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14 December 2012Book page
Social Justice Report 2000: Chapter 2: Reconciliation and human rights
This will be how we assess the success or otherwise of the reconciliation process in years to come. The reconciliation process has the potential to be as significant, and difficult, as the process that led to the joining together of the states into one indissoluble federation in 1901. It challenges us to adapt the structures of society in ways that ensure that first nation peoples can participate… -
14 December 2012Book page
Same-Sex: Same Entitlements: Chapter 4
It is simple to remove discrimination against same-sex couples in laws conferring financial and work-related benefits: amend the definitions describing a couple to include same-sex and opposite-sex couples alike. -
Legal
15 August 2016SubmissionInformation for List of Issues Prior to Reporting - Australia: Submission to Committee Against Torture (2016)
SUBMISSION BY THE AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION Information for List of Issues Prior to Reporting - Australia 27 June 2016 Contents 1. Introduction 2. National Human Rights Institution 3. Ratification of OPCAT 4. Scrutiny of human rights and role of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights 5. Violence against women and children 6. Trafficking in persons 7. Criminal Justice… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
23 January 2013PublicationImmigration detention on Christmas Island - Observations from visit to Immigration detention facilities on Christmas Island
Immigration detention on Christmas Island Observations from visit to Immigration detention facilities on Christmas Island -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
1 March 2016PublicationToomelah Report (1988)
The Toomelah community of five hundred Aboriginal people endures appalling living conditions which amount to a denial to them of the most basic rights taken for granted by most other groups in society, and by other Australian communities of similar size. Their houses are substandard and overcrowded, actually contributing to a range of diseases. The community has for decades lived without an… -
14 December 2012Book page
Immigration detention in Darwin (2010)
The Australian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) visited immigration detention facilities in Darwin from 6 to 10 September 2010. The visit was conducted by Commission President and Human Rights Commissioner, Catherine Branson QC, as well as Commission staff and consultants including a consultant psychiatrist. -
14 December 2012Book page
2011 Immigration detention in Leonora
The Australian Human Rights Commission visited the immigration detention facility in Leonora, Western Australia from 23 to 26 November 2010. This statement contains a brief overview of the key observations and concerns arising from the Commission’s visit. It focuses on conditions as they were at that time. -
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: -
14 December 2012Book page
Chapter 2: Constitutional reform: Creating a nation for all of us - Social Justice Report 2010
A century ago, the Australian people engaged in a debate about creating a nation. They held meetings...They wrote articles and letters in newspapers. Many views were canvassed and voices were heard. The separate colonies, having divided up the land between them, discussed ways of sharing powers in order to achieve a vision of a united Australia. The result was the Australian Constitution,… -
Legal
14 December 2012Webpage
Federal Discrimination Law 2005: Chapter 3: The Racial Discrimination Act
The RDA was the first Commonwealth unlawful discrimination statute to be enacted and is different in a number of ways from the subsequent SDA, DDA and ADA. This is because it is based to a large extent on, and takes important parts of its statutory language from, the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination ('ICERD').1 -
Legal
14 December 2012Speech
Law Seminar 2007: The Northern Territory National Emergency Response Legislation by Dr Sarah Pritchard
1. That Aboriginal child sexual abuse in the Northern Territory be designated as an issue of urgent national significance by both the Australian and Northern Territory Governments, and both governments immediately establish a collaborative partnership with a Memorandum of Understanding to specifically address the protection of Aboriginal children from sexual abuse. It is critical that both… -
Legal
14 December 2012Webpage
Submission - REVIEW OF THE OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (COMMONWEALTH EMPLOYMENT) ACT 1991 (2006)
1. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) welcomes the opportunity to make this submission to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations on the review of the Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991 (the Act). -
14 December 2012Book page
Report No. 40: Complaints by immigration detainees against the Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Immigration and Citizenship, formerly the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs) and GSL (Australia) Pty Ltd (2008)
Pursuant to section 11(1)(f)(ii) of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 (Cth), I attach a report of an inquiry by the former President of the Commission into complaints made by immigration detainees against the Commonwealth of Australia. The former President found that the Commonwealth had breached the human rights of the complainants pursuant to articles 10(1) and 17(1) of… -
14 December 2012Book page
Social Justice Report 2005: Chapter 3
The first twelve months of the federal government's new arrangements for the administration of Indigenous affairs has ended. The primary focus of this period has been on abolishing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and creating new processes to engage with local Indigenous communities and coordinate mainstream delivery of services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait… -
14 December 2012Book page
Chapter 3: From community crisis to community control in the Fitzroy Valley - Social Justice Report 2010
It is a story of colonisation; the threat of losing our cultural authority to manage our societies; and the despair that has come from that disempowerment. It is a story of grief and trauma and the continued pain of living with grog, drug and violence. -
Legal
14 December 2012Webpage
Information concerning Australia and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) (2010)
Recommendation 2: That the proposed Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights be empowered to make recommendations in relation to the implementation of ICERD Committee Concluding Observations. -
14 December 2012Book page
Native Title Report 2008 - Chapter 3
The strong, vibrant and committed Noongar peoples of the South West corner of Australia had their native title determination over Perth returned to square one. The Full Federal Court found that the first judge had made a number of errors in his decision and have sent the case back for consideration by a new judge, leaving the Noongar peoples uncertain about the future of their rights over the… -
14 December 2012Book page
Social Justice Report 2006: Chapter 2: The new arrangements for Indigenous affairs – facilitating Indigenous access to government services
It has now been over two years since the federal government introduced new arrangements for the administration of Indigenous affairs. One of the catchcries of the new arrangements is that they are aimed at ‘harnessing the mainstream.’ This is to be achieved by removing or reducing the barriers that prevent Indigenous peoples from accessing existing mainstream services on an equitable… -
14 December 2012Book page
Social Justice Report 2006: Chapter 4: International developments on the rights of indigenous peoples – Closing the ‘protection gap’
In recent years there have been significant developments at the international level that impact upon the recognition and protection of the human rights of indigenous peoples. Most notably, there have been: i) reforms to the machinery of the United Nations (UN) and the emphasis given to human rights within that system; ii) the making of global commitments to action, through the Millennium… -
14 December 2012Book page
Same-Sex: Discussion paper 2
This discussion paper briefly discusses federal laws which exclude same-sex couples from accessing financial and work-related entitlements. The paper discusses the following areas of federal law: