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LGBTIQ+
29 August 2024Media ReleaseSex Discrimination Commissioner calls on Fed Gov to reverse LGBTIQA+ Census backflip
Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner Dr Anna Cody has called on the Federal Government to reconsider a decision to renege on a commitment to have LGBTIQA+-related questions and topics in the 2026 Census. -
Rights and Freedoms
14 August 2024Media ReleaseCommission supports Bill to recognise adequate housing as a human right
The Australian Human Rights Commission has supported a private member’s bill that would recognise the human right to adequate housing and support improved housing outcomes for all Australians. -
Disability Rights
31 July 2024Media ReleaseCommissioner urges stronger government commitment to Disability Royal Commission findings
Disability Discrimination Commissioner Rosemary Kayess has urged the Federal Government to make a stronger commitment to the Disability Royal Commission’s recommendations, if the vision for a more inclusive Australia is to ever be achieved. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
16 August 2024Media ReleaseStates must follow through on our obligations to international treaties in prisons
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and the National Children’s Commissioner today criticised the failure of leadership by the Commonwealth, states and territories to incorporate human rights standards into domestic law. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
23 August 2024Media Release
First Nations women let down by native title system
A new report on Australia’s native title system centres the voices of First Nations women to call for significant reform. For the first time since the introduction of the Native Title Act 30 years ago, the experiences of First Nations women have been elevated to show how the system is failing to deliver land justice effectively. “The native title system we have today is not what we had all… -
Children's Rights
19 July 2024Media ReleaseAustralian Human Rights Commission condemns children’s isolation cells
Grave concern over recently released CCTV footage depicting a First Nations child of 13 years of age with an intellectual disability, being forcibly restrained -
Sex Discrimination
23 August 2024Media ReleaseSex Discrimination Commissioner comments on Federal Court judgment in Tickle v Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd
Federal Court handed down judgement that Roxanne Tickle was discriminated against when she was refused access to a social media app, ‘made for women by women’. -
Commission – General
29 July 2024News story
Hugh de Kretser commences as Human Rights Commission President
The new President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Hugh de Kretser, said maintaining the push to see a national Human Rights Act introduced will be among his key priorities, as he today commenced in the role. -
Children's Rights
10 July 2024Media Release
Ineffective approaches to child justice creating more problems than they solve
The policies being promoted in the Queensland election campaign to address offending by children have been criticised by National Children’s Commissioner, Anne Hollonds and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Katie Kiss as a “race to the bottom”. -
Children's Rights
10 July 2024Media Release
National Children’s Commissioner calls for children to be recognised as victims in their own right
The tragic deaths of three children in Sydney’s west over the weekend is yet another reminder of the fact that children are not just ‘witnesses’ of domestic, family and sexual violence - they are victims in their own right. -
Race Discrimination
25 July 2024Media ReleaseRace Discrimination Commissioner welcomes Multicultural Framework Review
Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman has welcomed the release of the Multicultural Framework Review by the Federal Government, calling it a significant step towards the greater recognition of the rights of racially marginalised Australians. The review, led by an independent panel, was released by Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Minister Andrew Giles on… -
Race Discrimination
10 July 2024Media Release
New report finds governments at all levels across Australia failing on racism
A new report has found governments and their departments at all levels across the country are failing to adequately identify and address racism – even avoiding the term ‘racism’ – and that approaches across the board are ad-hoc, disjointed, reactive, and lacking coordination between governments, agencies and sectors. -
Age Discrimination
25 June 2024News story
Retirement village operators urged to improve elder abuse protections
The Age Discrimination Commissioner, Robert Fitzgerald AM, has called on Australia’s retirement living sector to introduce new nationwide strategies to better identify and respond to the abuse of residents. Elder abuse affects one in six older Australians, including those living in retirement villages. The abuse can take many forms, including neglect, financial exploitation, physical… -
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,… -
Age Discrimination
13 June 2024Media Release
Age Discrimination Commissioner: Australia has a long way to go to end elder abuse
Age Discrimination Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald AM has warned the ongoing cost-of-living crisis is likely to lead to an increased risk of elder abuse with Australia needing to further bolster its efforts to address the nationwide problem. Elder abuse is when harm is done to an older person by someone they know and trust, often a family member. It can take many forms, including neglect,… -
Children's Rights
21 July 2022Media Release
Government action needed to protect children in detention
Learn how the Human Rights Commission is deeply concerned about the safety and wellbeing of teenagers who were kept in adult detention centres. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
27 May 2024Media Release
Social 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… -
Race Discrimination
9 May 2024News story
Commission to lead historic anti-racism study into universities
The Australian Human Rights Commission will lead a groundbreaking independent study to better understand and address the dangerous prevalence of racism at universities, after receiving $2.5 million in Commonwealth funding. Race Discrimination Commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman said the study will be “comprehensive”, with university students and staff to share their experiences of racism, and… -
Age Discrimination
9 May 2024Media Release
Age Discrimination Commissioner calls for a Convention on the Rights of Older Persons
Australia’s Age Discrimination Commissioner, Robert Fitzgerald AM, has called on the Federal Government to formally endorse the creation of a UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons, in what he said remains a missing piece in the international human rights framework. Currently, there is no binding international instrument dedicated to the rights of older persons, like there is for race,… -
Rights and Freedoms
22 February 2023News story
Urgent action needed following termination of UN inspection
The Australian Human Rights Commission says an extraordinary decision to terminate a tour of Australian places of detention by United Nations inspectors reflects Australia’s fragmented approach to protecting the human rights of people in detention.