Search results

The Inquiry has been committed to hearing from all parties in the Australian community who have been involved with the immigration detention of children.

Human rights constitute the ethical basis of the social contract between those who exercise power and accrue wealth, and those whose lives are affected by this exercise and accrual. Where such a relationship has no ethical basis and is inconsistent with human rights principles it is not a sustainable relationship. Coercion may prolong it for some time but this is costly to maintain and eventually…

Models which account for the circumstances under which different bystander responses occur have been evolving since the 1970s, especially in the fields of criminology and social psychology. The notion of bystanders originated with the study of an event in New York where a young woman, Kitty Genovese, was raped and stabbed to death over a period of half an hour. During the attack, 38 witnesses…

The Social Justice Report 2002 discusses initiatives currently underway or in development at the federal, state and territory levels in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs. The report commends the following positive developments in Indigenous policy:

This submission aims to highlight a number of issues for children in immigration detention arising from the Department of Human Services' (DHS) involvement in child protection, health service provision to children and their families, settlement support and care of unattached minors.

This short paper is concerned, first, to examine the significance in a particular case of statistical evidence; secondly, to examine what it means to prove a fact on ‘the balance of probabilities’; and finally to examine the significance of relying on statistical evidence to establish an accused person’s age in the context of s 236B of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).

3. I am a qualified and registered Psychologist, and hold a BA, MA, Teaching Certificate, and PhD. I have been working as psychologist in Australia since 1978, and worked previously in Canada as a psychologist and teacher. I have also previously worked for Family and Youth Services in South Australia.

Native title is an intersection of two different legal systems and cultures. The way in which Australia chooses to give recognition to the relationship that Indigenous people have with their land, and the range of options it considers to express that relationship, are matters that affect the human rights of Indigenous people.

Throughout the course of the Inquiry, a number of serious disturbances occurred in immigration detention centres, including riots, fires, hunger strikes, protests, self-harm and suicide attempts.

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.

The Commission is a national independent statutory body established under the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986. It has a President and five Commissioners. The five positions are currently held by three persons. Please refer to the organisational chart for further information.