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The Public Guardian of New South Wales is the legal guardian of over 1300 people with decision making disabilities. Of these approximately 150 have a diagnosed mental illness. The arrival of the commission's discussion paper on living wills is therefore a welcome opportunity to consider the issue of living wills and people with an incapacity to make decisions.

4.1 Introduction Alcohol consumption, misuse and related harm are some of the most challenging issues confronting communities across the length and breadth of Australia. These challenges are not limited to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, but confront every demographic in Australian cities and towns. From Kings Cross to Halls Creek, St Kilda to Santa Teresa – communities…

As a result of the enactment of the Human Rights Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 1999 (Cth) the jurisdiction of the Commission to conduct public inquiries into complaints was transferred on 13 April 2000 to the Federal Court and Federal Magistrates Service. However, the Commission retained the jurisdiction to complete those public inquiries it had commenced prior to 13 April 2000. During 2000&…

The year 2001 marked the tenth anniversary of the final report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The 5 volumes and 339 recommendations that comprise the national report of Commissioner Johnston remain among the most extensive, frank and devastating examinations of the impact of colonialism on the Indigenous peoples of this country.

The following international instruments[1] have been placed in tables according to topic area. Note, however, that many of the instruments are relevant to several topic areas. Clauses marked * are relevant to Indigenous knowledge’s.

The issue of participation of people with disability in the open workforce has been the subject of much public debate in recent months. This is largely the result of the 'Welfare to Work' package announced in the May 2005 Commonwealth Budget. However, the issue is a longstanding one, as indicated in the submissions to the Inquiry.

From 1835, when the European occupation of Victoria commenced, until the 1880s government policy was one of segregation of Indigenous people on reserves. These were mainly controlled by missions.

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…

Human rights principles require that Indigenous people's relationships to land, based on traditional laws and customs, be given legal recognition and protection. International legal principles also recognise that Indigenous peoples have economic, social and cultural human rights. Native title, as it is constructed through the Australian legal system, has a limited capacity to meet these human…

The Commission's jurisdiction to hear and determine complaints of unlawful discrimination ceased on 13 April 2000 with the commencement of the Human Rights Legislation Amendment Act (No.1) 1999 (Cth) and was transferred to the Federal Court and Federal Magistrates Service. The Commission retained the jurisdiction to complete those public inquiries that had commenced prior to 13 April 2000.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) public statement on Immigration Detention at Villawood.