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Race Discrimination
9 March 2023Publication
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
The Australian Human Rights Commission has developed this fact sheet to demonstrate how 'harmony' hides structural and systemic racism. -
Sex Discrimination
16 April 2024News storySex Discrimination Commissioner: Lehrmann ruling dispels rape myths
Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Cody commended the Federal Court’s decision in the Lehrmann case for challenging misconceptions about rape and consent. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
27 May 2024Media ReleaseSocial Justice Commissioner: now more than ever, Australia must reconcile with its First Nations people
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Katie Kiss, has marked the start of Reconciliation Week by calling on Australians to finally overcome generations of disadvantage and division when it comes to First Nations rights, and forge a path for unity. The Commissioner warned that systemic failures facing Indigenous communities in all sectors of society including… -
LGBTIQ+
15 October 2021Publication
Ensuring health and bodily integrity (2021)
Protecting the human rights of people born with variations in sex characteristics in the context of medical interventions -
Sex Discrimination
9 April 2024Media Release
Sex Discrimination Commissioner assists Federal Court in Tickle v Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd case
Today, representatives from the Australian Human Rights Commission, including the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, will attend the hearing of Tickle v Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd at the Federal Court. Roxanne Tickle was refused access to a social networking app described as being ‘made for women by women’. Ms Tickle alleges that she was refused access because she is a trans woman, and that this… -
Rights and Freedoms
3 May 2024Opinion pieceWe need debate on sensible limits on free speech
When president Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the 1941 State of the Union address he spoke of four essential human freedoms people “everywhere in the world” ought to enjoy. The very first of these was freedom of speech and expression. Free speech was listed first because it is the bedrock of democracy. Salman Rushdie famously described it as “the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
4 August 2023Webpage
Referendums and constitutional change
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) will hold a referendum in late 2023. The referendum will ask Australians whether the Constitution should be changed to include a recognition of the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Indigenous Voice to Parliament -
Commission – General
15 March 2024SpeechAustralian Human Rights Commission’s complaint handling jurisdiction
Civil Justice Research Conference 2019 Macquarie University, Sydney Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM [ Professor Croucher spoke to this paper] Abstract The complaint handling role of the Australian Human Rights Commission from time to time attracts some attention in the media—but not always for constructive reasons. This presentation set out the real story. It is one that is a worthy… -
Technology and Human Rights
15 May 2023Opinion piece‘Weaponised' AI an existential threat to truth, human rights
This opinion piece by Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay appeared in The Australian on Monday 15 May 2023. In George Orwell's 1984, the Ministry of Truth exercises absolute control of information according to The Party ethos, “Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present, controls the past”. If the Ministry of Truth existed today, a more accurate slogan would… -
11 April 2024Webpage
Statistics about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women and Girls
Learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women and Girls in Australia through statistics and infographics. -
Technology and Human Rights
16 May 2023Opinion piece
Chatbot Race must not be Run with Blinkers on
Learn more about the risks of developing generative artificial intelligence products with disregard for human rights. -
Education25 February 2015Webpage
Statistics about Cultural and Racial Diversity
Explore the rich, cultural diversity of Australia through statistics and infographics. Learn more about narratives supporting systemic racism. -
Education25 February 2015Webpage
Statistics about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
Learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Australia through statistics and infographics. -
14 December 2012Book page
Questions and Answers About Refugees & Asylum Seekers
According to the United Nations Convention and Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees (also called the Refugee Convention), a refugee is someone who is outside their own country and cannot return due to a well-founded fear of persecution because of their: -
Children's Rights
25 August 2023Media ReleaseNational Children’s Commissioner slams ‘shocking’ new Qld youth justice laws
The National Children’s Commissioner has expressed alarm at the Queensland Government rushing through legislation to allow children to be detained indefinitely in adult detention facilities, in a further contravention of the Queensland Human Rights Act. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
4 August 2023Webpage
Minimising harm in conversations about the referendum
This section of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum resource kit provides information and practical tips to engage in conversations about the referendum in ways that minimise harm, including: Practise cultural humility, Centre Indigenous knowledges, voices, and perspectives, Remember, there is no one true ‘Indigenous perspective’, Avoid deficit discourse, and Call out and actively… -
Education1 April 2016Webpage
Human Rights in Australia
Human rights are an important part of our lives. In fact, they are so much a part of everyday living that we often take them for granted. Consider how often you drink clean water, eat food, go to school, say or write what you think, get treated by a doctor, practise a religion (or not), or expect to be treated fairly by others. All of these everyday activities depend on the adequate… -
Commission – General
14 December 2012Speech
Making human rights real for all helps to keep democracies healthy
Many years ago, when I was a very young solicitor anxious to be taken seriously by my employers, I needed to do some banking in my lunch hour. When I arrived at my bank, I was confronted by a long queue. I assessed the pace at which it was moving and decided that I could get served and still make it back to the office on time. You can imagine my astonishment when, arriving at the front of the… -
Sex Discrimination
22 July 2013Publication
Audit Report: Review into the Treatment of Women at ADFA
On 3 November 2011 the Report on the Review into the Treatment of Women at the Australian Defence Force Academy was tabled in the Australian Parliament. It contained 31 recommendations. This Audit has provided an important and unique opportunity to examine the extent to which these recommendations have been implemented, and to identify the further cultural reform work that should be undertaken. … -
14 December 2012Book page
Annual Report 2008-2009: Chapter 9
This report covers my final year as the Race Discrimination Commissioner, a position I have occupied for five years alongside my position as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner.