -
Children's Rights
27 October 2023News story
Children's rights in action: Innovations in youth justice webinar
As Australia continues to grapple with ongoing crises in its youth justice systems, this webinar explores the potential lessons our country could learn from international experiences of reform. Over the course of five years, the Oberstown Children Detention Campus in Ireland adopted a Children’s Rights Policy Framework and implemented evidence-based and human-rights-based changes to its structure ... -
3 January 2014Book page
2 Background and framework for promotion and protection of human rights
2.1 Scope of international obligations During Australia’s review, the Government made a commitment to improving Australia’s monitoring of its international human rights obligations. Australia is a party to seven of the core human rights treaties and maintains a number of reservations under these. The Australian Government made a commitment to conduct a comprehensive review of such reservations by ... -
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 homelessness are ... -
Children's Rights
6 March 2022News story
Media statement: National survey on understanding and experiences of consent
National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds and Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins have welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of a national survey exploring consent education of secondary school students across Australia. -
Rights and Freedoms
17 January 2019Speech
The Ongoing Legacy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
9th International Conference on Human Rights Education—Unleashing the Full Potential of Civil Society Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM President, Australian Human Rights Commission 27 November 2018 [ Professor Croucher spoke to this paper. Some sections were not addressed fully, given the coverage of some matters by earlier speakers in the program. ] Introduction Thank you Professor Steven ... -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
17 November 2017Speech2017 Narrm Oration
2017 Narrm Oration Resilience and Reconstruction: the agency of women in rebuilding strong families, communities and organisations The University of Melbourne June Oscar Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Australian Human Rights Commission Thursday 16 November 2017 Acknowledgements Yaningi warangira ngindaji yuwa muwayi ingirranggu, Wurundjeri yani U. Balangarri ... -
Commission – General
10 December 2021SpeechHuman Rights Day Oration 2021: Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher
President Croucher's 2021 Human Rights Day Oration highlights the need for reform in Australia's discrimination laws. -
Children's Rights
6 April 2022Publication
Keeping kids safe and well: your voices
Children and young people are experts in their own lives, and their insights are critical for understanding how we can better support their safety and wellbeing. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
10 July 2024Speech
17th Session of EMRIP in Geneva, Item 6 Statement
Statement from Katie Kiss, 17th EMRIP session focusing on Indigenous rights and participation. -
Commission – General
14 December 2012Speech
President speech: How human rights can promote the wellbeing of children in Australia
I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, and pay my respects to their elders past and present. -
Children's Rights
16 November 2021Media Release
Proposal to raise the age does not go far enough
All 16 of Australia’s children’s commissioners, guardians and advocates say a commitment by state attorneys-general to develop a proposal to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12 does not go far enough. In a joint statement, Australian children’s commissioners, guardians and advocates said: “We are pleased that some jurisdictions have for the first time indicated they will look at raising ... -
Children's Rights
24 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 ... -
Rights and Freedoms
8 October 2019Speech
Free and Equal: An Australian Conversation on Human Rights
‘Free and Equal: An Australian Conversation on Human Rights’ 8 October 2019 Opening Remarks Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM President, Australian Human Rights Commission Check against delivery Your Excellency, Dr Michele Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; Australian Human Rights Commission Commissioners—Dr Ben Gauntlett, Disability Discrimination Commissioner ... -
14 December 2012Book page
Let's talk about rights: A guide to help young people have their say about human rights in Australia (2009)
This guide has been produced by the Australian Human Rights Commission to help you participate in the Australian Government’s National Human Rights Consultation.